Titmouse Studios was founded in 1999 as a T-shirt company and later moved into animation. Since then, it has now become a leader in modern animation, becoming the largest independent studio in North America and one of the most recognized in the world, with a reputation for excellence.
We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with the founder/president of Titmouse Studios during New York Comic Con Chris Prenowski and chief operating officer I’m Karina. Our discussion touches on some of the studio’s past projects and brand identity, as well as the current state of the animation industry.
Taimur Dar: A few years ago, when I was at the press conference for Season 1 sound machineI told the team how I pass my favorite Adult Swim events like integrated analysis. Obviously, you’re still working on various adult animated series, but Titmouse Studios has cultivated such a diverse range of projects over the past 25 years. How would you describe the studio’s brand and identity?
Chris Prenoski: we like [what] We thought it was cool and we could dig into it. We don’t have the style of home. We have more sensitivity to the house. We try to think if there’s comedy, design, or animation that we could delve into. Or maybe all three on any given project. If we think we can do it, then we’ll do it.
Ben Kalina: This is something we think is interesting. I see a lot of other people trying to do the same thing or add the same thing to every project. I think it’s a bit boring.
Dahl: Chris, most people who are familiar with your career know that you got your start working for Mike Judge Beavis and Butthead In the 1990s. There was a revival about ten years ago, but you were not involved in it.
Prenoski: We informally helped resolve this issue. They encountered some problems. When they were having difficulty, we did some recording and editing. But we are not a studio. I really like this new one. I think this is one of the best iterations ever because it goes into some weird territory and new territory. Sorry, I started talking before you finished asking your question. [Laughs].
Dahl: I just wanted to ask, what was it like being around Mike Judge?
Prenoski: I keep in touch with Mike. We do a project every once in a while. happy to do this Beavis and Butthead again. I think their commentary angle is really interesting and perfect for them. [It’s] Stupid character reviews written by smart people influencers.
Dar: Ben, I’m curious how you got started at Titmouse Studios?
Karina: I started sixteen years ago. I worked at Warner Bros. for a long time. Warner Bros. is great and you can keep up the good work Bruce Timm and DC stuff. I grew up watching that and it was awesome. but i try to do something different. Andy SurianoHe, who had produced the pilot for Plastic Man, urged me to meet Chris. At the time, they were trying to make more digital cartoons. They were one of the first digital studios at the time. That’s what I wanted to do at Warner Bros., so I left and came to Titmouse.
Dar: I think it’s obvious in your twenty-five years at Titmouse Studios that there are people you enjoy working with, whether they’re actors, animators, or producers. For example, something like this Turbo fast You have people like voiceover director Andrea Romano or actor Reid Scott who have worked on past projects like car city. But there are other players you wouldn’t expect in a children’s cartoon, like Tommy Blacha or Brendan Small.
Prenoski: turbine Has the largest Adult Swim-adjacent cast of any children’s show, e.g. Christopher McCulloch, Dave Willis, Brendan Small, Tommy Bracha, Dana Snyder, Brian Posehn. All these adult swimmers are on this weird kid’s show. If you’re watching a children’s cartoon on Netflix when it comes out, you can’t avoid it. But these new streaming cartoons fade away so quickly.
Dahl: That actually fits my next question perfectly. It goes without saying that this is a very unstable time for media in general, but animation in particular. While it’s truly an amazing creative time for animation, there’s no denying that there’s some concern in the industry with all of these animated projects being shelved or purged from streaming services. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the current state of the industry.
Prenoski: I’ve been into this for a long time Beavis and Butthead Back in 1994, I had a lot of ups and downs. Prior to the early/mid 1990s, the animation industry went through a huge decline. Then there was a craze in the 1990s beauty and the beast. Fox opened a big studio in Arizona where all this work was happening. Then it all went away and there was a serious downturn. In the early 2000s, especially after 9/11, the workload was not huge. Then there was a resurgence. Then came the financial crisis, and the economy fell into another downturn. It has seen a resurgence with the streaming craze that started around 2018/2019. It’s being completed around 2022, which I think is the biggest boom in animation history. I think it’s back to where it was about ten years ago.
