Latest news with #Titmouse
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How the animation studio behind ‘Big Mouth' and ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks' stays independent
It's hard to say what exactly defines the kind of irreverent animated TV show Titmouse makes. But you kind of know one when you see one. The L.A.-based studio, founded 25 years ago by husband-and-wife team Chris and Shannon Prynoski, is responsible for a wide variety of cartoon hits: 'Metalocalypse,' the stoner-friendly Adult Swim death metal cult comedy that helped put them on the map; Netflix's 'Big Mouth,' which debuted its eighth and final season this year; and 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' for Paramount+. As the animation industry has gone through massive up-and-down swings, including the streaming wars and their brutal aftermath, the company's leaders say they've weathered the challenges and expanded their audience by staying independent. That has allowed them to experiment with new ideas. 'It's still a job, but we're a little more masters of our own domain,' said Chris Prynoski in a recent video interview. 'We can take a big risk and move fast.' Titmouse is launching a Dungeons & Dragons-esque table-top drinking and role-playing game, in addition to a merch and collectibles delivery box service called Churp, lines of business that echo the company's origins as a side project selling T-shirts. It turned its Hollywood warehouse into a black box theater to host live events. Titmouse has more than 700 employees — with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver — down from the streaming highs but still considerable. The company expanded its L.A. footprint to Burbank several years ago. The bold bets continue on the animation side as well, including on the acclaimed science-fiction series 'Scavengers Reign' (canceled at Max after one season). Prynoski points to a popular episode the company animated for the recent season of Blur Studio's Netflix anthology series 'Love Death + Robots.' The episode, 'How Zeke Got Religion,' follows a World War II bomber crew that encounters a demonic enemy during an attack on the Nazis. 'We don't have a house style, but we have a bit of a house sensibility,' Prynoski said. 'It's just finding that thing in there, and it could be anything, but a lot of it is tone, comedy or being able to animate it really well — something that feels like we can be additive and make it better.' This interview was edited for length and clarity. The animation business has been through numerous boom and bust cycles. Where is it now? Chris Prynoski, president and founder: When I graduated in '94 there were, like, three adult animated shows, and that was considered a boom. And now, if there were three shows, it would be considered like a tragedy, right? So I think it's kind of back to like average, or slightly above average, as opposed to like three or four years ago, where it was so incredibly crazily above average that we knew it wasn't gonna last forever. Ben Kalina, chief operating officer: We look at the number of shows that we have, and right now it feels very similar to 2018 or 2019. At that time, we were like, 'This is a lot of work.' Then 2020 was a noticeable increase, and '21 was through the roof in terms of the number of projects happening. If you talk to people in video games or live action, I think they're experiencing the same thing. Shannon Prynoski, co-founder and vice president: The streaming platforms were really new. Netflix needed stuff. Hulu. Amazon. They all came out and they all needed content, and now they're all coming down. Have you had offers to acquire Titmouse, or invest in it? C.P.: All the time. Depending on who it's coming from and what it is, we'll consider it. We just haven't ever pulled the trigger. Maybe someday, who knows. But not yet. So you've never taken outside funding, other than crowdfunding for certain individual projects? How did you grow the company? C.P.: We were a married couple that was living in a small apartment. Our apartment was $800 a month, so we didn't have to make a lot of money and we could take risks, and we took some big swings back then when, frankly, I didn't know any better. S.P.: I had to learn about business loans and stuff like that. I was able to get an SBA loan and figure that out. What was one of the biggest swings? C.P.: When I started, I knew I didn't know anything about business. Shannon convinced me to quit my gig at Cartoon Network, where I was a showrunner, and man, you just don't quit those kinds of jobs. But she was like, 'Hey, if you quit that and focus on Titmouse, that will be how we make a living.' So that was a big swing. What show was your big break? C.P.: 'Metalocalypse' was the thing that really established us. Having worked on other shows, like 'Daria' and 'Beavis and Butt-Head,' you kind of know when a show has that feeling and that vibe, like, this could very well be a hit. And it worked out really well that that was our first series. S.P.: Everyone had to roll their sleeves up and do everything. We all did multiple tasks because that's how it was. But I think when we got 'Turbo FAST' and 'Motorcity,' those really started to elevate us. C.P.: 'Motorcity' was a big one. We'd been doing shows for Adult Swim, MTV and BET and the smaller cable networks, and we would have been fine staying in that lane. But then I sold 'Motorcity' to Disney, and based on that, we did 'Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja,' and that attracted the attention of the other bigger players. Then DreamWorks Animation did their big deal with Netflix, and we got a considerable amount of work with them. B.K.: Netflix stepping up their animation production was obviously big. 