Updated at 9.30pm
ONE OF IRELAND’S recent success stories in animation is to open a “new chapter” after being acquired by a major North American studio.
Brown Bag Films, which received Oscar nominations for Give Up Yer Aul Sins and Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, will keep its brand but will now be owned by Toronto-based 9 Story Media Group.
The Dublin-based animator says it now plans to take on 50 more staff to add to the 180 it currently employs as it takes advantage of 9 Story’s distribution power.
Brown Bag Films was founded in 1994 and is known for its 3D animation that is aimed primarily at children. It recently bagged three Emmy’s for its work on the 3D animation series Peter Rabbit.
In addition to its Dublin headquarters, Brown Bag Films has a 2D studio in Manchester as well as post-production facilities in Los Angeles.
As well as dreaming up its own productions, the company has also worked with some of the biggest animators in the world including Disney, Nickelodoan and the BBC.
9 Story is one of North America’s biggest animation studios, employing over 250 staff and creating some well known children’s cartoons like Arthur.
Next step
Brown Bag Films’ two founders Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O’Connell will continue to lead the company after today’s announcement.
“This new chapter is the next logical step for us in our ongoing evolution and will ensure that audiences around the world get to watch more of the great shows they have come to expect from Brown Bag Films,” Gaffney said today.
Sometimes you have to jump at an opportunity and 9 Story were always a company that we admired creatively and professionally. By joining forces, they now have 3D animation and we now have distribution. There are so many synergies like this.
Gaffney and O’Connell say that the decision to partner with 9 Story was taken after they explored “a range of options to take the company to the next level”.
For their part, the 9 Story Media Group were attracted to Brown Bag because of their reputation for “high quality animation”, says CEO Vince Commisso.
“This transformative transaction, which extends our footprint into Europe, broadens our content offering to distribution partners and audiences worldwide, combines best in class CGI and 2D, and optimally positions the company for tremendous growth. ”
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