Moving Past Preschool: Brown Bag Films Launches Adult Animation Service Label ‘Bad Pencil’
For decades, Brown Bag Films has been one of the ultimate juggernauts in the kids and family market. The Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning animation powerhouse has been the engine behind historic childhood favorites like Doc McStuffins, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Vampirina, and Octonauts.
Now, the global studio is ready to get a little darker.
Announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Brown Bag Films is officially expanding its footprint into prime-time television with the launch of Bad Pencil Animation. This brand-new sister label will bypass the preschool market entirely to focus exclusively on service work for older-skewing animation, crossing into comedy, horror, drama, and high-concept action.
Expanding Beyond the Playground
Operating across Brown Bag’s established global studio infrastructure in Dublin, Toronto, and Bali, Bad Pencil Animation will function as a highly specialized, technical service shop. The goal is to allow the studio’s vast network of 2D and CG animators to flex their muscles on more mature, genre-forward, and cinematically complex projects for global streaming platforms, networks, and creators.
Executive Creative Director Sanatan Suryavanshi will spearhead the creative vision for the new label out of the Toronto studio. Suryavanshi brings an impressive pedigree to the table, having previously worked on Cartoon Saloon’s beautiful Oscar-nominated feature The Breadwinner as well as the animated horror anthology series Red Iron Road.
“There’s an incredible opportunity right now to push into new creative territory – stories that can be darker, more offbeat, or more tonally diverse – while building on the same level of craft and quality the studio is known for,” Suryavanshi shared during the announcement.
Suryavanshi will report directly to Brown Bag Films co-founder and Group Creative Director Darragh O’Connell, who will maintain senior creative oversight across the entire global pipeline.
The Business of Mature Animation
The strategic launch of Bad Pencil is a direct response to a massive structural shift in the entertainment business. While the kids’ content market remains a vital pillar, adult animation has evolved from a niche late-night programming block into a multi-billion-dollar battleground for streaming platforms eager to capture older Gen Z and Millennial subscribers.
By building a dedicated service infrastructure purely for mature content, parent company 9 Story Media Group can shield its core, family-friendly corporate brand while actively bidding on massive premium action or horror projects from major clients.
On the operational front, sales and client management for Bad Pencil will be led by Nicole Gibbs, VP of Studio Strategy at Brown Bag Films. Meanwhile, Caitlin Friedman, EVP of Global Production for Brown Bag Films and Scholastic Entertainment, will orchestrate the overarching strategic rollout for the brand.
“Across our studios, we have an incredible depth of artistic and technical talent with experience spanning a broad range of styles and genres,” Friedman stated. “This initiative allows us to more fully leverage that capability in support of clients in this growing animation market.”
Watch a teaser here.