'Big Mouth' was a big step up for us, because we'd been doing a lot of adult-oriented content, but we hadn't tapped into the broader prime-time-style comedy. Did 'Big Mouth' feel like it was going to be a game changer for you when it first came through the door? C.P.: Not initially. I knew it was going to be funny. And I thought I knew what it was going to be — like an even dirty version of 'Family Guy.' That was my perception. But when I first started going to the table reads, I was like, 'This show is going to be much, much more than dick jokes. There's something deeper and better.' S.P.: Netflix really promoted it too. C.P: It was a good time that we kind of hit, because they wanted to get more into this space, so they were willing to really market stuff in a way that is rare now that they have so many shows. When I think of Titmouse shows, I think of a lot of the guys I knew in college who were into video games, weed, heavy metal, 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek.' Has the audience expanded beyond that? S.P.: I think it has. 'Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld' was a great show about a female character, and we're doing a lot more female-run shows. Networks are opening up and saying, 'Oh, men and women will both watch these shows,' and that's been really helpful. And a lot of women are animating now, so it's a lot broader. People may not realize you've done some preschool material too, with 'Frog and Toad' on Apple TV+, for example, which is a coincidence because my kid is obsessed with those books. C.P.: There's an interesting story with 'Frog and Toad.' When you're developing the show, there's all the material from the books, but you have to expand it out. So the art director on that show did all the research on the area where the author grew up, and found that all the flora from the books was local. So they decided to research and only draw the plant life and vegetation from that area. What's the biggest risk out there for you? Is it AI? C.P.: This industry is full of risks. If you're looking for something safe, don't get into entertainment. It's not a blue-chip stock. It's so volatile and it always has been. We've always lived on that razor's edge of chaos. As far as AI goes, I don't know. We're not using it on any of our productions. We're always on the forefront of technology and trying to figure out that stuff, and even 'AI' is kind of a fuzzy word. Hopefully, there will be opportunities to use it as a tool at some point. To me, the most important technology we work with by far is talented artists. I don't ever want to get into a situation where we're supplanting that with a totally automated process. It was a rough weekend for Pixar as its latest film 'Elio' cratered at the domestic box office with $21 million in ticket sales, marking the Disney-owned studio's worst opening weekend to date. Despite pretty good reviews (84% on Rotten Tomatoes), the sci-fi tale underperformed Pixar's 2023 effort 'Elemental,' the previous holder of the dubious distinction with its $30-million debut. (The first 'Toy Story's' 1995 three-day opening weekend of $29 million doesn't count for a variety of reasons.) The movie is the most recent example of the challenges of releasing an original animated title into a fragmented marketplace dominated by established franchises. Pure misfires have included 'Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken' and 'Wish,' while 'Migration' and 'The Wild Robot' underwhelmed. Meanwhile, 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' and 'Inside Out 2' were massive hits. It's harder to market an original family movie, especially when a character like Sonic the Hedgehog has been building his fan base for decades. Disney is hoping that 'Elio' will follow in the footsteps of 'Elemental' and recover at the box office before it goes to video on-demand and Disney+. Next up: Apple is hoping to finally get a theatrical box-office hit with 'F1,' while Universal and Blumhouse's 'M3gan 2.0' looks to generate big sales. The highly expensive 'F1,' distributed by Warner Bros., is expected to debut with around $40 million domestically, though there are much higher projections out there. The 'M3gan' horror sequel is likely to open with close to $20 million. Watch: Mike Birbiglia's latest special for Netflix, 'The Good Life.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Love, Death & Robots Aired A Great Episode Recently (But It's Not Enough To Redeem Season 4)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. SPOILER WARNING: The following article may contain a few light spoilers for Love, Death & Robots Season 4. So, if you have not used your Netflix subscription to catch up on this latest batch of weird, wild animated shorts, do not say I did not warn you if you continue to read on. I am a huge fan of anthology TV shows, and one of my all-time favorites is Love, Death & Robots. From creator Tim Miller and co-executive producer David Fincher, the Emmy-winning, Netflix animated series for adults is a collection of short sci-fi/fantasy films, typically no longer than 15 minutes, boasting mind-blowing, highly inventive stories and out-of-this-world beautiful animation. However, I hate to admit that I would not quite say that about Love, Death & Robots Season 4 (billed as Vol. 4), which is easily the series' weakest collection of films so far, in my personal opinion. Luckily, there was one bright spot among the largely disappointing experience I had this time around. In fact, I'll start by singing my praises for that episode before I get into my reservations about the season overall. Director Diego Porral's "How Zeke Got Religion' is based on John McNichol's short story of the same name. It follows a group of World War II-era pilots, one of whom, named Zeke (Keston John), is unlike the rest by being a staunch atheist. However, he