Originally started as a T-shirt company back in 1999, Titmouse Studios shifted to animation. Since then, it’s now become a leader in the modern animation as the largest independent studio in North America and one of the most-well known in the world with a reputation for excellence.
During New York Comic Con, we had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Titmouse Studios founder/president Chris Prynoski and chief operating officer Ben Kalina. Our discussion touched upon 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 participated in a press junket for the first season of Vox MachinaI told the team how I first became aware of Titmouse Studios through my favorite Adult Swim programs like Metalocalypse. Obviously, you still work on various adult animated series, but Titmouse Studios has cultivated such a variety of projects over these last twenty-five years. How would you describe the studio’s brand and identity?
Chris Prynoski: We like [what] that we think is cool and can dig our teeth into. We don’t have a house style. We have more of a house sensibility. We try to think if there’s a comedy or design or animation thing we can dig into. Or maybe all three in any given project. If we think we can do it, then we do it.
Ben Kalina: It’s stuff we think is interesting. I see a lot of other people try to do the same thing or add the same thing to each project. I think that makes it kind of boring.
Dar: Chris, most people familiar with your career know you got your start working on Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butthead in the ’90s. There was a revival about a decade ago which you weren’t involved in.
Prynoski: We helped with that one unofficially. They had some problems. We did some records and editing when they were in a pinch. But we weren’t the studio. I really like this new one. I think it’s one of the best iterations of it ever because it goes into some weird areas and new territory. I’m sorry, I started talking before you finished your question. [Laughs].
Dar: I was just going to ask, how does it feel to come circle with Mike Judge?
Prynoski: I always kept in touch with Mike. We worked on a project every once in a while. It’s great to get to do Beavis & Butthead again. I think the angle they’re taking with the commentary is so fun and perfect for them. [It’s] dumb characters written by smart people commenting on influencers.
Dar: Ben, I’m curious how you first got involved with Titmouse Studios?
Kalina: I started sixteen years ago. I was at Warner Bros. for a long time. Warner Bros. is great, and you get to work on Bruce Timm and DC stuff. I grew up watching all that and that was awesome. But I was trying to do things a little bit different. Andy Surianowho did a pilot based on Plastic Man, pushed me to meet with Chris. At that time, they were trying to do more cartoons digitally. They were one of the first digital studios back then. That was what I was trying to do over at Warner Bros., so I left and came over to Titmouse.
Dar: I think it’s clear during the twenty-five years of Titmouse Studios that there are people you like working with whether they are actors, animators, or producers. For instance, with something like Turbo Fast you had people like voice director Andrea Romano or actor Reid Scott who were involved in past projects like motorcity. But then you also have other players you wouldn’t expect in a kids cartoon like Tommy Blacha or Brendan Small.
Prynoski: Turbo has the most Adult Swim adjacent cast of any kids show like Christopher McCulloch, Dave Willis, Brendan Small, Tommy Blacha, Dana Snyder, Brian Posehn. All these Adult Swim guys are all in this weird kids show. If you were watching Netflix kids cartoons when it came out, you couldn’t avoid it. But it’s so fast how these new streaming cartoons dissipate into the ether.
Dar: That actually follows perfectly into my next question. It goes without saying that it’s a very fluid time for media as a whole but most especially animation. While it’s certainly been an amazing time creatively for animation, there’s no denying some apprehension in the industry with all of these animated projects being shelved or purged from streaming services. I would love to get your opinion on the current state of the industry.
Prynoski: I’ve been in it a long time with Beavis & Butthead back in 1994. I’ve seen a bunch of ups and downs. Before the early/mid-90’s there was a huge downswing in animation. Then there was a boom in the ’90s on the back of Beauty & the Beast. Fox started a big studio in Arizona and there were all these jobs. And then it all went away and there was a big downturn. In the early 2000’s, especially after 9/11, there was not a lot of work. Then there was a resurgence. Then there was the financial crisis and a downturn again. It built its way back up with this peak streaming boom that started around 2018/2019. It finished around 2022, the biggest boom I think animation has ever seen. I think it’s gone back to what it was about ten years ago.
