Brown Bag Films UC. (BBF) is an Irish television and computer-animation studio owned by Canadian production studio

9 Story Media Group 9 Story Animation Studio (formerly known as 9 Story International) is a Canadian media production, animation studio, and distribution company founded in September 1996 by Vince Commisso and Steven Jarosz. History As 9 Story Entertainment The com ...

and based in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

with 2D and 3D animation facilities in

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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and formerly

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Founded in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell, the studio is well known for the production of computer-animated television series and short films, including ''Give Up Yer Aul Sins'' and '' Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty''. The studio has garnered a number of awards, including

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations for ''Give Up Yer Aul Sins'' (

Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

at the

73rd Academy Awards The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 2000 in film and took place on March 25, 2001, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Pacif ...

) and ''Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty'' (

at the

83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, be ...

), 6

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for ''Peter Rabbit'', an Emmy award for ''Bing'' and a number of

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

and

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

nominations for their shows; ''Octonauts'', ''Doc McStuffins'', ''Henry Hugglemonster'', and ''Vampirina''.

History

Independent era (1994–2015)

Brown Bag Films was established in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell, producing their first series '' Peig'' for

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

using hand-painted acetate celluloids shot on 35mm film. In 1995, the studio moved to an old Georgian house off Gardiner Street, producing a few commercials and illustrations. '' Wolves, Witches and Giants'' was created in 1996 for

ITV Studios ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is ba ...

. The studio moved to new premises in Dublin city centre in 1997, establishing Ireland's first digital ink-and-paint workstation. They worked on the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

feature film ''

The King & I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel ''Anna and the King of Siam (novel), Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the m ...

'', coordinating European animation with LA via the a 56K modem. ''Barstool and Taxi'' were produced for RTÉ and they began to grow their commercials service. In 1998, Brown Bag Films produced the series "Why?" for RTÉ which sold in over 100 countries worldwide. In 1999, Brown Bag Films released their short film ''The Last Elk'', directed by Alan Shannon. The film went on to win numerous international awards. In 2002, Brown Bag Films was nominated for its first Oscar, ''Give Up Yer Aul Sins'', directed by Gaffney and produced by O'Connell and the company grew to a staff of 22. In July 2007, Brown Bag Films moved to a new studio in Smithfield Square, Dublin, designed by Douglas Wallace Architects, and began production on their first animated series, ''Olivia'', for Nickelodeon. In the same year development began on ''

Noddy in Toyland Noddy is a fictional character created by English children's author Enid Blyton. He is depicted as a wooden toy with a childlike view of the world. He resides in the fictional setting of Toyland, where he works as a taxi driver. Noddy is known f ...

''. In 2008, the studio began working on '' Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty'', directed by Nicky Phelan, landing a second Academy Award (Oscar) nomination. In 2009, Brown Bag Films delivered 20 hours of animation to international broadcasters and was awarded European Producer of the Year at Cartoon Tributes, Norway. The studio has grown to more than 160 people and is equipped with a high-definition picture and 5:1 audio post production facility. In July 2010, the company established an office in Los Angeles to produce animated feature films. In 2011, they premièred Darragh O'Connell's short film, "23 Degrees, 5 Minutes", voiced by John Hurt. They began production on ''

Doc McStuffins ''Doc McStuffins'' is an animated children's television series created by Chris Nee and produced by Brown Bag Films. It aired for five seasons on Disney Jr. from March 23, 2012, to April 18, 2020. The series centers on a girl who fixes toys, w ...

'' – the first show commissioned by newly re-branded

Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...

which it would premiere on alongside

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

. The Octonauts was nominated for a BAFTA award. Brown Bag Films began production on their own original series, ''

Henry Hugglemonster ''Henry Hugglemonster'' is an American-Irish animated children's television series produced by Brown Bag Films and based on the 2005 book ''I'm a Happy Hugglewug'' written and illustrated by Niamh Sharkey. The series premiered on Disney Junior ...

'', based on a book by Niamh Sharkey, for Disney Junior. On 23 March 2012, the premiere of ''Doc McStuffins'' broke rating records for the most watched preschool premiere ever in the United States. Brown Bag Films continue production on it as well as ''Henry Hugglemonster'' following Disney Junior's announcement of their series renewals and a second season of the Octonauts, and are joined by a very special new staff member – Toby the Studio Dog. In 2013, Brown Bag Films began production on a short film ''ANYA'', made to raise awareness for the charity To Russia With Love. Brown Bag Films recruit 30 new staff and expand the studio into a third premises. In February 2014, Brown Bag Films announced a television series adaptation of the ''Bing'' book series by author and illustrator

Ted Dewan Ted Dewan is an American-born British writer and illustrator of children's books who resides in England. He is best known as the creator of the award-winning book series, ''Bing (TV series), Bing,'' now adapted into an animated television series ...

. Following series renewals by the host TV networks, they continued production on a second season of ''Henry Hugglemonster'' and ''Peter Rabbit'', a third season of Doc McStuffins and a fourth season of ''The Octonauts''. Brown Bag Films launched ''Brown Bag Labs'', an online space for behind-the-scenes fun and tutorials from the studio. Octonauts was awarded with an

IFTA Ifta is a former municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Al ...

for Best Children's Programme. ''ANYA'' was released online to raise funds for To Russia With Love charity. They announce the opening of their 2D studio in Manchester. Their short film An Ode To Love is awarded Best Irish Animation at Foyle Film Festival. They release the Christmas Special episode of their new online series Trouble in Paradise. In January 2015, their pilot episode of ''The Stinky and Dirty Show'', based on the 'I Stink!' book series by Kate and Jim McMullan, debuted on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

(''now Amazon Prime Video'') and was later greenlit for a full series. Bing is awarded for Best Writing in a Children's TV Episode by The Writer's Guild of Great Britain. Doc McStuffins received an award for Outstanding Children's Program at the

46th NAACP Image Awards The 46th NAACP Image Awards, presented by the NAACP, honored outstanding representations and achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music and literature during the 2014 calendar year. The 46th ceremony was hosted by Antho ...

and a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards.

9 Story Media Group subsidiary (2015–present)

Brown Bag Films was bought by

on 18 August 2015 as a way of "re-introducing

CGI animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Modern c ...

to 9 Story" after "a failed first-attempt implementation", according to its president, Vincent "Vince" Commisso. On 7 March 2016, they began work on a computer-animated series for Disney Junior, ''

Vampirina ''Vampirina'' is an American animated children's television series created by Chris Nee. Based on the ''Vampirina Ballerina'' series of books written by Anne Marie Pace and published by Disney-Hyperion, the series premiered on Disney Junior and ...

'', based on the Vampirina Ballerina series of children's books written by Anne Marie Pace and illustrated by LeUyen Pham which debuted on 1 October 2017. In October 2017, more than two years after Brown Bag was bought, it became one of 9 Story's two main divisions alongside 9 Story Distribution International, taking over all 2D and 3D animation across 9 Story's studios in Dublin, Manchester and Toronto. 9 Story also renamed its two animation studios in

(formerly ''BASE Animation Studios'') and its base in Toronto after Brown Bag Films.

Awards

At the 2014 Daytime Emmy Awards, Brown Bag Films bagged three awards and scored another five nominations for the series ''Peter Rabbit'', earning the most nominations for an animated show that year.

References

External links