begins to question his certainties when his crew's plane is attacked by a monstrous demon conjured straight from Hell by the Nazis. Love, Death & Robots is not quite a horror anthology TV show, but it has been known to scare in some episodes, and 'Zeke' is a great example of that for its traumatically graphic violence, cleverly juxtaposed with gorgeous animation from the studio Titmouse. What really takes the creature feature over the edge for me is its message about the benefit of second-guessing your beliefs, or lack thereof, and acknowledging the secrets of the universe that we, as humans, cannot confidently understand. I can't say I would call it one of the all-time best Love, Death & Robots episodes yet, but it's easily my favorite from Season 4, especially in comparison to the rest. To be clear, I do not believe Love, Death & Robots Season 4 is a complete dud, and not just counting 'Zeke.' For instance, I found director Jennifer Yuh Nelson's 'Spider Rose' quite touching, especially as a devoted pet owner, and the Tim Miller-directed 'The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur' was a decent, futuristic chase flick. However, even those bear the same problem I have with the shorts I do not care for. As far as I am concerned, the majority of installments in this volume suffer from weak executions of decent concepts or weak executions of weak concepts. I have always praised the show for consistently having story ideas that I could only dream of coming up with on my own, and animation styles unlike anything I have ever seen. Season 4, for the most part, offers very little that is refreshing in the animation department, in my opinion, which is a shame because that could have redeemed some of these shorts from their relatively unremarkable plots. Patrick Osborne's 'The Other Large Thing' has a cute concept of a cat achieving world domination with a robotic assistant's help, but it ultimately felt like a setup for a joke with a weak punchline. I was even more disappointed by Miller's live-action short, 'Golgotha,' which is about a priest (Rhys Darby) meeting with an extraterrestrial, that I feel does not fully live up to its potential in its 10-minute runtime, especially with its abrupt conclusion. I was also excited about the star-studded, stop-animation comedy 'Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners,' in which tech products complain about the humans who use them, but it was not nearly as funny to me as it clearly tried to be. The first short in this latest collection had me invested from the beginning. An animated recreation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing 'Can't Stop' live, and from none other than David Fincher at the helm? Hell yes! However, it ended up being a little underwhelming, since it is really nothing more than a short concert doc that replaces humans with CGI marionettes. Sure, I had fun with it, but I didn't think it was anything special like what Love, Death & Robots has been capable of presenting before. It is certainly cool to see Fincher return to his roots as a music video director, but I suppose I was hoping for something more from the man who directed what I believe is the absolute best episode of this anthology series, Season 3's "Bad Traveling." You know, I have rewatched some of the series' older shorts and ended up liking many of them more a second time. So, perhaps I should try to stream Love, Death & Robots Season 4 on Netflix again at some point and see how I feel then. However, there are still a few installments I might skip.
Business Upturn
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
Is Big Mouth season 8 releasing in May 2025? Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on May 7, 2025, 18:30 IST Last updated May 7, 2025, 12:26 IST The Emmy-winning animated comedy Big Mouth has been a staple on Netflix since its debut in 2017, tackling the awkwardness of puberty with humor and heart. As fans eagerly await the final chapter, Season 8 promises to wrap up the stories of Nick, Andrew, Jessi, and their hormone monsters. Here's everything we know about Big Mouth Season 8. Big Mouth Season 8 Release Date: Confirmed for May 2025 Netflix has officially announced that Big Mouth Season 8 will premiere on May 23, 2025. This marks a shift from the show's traditional fall release schedule, making it a spring event for fans. The final season will consist of 10 episodes, bringing the total episode count to 81, cementing Big Mouth as Netflix's longest-running scripted original series (excluding kids and family programming). The release date was confirmed alongside Netflix's lineup reveal at the Annecy Festival 2024, with additional details shared in March 2025. Fans can mark their calendars for May 23, which also coincides with the 25th anniversary of animation studio Titmouse. Big Mouth Season 8 Cast The core voice cast of Big Mouth will return for Season 8, bringing back the beloved characters fans have followed for years. The main cast includes: Nick Kroll as Nick Birch, Maury the Hormone Monster, and multiple roles John Mulaney as Andrew Glouberman Jessi Klein as Jessi Glaser Jason Mantzoukas as Jay Bilzerian Ayo Edebiri as Missy Foreman-Greenwald Maya Rudolph as Connie the Hormone Monstress Fred Armisen as Elliot Birch Jordan Peele as The Ghost of Duke Ellington Andrew Rannells as Matthew MacDell What to Expect from Big Mouth Season 8 Big Mouth Season 8 will follow the Bridgeton teens as they navigate the challenges of high school, building on the events of Season 7, which saw Nick and Andrew attending different schools and Jessi exploring her identity. The new season promises to balance the show's signature raunchy humor with poignant moments, delivering a heartfelt farewell to the characters. Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
