A London-based start-up is set to bring Mickey Mouse, Elsa and other beloved Disney characters to smartphones after securing a major licensing agreement with The Walt Disney Company — part of a wider push to make reading more appealing to a generation of digitally native children.
Comixit has obtained rights to adapt more than 100 titles spanning Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios into webtoons — a mobile-first comic format built for vertical scrolling. Iconic franchises such as Frozen, Moana and Ice Age are among those set to be reimagined as episodic, bite-sized stories aimed squarely at younger audiences.
The company was founded in 2025 by entertainment industry veteran Michael Nakan, whose vision centres on reaching children through the devices they already use daily and channelling that screen time into something more meaningful. Comixit has also secured a partnership with The Beano, one of Britain’s most enduring comics brands, marking an early foothold in the children’s media landscape.
“Disney has captured the imagination of children for generations,” Nakan said. “By bringing its characters into a format built for the phone, we have a real opportunity to make reading feel exciting and relevant again.”
A Format Built for the Smartphone Generation
Webtoons first emerged in South Korea in the early 2000s and have since grown into a global phenomenon. The format is structured for mobile consumption, guiding readers through a story frame by frame as they scroll downward — a natural fit for how younger audiences already interact with their devices. The blend of visuals and concise text makes it an accessible entry point for children who may be put off by more traditional reading formats.
Nakan has pointed to falling reading engagement among young people as a key motivation behind Comixit’s launch. Research cited by the company suggests that fewer than one in three children aged between eight and 18 now read for pleasure in their spare time — a trend the platform is explicitly designed to help reverse.
A Market With Enormous Growth Potential
Comixit is entering a sector that analysts believe is on the cusp of significant expansion. The global webtoon market was valued at approximately $9 billion in 2024, with some forecasts suggesting it could approach $100 billion by 2033 — a trajectory that would put it on par with or even ahead of Japan’s long-dominant manga industry.
The company’s approach combines the drawing power of world-famous intellectual property with a distribution model designed around mobile habits. Artificial intelligence is used to convert traditional comic layouts into the webtoon format, though the company stresses that every piece of content passes through human editorial review to meet quality and child-safety standards before going live.
Safety, Creativity and a Deliberately Curated Experience
In a deliberate departure from many platforms targeting younger users, Comixit has chosen not to include social features such as comment sections. The focus instead is on a tightly curated, moderated environment that parents can trust. The company is also building tools that will allow young users to craft their own stories, introducing a creative dimension alongside the consumption of licensed content.
High-Profile Backing and Broad Ambitions
The start-up has drawn investment from a notable roster of backers, including Harry Potter film producer David Barron, Peaky Blinders producer Caryn Mandabach and investor Magnus Rausing. Nakan himself brings a varied background in film and television, having worked with director Joe Wright and contributed to major productions including Game of Thrones and House of Cards during his time at HBO.
The Comixit app is currently live across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with a US launch planned as the company looks to scale into one of the world’s most lucrative markets for children’s digital content.
At its heart, Comixit’s model reflects a pragmatic rethinking of how literacy can be supported in an era of competing digital distractions. Rather than asking children to step away from their screens, the platform aims to reshape what happens when they pick them up — turning passive scrolling into an act of storytelling and imagination.