Ramsey Naito is President of Animation for Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation.
As President of Animation for Paramount Animation, a role which she assumed in September 2021, Naito oversees all of the animation group’s operations from development through theatrical release. Naito previously served as Executive Vice President of Paramount Animation in 2018 before assuming her role as Executive Vice President of Animation Production and Development at Nickelodeon Animation.
At Nickelodeon, Naito oversees animation content across all formats and platforms--spanning linear, digital, TV movies, theatrical motion pictures and SVOD. Since joining the network in 2018, Naito has since overseen a renaissance at the studio of animation content and production in scale and creativity. Naito has transformed Nickelodeon’s Animation pipeline from 6 projects to over 70 series and movies, while emerging to launch hits on Paramount+, which have helped build the platform to the fastest growing streaming service in the US.
Naito has been a driving force at Nickelodeon bringing new projects, top talent and key partnerships to Nickelodeon Animation, to further bolster its content pipeline across preschool, kids, theatrical and its studio business. Notable projects include: Star Trek: Prodigy from Nickelodeon and CBS Studios’ Eye on Animation; best-selling book adaptations Real Pigeons Fight Crime, produced by James Corden and Ben Winston, the critically acclaimed Big Nate and Max and the MidKnights; Tiny Chef in partnership with Imagine Kids+Family; the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years; the animated series based on Monster High, the iconic franchise in partnership with Mattel and the new animated series Transformers: EarthSpark, in partnership with Hasbro.
At Paramount Animation, Naito’s oversight includes developing and ushering upcoming Paramount film titles including some of the studio’s key franchises such as: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August 4, 2023), produced in partnership with award-winning Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver and directed by Jeff Rowe, PAW Patrol: The Movie and its sequel PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (October 13, 2023), in partnership with Spin Master Entertainment and directed by Cal Brunker; Untitled Transformers Animation as well as The Tiger’s Apprentice (set for release in 2024), starring Henry Golding and directed by Raman Hui and co-directed by Paul Watling & YongDuk Jhun; Untitled Smurfs Animated Musical and an Untitled Avatar Animation film focusing on Aang avatar (first of three Avatar animated theatricals).
Simultaneously, Naito manages the day-to-day operations of Nickelodeon’s current series and development slate, overseeing the network’s key franchises including: SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, The Casagrandes, Baby Shark, Blue’s Clues & You!, Blue’s Clues Movie (coming in 2023), Santiago of the Seas, The Patrick Star Show, the Rugrats reboot, Middlemost Post and the animated reboot of Dora the Explorer. New upcoming series include: Zokie of Planet Ruby, The Hamsters of Hamsterdale, Super Duper Bunny League and Hex Vet.
To continue growing Nickelodeon’s animation business beyond linear, in 2019, Naito oversaw the network’s multi-year output deal with Netflix to produce original animated feature films and television series, based both on the Nickelodeon library of characters as well as all-new IP for kids and families globally. This deal marked an expansion of the existing relationship between the companies, which has already brought several popular titles to Netflix, including animated specials Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling and Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, and movies based on The Loud House and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Building an inclusive and diverse culture at the animation studio and developing emerging and homegrown talent has been a strong point.
