Cartuna

Cartuna

Industry	Animation, Television production, Film production
Founded	April 27, 2015; 9 years ago (April 27, 2015)
Founders	James Belfer, Founder and CEO Adam Belfer, Founder and COO
Headquarters	Brooklyn, New York , United States
Number of employees	6
Website	Official website

Cartuna is a Brooklyn-based animation production company that has made animated TV shows for Syfy, Comedy Central and Facebook Watch. The company has producers, all of which have their own unique style.^[1][2]

History

The company was founded in May 2015 in Bushwick, Brooklyn by James Belfer and Adam Belfer, viewing a perceived gap in the market for adult animation for digital and mobile audiences that they could fill.^[3] The Studio would produce the animation for the documentary film NUTS! in 2016, which won a Special Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.^[4] Later, the company would expand into making animated series releasing the web series like Dogs in A Park.^[5] In 2018, the company would increase production making the shows Human Kind Of and Liverspots and Astronots for Facebook Watch and Alan & Elle for IFC.^[6][7][8] In 2019, the company would release its first feature, titled Film Tux and Fanny.^[9] More recently, Cartuna partnered with Syfy to produce shows for its TZGZ block, specifically Science! in 2019 and Magical Girl Friendship Squad in 2020,^[10] along with the associated pilot series released the same year, Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins.^[11] Cartuna would also be responsible for work on Loafy, a series of animated shorts which aired on Comedy Central.^[2][12]

In September 2020, in an interview, Kelsey Stephanides, creator of Magical Girl Friendship Squad, argued that her show would have been "totally different" if another studio produced it.^[1] Cartuna worked with over 100 artists on the series.^[13] The animation was done on Adobe Animate, the backgrounds done in Adobe Photoshop, and character design done in both.^[14] Five years earlier, while in school at New York University, studying Media, Culture and Communications, Stephanides, a fan of the magical girl genre, came up with the idea for the show and was convinced by Belfer, a professor at the same school,^[a] to pitch it to Cartuna.^[15] After that, production on the series began, meant to be a "short-form pitch to networks," and it was pitched around for years until 2019, when SYFY picked it up, wanting to reboot it, polish it more, and have longer episodes, leading to the creation of the main show, Magical Girl Friendship Squad, itself.

Also in September 2020, Cartuna picked a new Senior-Vice President named Mike Flavin, who formerly worked at Gunpowder & Sky, an independent studio owned by WarnerMedia. Belfer was quoted as saying that they were "doubling down" on development, adding that animation is a medium, rather than a genre, and noted Flavin's experience "from live-action development," allowing them to expand adult animation in the future.^[16]

In November 2020 it was announced that Cartuna would be collaborating with Doing Things Media on a IGTV series titled Office Fire.^[2]

In 2024, Cartuna launched a Blu-ray distribution label focused on animation, puppetry, DIY art, and alt-comedy.^[17] Films titles released are NUTS!, Adam Green's Aladdin and Hundreds of Beavers.^[18]

Films

Year	Film	Distributor	Directed By	Festivals	Accolades
2016	NUTS!	Amazon Studios	Penny Lane	2016 Sundance Film Festival (premiere), Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam	2016 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize[19]
	Just Add Water: The Story of the Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys (short)	CNN, Great Big Story	Penny Lane
2019	Tux and Fanny		Albert Birney	2019 Ottawa International Animation Festival (premiere)	The New Yorker Best Movies of 2019[20]
	Under Covers (short)		Michaela Olsen	2019 Sundance Film Festival (premiere), Ottawa International Animation Festival, AFI Film Festival
	Nellie Bly Makes the News (short)	Reveal News	Penny Lane
2020	Blackheads		Emily Ann Hoffman	2020 South by Southwest
2021	Strawberry Mansion	Music Box Films	Albert Birney, Kentucker Audley	2021 Sundance Film Festival (premiere)
2025	OBEX		Albert Birney	2025 Sundance Film Festival (premiere)
TBD	The Adventures of Drunky[21]		Aaron Augenblick

Television

Year	Series	Network	Creator(s)	Accolades
2017	Dogs In A Park	Comcast Watchable, IFC[22]	Daniel Shepard Keith Shepard
2018	Human Kind Of	Facebook Watch	Diana McCorry[b]	Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production,[23] New York Comic Con[24]
	Liverspots and Astronots	Facebook Watch	Nate Milton, Rob Bohn	New York Comic Con[24]
	Tammy's Tiny Tea Time		Peter Gulsvig	2018 Sundance Film Festival (premiere)[25]
	Alan & Elle[26]	IFC
2018	Museum of Human History	Topic Studios	Daniel Shepard
2019	How 8chan Became The Worst Place on The Internet[27]	HBO, Vice News Tonight	Elle Reeve
	Science![28]	Syfy	Neal Holman
2020	Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins[28]	Syfy	Kelsey Stephanides
	Magical Girl Friendship Squad[28]	Syfy	Kelsey Stephanides
	Desus & Mero	Showtime	Desus Nice, The Kid Mero
	Loafy[12]	Comedy Central	Bobby Moynihan
	The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	NBC
	Office Fire	IGTV	Doing Things Media
2021	Office Ladies Animated Series	Comedy Central	Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey
	Ziwe	Showtime	Ziwe Fumudoh
	Winner Winner Dinner Dinner	Snap Originals	Freeman Freeman

Music videos

Year	Artists	Song	Label
2016	Mustard, Nicki Minaj, Jeremih	Don't Hurt Me[29]	Roc Nation
2020	Rotimi, Wale	In My Bed	EMPIRE
	Preme, Popcaan, Davido	Comfortable	EMPIRE
2024	Will Smith, Joyner Lucas	TANTRUM[30]

Notes

1. Belfer is currently an adjunct professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, teaching strategies for independent filmmaking to undergraduates in Film & Television.
2. McCorry would later work on the pilot series for Magical Girl Friendship Squad, titled Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins.

