Animation studios Blue Zoo & Plug-In Media join forces to create a regional powerhouse of creativity
Skwigly
BAFTA-winning studios, Blue Zoo and Plug-In Media, combine to form a new venture that will change the game for the animation industry in the South of England. The studio kicks off with greenlight for two major pre-school series and other projects waiting in the pipeline. Blue Zoo recently won the Daytime Emmy for Best Animated Pre-School Show for The Adventures of Paddington and is currently working on 7 productions remotely. Having doubled its staff in the last year, Blue Zoo will continue its expansion onto the south coast with a regional hub in Brighton. Brighton-based Plug-In Media has long-established expertise in creating multi-platform content across broadcast, interactive, and Youtube, as well as being creators of BAFTA-winning original IP, Tee and Mo. The two studios first worked together in 2010 and this new collaboration brings together nearly 40 years of combined experience to continue to produce outstanding animation, as well as innovative new content.
To begin this exciting new venture, the studios have won a commission for a 52-episode 2D pre-school action-comedy series for a major public broadcaster. Recruitment has started on the show, which goes into production later this summer, creating new jobs and widening the animation talent pool in the South of England. Committed to a new hybrid working model between remote and in-studio working, Blue Zoo is thrilled to expand out of London and begin to offer roles across a regional spread, so staff have the flexibility to work in an office where it suits them. This marks the beginning of an exciting new era where Blue Zoo and Plug-In Media will unify to strengthen the UK animation industry, whilst embracing new models of hybrid working, brought about by the pandemic.
Adam Shaw, Co-founder of Blue Zoo and Co-director on The Adventures of Paddington says, “Blue Zoo has been talking about creating regional hubs for a while. When the opportunity arose to build a studio with our admired friends at Plug-In in Brighton, we leapt on it. The next step is to grow the studio, so if you are a talented creative working in either 2D or 3D animation, want to live in the Brighton area and start this incredible journey with us, get in touch.”
Juliet Tzabar, CEO and Owner of Plug-In Media, says, “Plug-In Media is thrilled to be working more closely with Blue Zoo as well as to widen opportunities for animation professionals in the South of England. The partnership between our companies is founded on shared values, and the opportunity to build on our combined strengths in long-form, short-form, and interactive children’s production, is one that we’re super excited about, and which we hope will take the South Coast by storm!”