1994…

    Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O’Connell drop out of college; borrow £2,000 and found Brown Bag Films. We produce our first series for RTÉ, a satire on Ireland’s notorious author Peig. This is produced with hand-painted cels and shot on 35mm film.

    1995…

    We move to the first floor of an old Georgian house off Gardiner Street. Still using an electric typewriter and awaiting the advent of the internet, we produce a few commercials and illustrations.

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    1996…

    Trying our hand at everything from short films to CD Rom games and commercials, Brown Bag Films produce service animation for ITV series Wolves, Witches & Giants and scramble around trying to develop shows. Darragh ends up in Russia producing animation on a CD Rom Game.

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    1997…

    We move to a dodgy building at the back of a fast food restaurant.  An investment in computers is finally made and Ireland’s first digital ink-and-paint work station, Animo, finds its way to Brown Bag Films. We work on the Warner Bros feature film The King & I, coordinating European animation with LA via the internet (a 56K modem!). Barstool and Taxi (RTÉ) are produced and the commercial business is beginning to grow.

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    1998…

    We produce Why? For RTÉ which goes on to sell in over 100 countries worldwide.

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    1999…

    Our short film The Last Elk, directed by Alan Shannon, is released and goes on to win  numerous international awards. We start to dip our toes into some very crude computer animation.

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    2000…

    Having avoided being annihilated by the Millennium Bug we continue to produce high-quality commercials for a growing number of clients.

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    2001…

    We begin work on Give Up Yer Aul Sins, which is a short film based on rediscovered tapes from the 1960’s of Dublin schoolchildren retelling bible stories to their teacher.

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    2002…

    We receive our first Oscar® nomination for Give Up Yer Aul Sins. The subsequent series becomes the highest-selling Irish DVD ever.

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    2003…

    We invest in our own post production facilities and move to a nicer premises at the back of a hotel. We produce the short film, The Boy Who Had No Story and the Tales Wot I Know series for ITV.

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    2004…

    Our commercials business is thriving and we do work for Coca Cola, The National Lottery, Aer Lingus and other clients as far away as Dubai and Beirut, where Darragh meets his future wife. We continue to invest in technology and in-house post production yet we firmly remain a hand-drawn animation company.

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    2005…

    We produce short film, Ding Dong Denny’s History of Ireland.  We begin work on a music video for rock giants Oasis. Five-minute-long The Masterplan is voted best Oasis video of all time by fans.

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    2006…

    We produce 52 episodes of I’m an Animal for RTÉ and the Irish Film Board. It has since been sold to 160 countries worldwide. We also have our first major international breakthrough with Wobblyland (HIT Entertainment/ Nickelodeon UK); a pre-school animation series based on director Cat Little’s student film.  We produce the first season of Nicky Phelan’s Crap Rap for RTÉ.

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    2007…

    We start work on our first 3D animation series Olivia for Chorion & Nickelodeon US. Halfway through production we also commence work on Noddy in Toyland. We move into a state-of-the-art new studio in Smithfield. We produce another season of Crap Rap as well as Bronagh O’Hanlon’s teen show Teenology and David McCamley's preschool series Grabby Bag for RTÉ.

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    2008…

    We begin work on Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, directed by Nicky Phelan. Olivia premieres on Nickelodeon US. This is followed by the premiere of Enid Blyton’s gazillion-selling classic, Noddy in Toyland on FIVE UK and France Televisions (where it is known as Oui-Oui).

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    2009…

    Brown Bag Films are named European Producer of the Year at the Cartoon Forum in Norway.  We begin production on a second series of Olivia and new series The Octonauts for Chorion/BBC. To put total focus on our growing TV business we close down our commercials division.

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    2010…

    Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty nets us our second Oscar® nomination for Best Animated Short. We open offices in LA to explore feature and transmedia production. Our second series of Olivia airs on Nickelodeon US. The Octonauts premieres on CBeebies and within three months is the top-rated pre-school show on the channel. Shortly afterwards it premieres on ABC Australia where it is also a huge hit.