References

1. Stephanides, Kelsey (September 23, 2020). "Magical Girl Friendship Squad's Anna Akana on What Drew Her to the Show" (Online). Interviewed by Tim Brinkof. BubbleBlabber. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
2. AWN Staff Editor (November 5, 2020). "Riffing on Memes: Doing Things Media's 'Office Fire' Now on IGTV". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
3. "About". Cartuna. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
4. "'NUTS!' — a story of transplanted testicles, and more — comes to New Haven". New Haven Register. July 14, 2016. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
5. Shepard, Keith. "Dogs in a Park". Official website of Keith Shepard. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2020. This is the website of the co-creator of the series.
6. Wolfe, Jennifer (September 17, 2018). "Cartuna's 'Human Kind Of' Debuts on Facebook Watch". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
7. Amidi, Amid (September 17, 2018). "Cartuna Is Launching 2 Original Animated Series On Facebook Watch". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
8. ul-Haq, Farid (September 14, 2018). "Facebook Watch Debuting Two New Adult Animated Comedy Series "Human Kind Of" & "Liverspots and Astronots"". The Geekiary. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
9. Brody, Richard. "What to Stream: "Tux and Fanny," Albert Birney's Boldly Imaginative Instagram Animation". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
10. Petski, Denise (August 20, 2020). "'Magical Girl Friendship Squad' & 'Wild Life' Get Premiere Dates On Syfy's TZGZ Adult Animation Block". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
11. Petski, Denise (May 13, 2020). "'Magical Girl Friendship Squad': Quinta Brunson & Anna Akana Lead Ensemble Cast Of Syfy's TZGZ Anime-Inspired Comedy". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
12. Salkowitz, Rob (August 7, 2020). "Bobby Moynihan's 'Loafy' Generates A Nice Buzz On Comedy Central's Digital Platforms". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
13. Cartuna (September 25, 2020). "✨Magical Girl Friendship Squad✨debuts on @syfy this Saturday at midnight. We worked with a crew of over 100 artists during a pandemic to make this special series. Tune in on @tzgz_syfy!". Instagram. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
14. Zahed, Ramin (October 1, 2020). "SYFY TZGZ: A New Home for Grown-Up Animation". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
15. Stephanides, Kelsey (September 21, 2020). "INTERVIEW: Kelsey Stephanides Invite You To Join "Magical Girl Friendship Squad"" (Online). Interviewed by Jackson Murphy. Animation Scoop. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
16. Pederson, Erik (September 25, 2020). "Toon Studio Cartuna Sets Mike Flavin As SVP, Head Of Development". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
17. "Cartuna". Vinegar Syndrome. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
18. Welk, Brian (November 25, 2024). "Indie Slapstick Hit 'Hundreds of Beavers' Reveals Details for Special Edition Blu-ray Release". IndieWire. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
19. "Sundance Institute Announces Feature Film Awards For 2016 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance Institute. January 31, 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
20. Brody, Richard (December 4, 2019). "The Best Movies of 2019". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on August 26, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
21. Busch, Anita (January 14, 2016). "God v. Devil v. 'Drunky' In New R-Rated Animated Feature". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
22. "Dogs in the Park". IFC. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
23. "Best Animated Short Subject - Annie Awards: 'Incredibles 2,' 'Ralph' Lead Feature Nominees; 'Mary Poppins Returns' Also Nominated". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
24. Amidi, Amid (September 17, 2018). "Cartuna Is Launching 2 Original Animated Series On Facebook Watch". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
25. "Sundance Institute Announces Indie Episodic, Shorts &Special Event Selections for 2018 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance Institute. December 4, 2017. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
26. "Alan and Elle". IFC. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
27. Reeve, Elle (September 5, 2019). "How 8chan Was Born — and Became the Worst Place on the Internet". Vice. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
28. Andreeva, Nellie (January 17, 2020). "Syfy Ramps Up Animation Push With First Original Series & Pilot Orders For New TZGZ Block". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
29. Havens, Lyndsey (August 19, 2016). "DJ Mustard Shares Animated 'Don't Hurt Me' Video". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020. Brooklyn based animation company Cartuna produced the video, which was animated and directed by Tasmanian native Felix Colgrave.
30. Zemler, Emily (December 13, 2024). "Will Smith, Joyner Lucas Team Up For Fast-Talking Single 'TANTRUM'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 19, 2024. The duo dropped the single alongside an animated music video created by Cartuna and directed by Lucas and Matthew Bordenave.