In 1978, an obscure animated TV show produced by an upstart Toronto firm caught the eye of the world’s hottest filmmaker, George Lucas.

He was looking for someone to produce an animated short for a CBS Star Wars television special. The ensuing collaboration not only put Nelvana on its path to becoming the world’s leading independent animation company but kickstarted Canada’s most successful creative industry—children’s animated entertainment.

Born in Belgium, raised in Toronto and New York, Michael Hirsh was a co-founder and CEO of Nelvana and the driving force behind Canada’s animation dominance. Animation Nation is his behind-the-scenes account of working with such famous cartoon franchises as Babar, The Adventures of Tintin, Berenstain Bears, Franklin, The Magic School Bus, and Beetlejuice, and larger-than-life personalities including Roseanne Barr, Mr. T., Deborah Harry, and Tim Burton.

Packed with humour and hard-won wisdom, Animation Nation is a frame-by-frame account of how creative talent and entrepreneurial zeal built a global cartoon empire.