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    2011…

    We premiere Darragh’s latest short film, 23 Degrees, 5 Minutes, voiced by John Hurt. We begin production on Doc McStuffins – the first show commissioned by newly-rebranded Disney Junior US. The Octonauts is nominated for a Bafta. We begin production on our own original series, Henry Hugglemonster, based on a book by Niamh Sharkey, for Disney Junior US.

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    2012…

    In March, Doc McStuffins premieres on Disney Junior and breaks rating records for the most watched pre-school premiere ever. It immediately becomes the No 1 pre-school show in the U.S.A. We continue production on Henry Hugglemonster and a second season of the Octonauts, and are joined by a very special new staff member - Toby the Studio Dog!

    On December 14th, Peter Rabbit premieres with a 22-minute holiday special episode 'Peter Rabbit’s Christmas Tale' on Nickelodeon to over three million viewers in the US.

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    2013…

    We begin production on our short film ANYA, being made to raise awareness for the charity To Russia With Love. The Octonauts and Doc McStuffins are nominated for Baftas.

    Peter Rabbit launches on Nick Jr on February 18th 2013, and hops to the top of the charts delivering 1.7 million viewers. The premiere also ranks as Nick's highest-rated preschool series premiere since 2011.

    We begin production on a second season of Henry Hugglemonster, Peter Rabbit and Doc McStuffins. We recruit 30 new staff and expand the studio into a third premises. 

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    2014…

    We announce our new show Bing, based on the book series by author and illustrator Ted Dewan. We continue production on a 2nd season of Henry Hugglemonster and Peter Rabbit, a 3rd season of Doc McStuffins and a 4th season of Octonauts. We launch Brown Bag Labs, an online space for behind-the-scenes fun and tutorials from the studio. Octonauts brings home an IFTA for Best Children's Programme. We celebrate our 20th Anniversary! Our short film Anya is released online to raise funds for To Russia With Love charity. We announce the opening of our 2D studio in Manchester! Our short film An Ode To Love is awarded Best Irish Animation at Foyle Film Festival. We release the Christmas Special episode of our new online series Trouble In Paradise.

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    2015…

    In January, our pilot episode of The Stinky and Dirty Show, based on the 'I Stink!' book series by Jim and Kate McMullan, debuts on Amazon Prime. Bing is awarded for Best Writing in a Children’s TV Episode by The Writer's Guild of Great Britain! Doc McStuffins is awarded for Outstanding Children's Program at the 46th NAACP Image Awards! Amazon greenlights a full season of The Stinky And Dirty Show. In August, we announce we are now part of the 9 Story Media Group family!

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    2016…

    Our Manchester studio is featured in the Creative England 50! Doc McStuffins is awarded for Outstanding Children's Program at the 47th NAACP Image Awards! In March, we announce we are going into production on the new animated pre-school series, 'Vampirina'! Our new show 'Bear, Bud & Boo' is featured in Kidscreen Magazine's Cool New Shows. Bing is awarded an Emmy® in the Kids: Pre-school category at the 4th International Emmy® Kids Awards! Brown Bag Films' CEO Cathal Gaffney is appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for our parent company 9 Story Media Group! Peter Rabbit wins two Emmy Awards® at the 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy® Awards!

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    2017…

    Nella the Princess Knight gallops onto screens! Doc McStuffins scoops up Best Animated Series at Kidscreen.

    Octonauts, Doc McStuffins, Peter Rabbit, Peg + Cat and Nature Cat all receive nominations for the 44th Annual Daytime Emmy® Awards. Nickelodeon greenlights a second season of the preschool hit, Nella the Princess Knight! We launch Bookbag in St. Eithne's GNS, in May, marking our third year rolling out the Bookbag project.

    We begin production on animated holiday special, 'Angela's Christmas', based on the popular children’s story from Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt! 

