Brown Bag Films, a subsidiary of Toronto’s 9 Story Media Group, inaugurated a new 30,000 square foot studio in Smithfield, Dublin on Friday. 9 Story Media Group had acquired the award winning animation studio Brown Bag Films in August 2015.
Brown Bag currently employs 184 creative and production staff in its headquarters in Dublin, a studio in Manchester, England, and an office in Los Angeles. When the deal was done, the company said it would add an extra 50 jobs to its then 160 full-time positions.
The studio is known for producing hit animated children’s series Octonauts, Doc McStuffins, Bing and Henry Hugglemonster. The studio is currently producing the CG animated adaptation of Richard Adams’ novel Watership Down for Netflix and BBC. Two of the company’s shows Give Up Yer Aul Sins and Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty were nominated for Oscars.
Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, who was present at the opening event, said, “Brown Bag is a great Irish success story since its foundation 22 years ago and is a fine example of what an innovative Irish company can achieve in the global market. This exciting company is successfully competing in the dynamic and very competitive world of creative animation.”
The expansion has kicked off a recruitment drive for the studio as it aims to expand and increase its global reach thus, a number of positions for animation and production professionals are currently open on its website.