It’s not great, especially for those who’ve entered the industry during that boom. But it’s not as bad as historically it’s been. It’s probably about the middle right now is where I see it. People who don’t have as much experience in the industry, I get it. A show that you worked on was on a streaming service and then it gets taken down and it’s not available anymore. The way I was used to [it]when your show went off the air there was no way to see it ever again. It’s not that bad. It’s not great, but it’s not that bad. I would say keep your head up and keep the positive attitude. It was just so great for the past five years that people got used to how great it was. It’s more of a middle ground now.
Kalina: It’s ticking up a little now. What we see at least from our point of view [is] the adult market is good. A year ago, adult shows were very low due to the writers strike. Kids shows were fine a year ago. Now kids shows are not at the moment.
Prynoski: I do think there’s a huge focus on IP. You can do cool stuff with IP. Originals are always great but there has to be originals to be the next IP of course. But it’s also cool with something like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We’re working on the current one [Tales of the TMNT].
Dar: As you mentioned, streaming has definitely changed the game. As many besides me have noted, the number of episodes of seasons are shorter than they used to be and sometimes drop all at once as opposed to a weekly release. I feel like in order to keep a show’s momentum going you need an episodic release. Your thoughts?
Prynoski: I love an episodic release. I wish everyone would do an episodic release. With everything being dropped on the same day, I get it for convenience. But with shows like Star Trek: Lower Decksit’s great to have this weekly drop. Even with Vox Machina where it’s three every week. Same thing with Scavengers Reign. When it was launched on Max it was three episodes a week. There is a dialogue. I know it’s hard because there are all these levels to get to the people at the streaming services. But there are people who want these shows to succeed too. Originally, they were going to do three drops of four [episodes]. We asked them to do four drops of three [episodes] because our midpoint episode six is a big cliffhanger and it would be weird to be buried in the middle of a run. And they listened. Sometimes it works.
Dar: I’m sure you’re familiar with the Uzumaki anime that was a co-production between Production IG USA and Adult Swim. There was a bit of controversy with the second episode due to the drop in animation quality. I’m usually hesitant to try anything because I have no doubt how hard everyone works to make the best product possible. But at the same time, you can’t ignore genuine and valid criticism. How do you keep up the animation quality at Titmouse Studios.
Prynoski: It’s tough and I feel for them. Do an interview with Jason DeMarco about that. I’m sure he has a lot to talk about on that! I saw that early in my career. Here’s a deep cut from the long past. One of the first shows I worked on at MTV was The Head created by Eric Fogel who went on to create Celebrity Death Match. [The Head] It was much more of an absurdist show. I don’t think it found a broad audience because it was so weird. It was meant to be paired with a show called The Maxx. It was Rough Draft Studios’ first show. They took a year to deliver that first episode when we got thirteen episodes done in that same amount of time. I get it. That show was really complicated. But they were on that path of never being able to deliver that season. So, the producer of MTV sent a crack team of four layout guys from MTV headquarters out to Rough Draft to layout episodes 3-13 in two months. Guys like Edward Artinian and Otis Brayboy. You will see that there is a huge dip in quality in The Maxx. It’s not that those artists were less talented, but they had this directive, “You guys are going out there to wrap it up.” That’s what happens sometimes with this show. I just read on Ben to plan stuff to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Kalina: I won’t get too technical. Animation takes so long, so any little things at the front affect every single thing after it. You spend too much time up front, you’re going to have to lose it somewhere. It’s the hardest thing. We try to keep an eye on it. One of our projects in New York years ago, we had a producer who came in on a troubled project. She had been very experienced in her career and knew how to get it done on time. We said, “It has to be done on time but also good.” She was like, “No one’s told me that it has to be good still. Okay, I can do this.”
Prynoski: There’s a reset with some producers where they’ve been told by the industry for several years to just get it done. This was a brand. It wasn’t an original. But we still want to make stuff we do for brands as good as they can possibly be.
Kalina: There’s a number of shows where we’ve maybe not made the best internal business decisions in favor of the creative. But because we like animation so much and want it to be good at the end of the day, we’ve taken a few risks.
Dar: Finally, anything you want to plug for fans of Titmouse Studios?
Prynoski: Star Trek: Lower Decks this Thursday. Vox Machina season 3. Also our backerkit campaign for Drunkards, Druggies, & Delinquentsrole drinking game. But you can also play if you’re sober. There’s a sober rules set. If you like weirdo old school role-playing games this something you might enjoy. Andy Suriano, the guy who introduced us, has a Kickstarter called Lost Company. It’s a comic and role-playing game.
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