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    2018…

    Vampirina and Top Wing are greenlit for second seasons! Season 2 of The Magic School Bus: Rides Again launches on Netflix! Doc McStuffins wins Outstanding Children's Program at the NAACP Image Awards and Best Animated Series (Preschool) at the Kidscreen 2018 awards! We're ranked NUMBER ONE in production in the Kidscreen Hot50! Octonauts wins the Annie Award for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children! Brown Bag and 9 Story shows receive a whopping 15 Daytime Emmy® Award nominations! Nella the Princess Knight is named this year's Best Family Series at the 43rd Annual Gracie Awards! We announce our new animated series 'Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum'! Angela's Christmas makes its global premiere as a Netflix Original! Our short ‘Pins and Needles’ airs on RTÉjr!

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    2019…

    Kidscreen announces its HOT50 companies for 2018, ranking the most happening companies in kids entertainment, and for the second year in a row Brown Bag Films/ 9 Story Media Group is ranked the NUMBER ONE production company!

    The nominees for this year’s Daytime Emmy Awards are announced and Brown Bag Films and 9 Story Media Group shows have reached a new record with a total of 20 nominations combined!

    Vampirina and Doc McStuffins win a total of three awards at the Irish Animation Awards!

    Sadie Sparks is scheduled to launch on Disney Channel UK on April 20th!

    Our Bali studio rebrands and officially becomes part of the Brown Bag Family!

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    1. Angela's Christmas 2

    2020…

    We navigate the Covid-19 pandemic, which results in many unforeseen challenges and uncertainties. Thanks to the incredible efforts of our teams around the globe, we find new ways to work, stay in touch, and continue to do what we love—animation.

    We say goodbye to our beloved Doc McStuffins, a show that's been a 10 year journey for us from start to finish!

    We see the worldwide Netflix release of our animated holiday special, Angela's Christmas Wish, the sequel to the Emmy® nominated special Angela’s Christmas, based on beloved characters by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes). 

    We announce exciting new shows that have been greenlit—Karma's World, Ada Twist, Scientist and Ridley Jones!

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    1. Ridley Jones

    2021…

    Our incredible teams continue to work from home and produce amazing results despite the many challenges.

    We launch an incredible slate of new shows: Ridley Jones, Ada Twist, Scientist, Karma's World, Get Rolling with Otis, and Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show!

    We also celebrate the 10-year anniversary of hit-series, Wild Kratts! 

    Ada Twist, Scientist soars to unimagined heights as a giant parade balloon for her inaugural flight in this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!

    This year also marks 9 Story and Brown Bag's return to the number ONE spot on the Kidscreen Hot50 Production list, since we last charted in first place back in 2018! 

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    2022…

    This year saw the launch of incredible new shows: Eureka!, Rosie’s Rules, Sago Mini Friends, and StoryBots: Answer Time! 

    In March of this year, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Doc McStuffins on Disney Junior, a series which is near and dear to our hearts.

    In September, we were so excited to celebrate 10 Grr-ific years of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood along with Fred Rogers Productions and PBS. 10 Years of Tiger Tunes was released on all digital platforms, a collection of songs including never-before-released tracks from the series.

    We also saw new season drops of Ada Twist, Scientist, Ridley Jones, Karma’s World and Get Rolling with Otis. 

    Karma’s World was honoured with a BANFF Rockie Award and Ridley Jones picked up two Kidscreen Awards. Ada Twist, Scientist had an epic year, scooping up an Annie Award, Doll of the Year, and the Outstanding Preschool Animated Series award at the first-ever Children’s & Family Emmy® Awards! And newly launched Rosie’s Rules and Sago Mini Friends both received the Common Sense Selection for Families seal of approval. 

    2022 closes with another amazing achievement — Brown Bag Films and 9 Story Media Group have been voted NUMBER ONE on the Kidscreen Hot50 Production list for the second year in a row!