BROWN BAG Films, the Dublin animation studio that has twice been nominated for an Oscar, has won a contract to produce the first original series for US cable TV channel Disney Junior.
Cathal Gaffney, chief executive of Brown Bag, confirmed a report in entertainment bible Variety, that his firm has begun production on Doc McStuffins, a series about a six-year-old girl who talks to and treats a variety of stuffed toys.
Mr Gaffney said as a result of winning the contract Brown Bag will hire 14 people. The company employs 50 at its studio in Smithfield, Dublin.
He declined to say how much the contract was worth. The 52-episode series is directed by Norton Virgien, a veteran of the Hollywood animation industry, best-known for the Rugrats films and series.
Virgien will relocate to Dublin to work with Brown Bag on Doc McStuffins which will be in production for up to two years.
It will be shown on Disney Junior in 2011 in the US. Disney Junior is a new branded time slot on the Disney Channel.
Doc McStuffins will “accentuate the importance of healthy living and taking care of oneself and others” according to Variety.
Brown Bag was founded by Mr Gaffney and fellow animation director Darragh O’Connell in 1994.
Mr Gaffney was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002 as director of the short film Give Up Yer Aul Sins, while earlier this year the Brown Bag-produced Granny O'Grimwas shortlisted for best animated short film.
All of the studio's work is for the export market. The series Olivia, produced for British media company Chorion, is being broadcast on Nickelodeon in the US.
Brown Bag generated a profit of just over €760,000 in the year to the end of April 2009.
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