That’s not a good thing, especially for those who entered the industry during the boom. But the situation is not as bad as it was historically. What I’m looking at now is probably somewhere in the middle. For someone who doesn’t have a lot of industry experience, I can understand. A show you produced was released on a streaming service, then was removed and is no longer available. the way i’m used to [it]when your show goes off the air, you can no longer see it. It’s not that bad. It’s not great, but it’s not that bad either. What I’m saying is, keep your head up and keep a positive attitude. In the past five years, it has been so great that people have become accustomed to its greatness. Now it’s more of a middle ground.
Karina: It’s picking up a bit now. At least from our perspective what we see [is] The adult market is good. A year ago, sales of adult programming were very low due to a writers’ strike. Children’s programming was pretty good a year ago. There are no children’s programs yet.
Prenoski: I do think there is a huge focus on intellectual property. You can do some cool things with IP. Originality is always great, but of course it has to be original to be the next IP. But stuff like Ninja Turtles is cool too. We are currently working on a [Tales of the TMNT].
Dar: As you mentioned, streaming has really changed the game. As many people besides myself have pointed out, the number of episodes per season is shorter than before, sometimes all at once, rather than being released weekly. I feel like in order to keep the momentum of the show going, you need a segment release. What are your thoughts?
Prenoski: I love releasing them in episodes. I wish everyone would post episodes. Since everything was dropped off on the same day, I got it for convenience. But with shows like this Star Wars: Lower Decksit’s great to have it dropping every week. even with sound machine Three games per week. same thing with Scavenger Rule. When it launches on Max, three episodes will be available per week. There is a conversation. I know it’s difficult because there are so many layers of work that go into getting someone on a streaming service. But there are also those who want these shows to be successful. Originally they planned to give four drops and three drops [episodes]. We asked them to give three drops and four drops [episodes] Because we have a big cliffhanger in the middle of episode six, and it would be weird to be buried in the middle of a run. They listened. Sometimes it works.
Dahl: I’m sure you’re familiar with swirl This is an animation co-produced by Production IG USA and Adult Swim. The second episode caused some controversy due to the drop in animation quality. I’m usually hesitant to slam anything because I have no doubt that everyone is trying to make the best product possible. But at the same time, you can’t ignore real and valid criticism. How do you maintain the quality of animation at Titmouse Studios?
Prenoski: It’s hard and I feel for them. Interviewed Jason DeMarco About that. I’m sure he has a lot to say about that! I saw this early in my career. This is a deep hurt from long ago. One of the first shows I did at MTV was head Created by: Eric Fogel who continues to create celebrity death match. [The Head] It’s more like a ridiculous show. I don’t think it found a wide audience because it was so weird. It was meant to be paired with a file called Max. This is the first show at Rough Draft Studios. It took them a year to finish the first episode, and we finished thirteen episodes in the same amount of time. I get it. That show is really complex. But they were on a path to never delivering that season. Therefore, MTV’s producers sent an elite team of four layout staff from MTV headquarters to Rough Draft to layout episodes 3 to 13 within two months. guys like Edward Attinian and Otis Brayboy. You will notice a huge drop in quality Max. It’s not that those artists are less talented, it’s that they have this directive: “You guys are going to go out and wrap it up.” That’s what happens with this show sometimes. I just relied on planning things to make sure this didn’t happen.
Karina: I won’t get too technical. Animation takes a long time, so any little thing up front will affect everything behind. You spend too much time up front and you’re going to have to lose it somewhere. This is the hardest thing. We try to keep an eye on it. A few years ago, we were on a project in New York and we had a producer who was involved in a project that was in trouble. She is experienced in her career and knows how to get the job done on time. We said, “It has to be done on time and it has to be good.” She said, “No one told me it has to still be good. Well, I can do that.
Prenoski: Some manufacturers are retooling and the industry has been telling them for years to get it done. This is a brand. This is not original. But we still want what we do for the brand to be as good as possible.
Karina: On many shows, we may not be making the best internal business decisions that benefit the creative. But because we loved the animation so much and wanted it to turn out well, we took some risks.
Dar: Finally, is there anything you would like to introduce to fans of Titmouse Studios?
Prenoski: Star Wars: Lower Decks This Thursday. sound machine Season 3. But you can play if you’re sober. There are a set of rules for sobriety. If you like weird old fashioned RPGs, you’ll probably like this. Andy Suriano, who introduced us, has a Kickstarter project called lose company. It’s a comic and role-playing game.
Missed any Comic-Con news? Check out the rest of The Beat’s NYCC ’24 coverage here
