The Gotham Group and Toonstar are partnering to produce up to 12 new original animated series for kids. The partnership aims to create quality animation and family entertainment that will be launched on direct-to-audience platforms.
Toonstar is a tech-powered animation studio building entertainment franchises. Founded by Disney, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks veterans Attanasio and Luisa Huang, the studio produces and distributes digital-first, creator-led series. The L.A.-based studio is repped by WME and law firm Hansen Jacobson. Toonstars investors include Founders Fund, Greycroft, Snap and GFR.
“When I first started talking with John and Luisa, we connected immediately,” founder and CEO of The Gotham Group Ellen Goldsmith-Vein said. “They’re creatives first. They love animation, they have great creative instincts and they understand how to produce for a digital-first audience. That’s where the opportunity is right now, and it’s why creators need new ways to reach audiences.”
“Ellen and Gotham have spent three decades finding and championing incredible animation talent and IP,” John Attanasio, co-founder and CEO of Toonstar, said. “Together, we can help those artists and storytellers create the next generation of beloved kids’ franchises directly with audiences.”
In a statement, Matt Shichtman, head of Emerging Technologies at The Gotham Group, said, “Animation creators can now produce at a pace and scale once limited to the largest studios, with distribution support and analytics that help them understand and respond quickly to audience preferences.”
The partnership is the latest addition to Toonstar’s network of development partners that includes Fox Entertainment, HarperCollins and Penguin Random House.
WME represented both The Gotham Group and Toonstar in this deal. Hansen Jacobson served as legal counsel to Toonstar.