The Pokémon Company hires former Netflix creative leader to lead original animation

Phil Rynda, a veteran in the animation industry, recently announced on his LinkedIn account that he has joined The Pokémon Company International as the Director of Original Animation and will be involved in the production of "animated films, series and shorts" at the company.

Rynda was previously the creative leader and production director of original animation at streaming giant Netflix, but left the company due to the company's cuts to its original animation department. Prior to Netflix, he also served as vice president of production at Nickelodeon and creative director of Cartoon Network.

Prior to his management role, Rynda won an Emmy Award for his work on the animated film Billymandy and the Grim Reaper. He has also worked on many classic animated films including Graveyard, We Bare Bears, Adventure Time, The Venture Brothers and The Lego Movie.

The new original series of Pokémon Horizon is a new series after the end of Ash's adventure. The series premiered in Japan on April 14 and will be broadcast every Friday thereafter.