Toonstar, an L.A.-based animation studio that has been embracing the use of AI in its production pipeline, is signing with the agency WME in a sign of its ambitions to expand its slate of tech-assisted titles.
As part of the partnership, the studio behind YouTube’s StEvEn & Parker and Snapchat’s Storytoons is set to work with WME on developing a number of new animated series driven by creators as well as on bringing their shows to different platforms and developing ways to monetize intellectual property.
“From the creative side, [the partnership] gives us access to world-class talent,” said CEO and co-founder John Attanasio in a recent interview. “From the commercial side, as we launch these projects with talent from WME and start to scale the projects, I think they present a lot of opportunity — whether it’s taking a series to a streamer, taking it longer form [or] different ways to monetize the IP, which could be through merch, publishing, brands, sponsorships.”
The first project that Toonstar and WME will roll out is an animated series produced in collaboration with Malaysian comedian and YouTuber Nigel Ng, expanding his viral “Uncle Roger” character. Ng will co-create and voice the new series, which will expand the world of “Uncle Roger,” a middle-aged Asian man with searing takes on recipes.
“Expanding Uncle Roger’s storytelling possibilities through animation is something I’ve long dreamed about,” said Ng, who boasts more than 10 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and has a chain of restaurants in Southeast Asia. He added in a statement that Toonstar will “help me, someone who can’t draw at all, animate Uncle Roger and bring him to life in a whole new way.”
Toonstar, with around 20 employees based in downtown L.A., touts an “ethical” use of AI. The company creates a bespoke AI engine for each show it produces that is trained on art created expressly for that project. That engine can then produce a “first draft” of art that designers can work off of, said COO and co-founder Luisa Huang.
The technology is also used to create breakdowns of scripts, sync animated lips to dialogue, produce voice dubs and analyze viewer data. “We designed [the tech-assisted process] to be in service of the creation of content. And copyright compliance and trademark compliance is at the center,” added Huang.
Many rank-and-file animation workers treat generative AI with a good deal of suspicion, and for good reason. AI is expected to upend the animation production process, with one 2024 survey of entertainment executives estimating that more than 200,000 animation jobs will be negatively impacted by the technology by 2027. All of this is happening as more of the animation production pipeline is being outsourced to other countries like Canada and Australia.
But with the WME deal, Attanasio and Huang maintain that they’ll be able to scale an approach that will give more life to domestic production and, therefore, open up opportunities for creatives. “All of this is really [for] the goal of unlocking opportunities for creators that are getting fewer and fewer in Hollywood today,” said Attanasio, who says the tech-assisted studio can remove barriers to entry for people who couldn’t otherwise get a green light on an animated project. “We need to make more things instead of make fewer things.”