Kuku Studios, Founded By Pixar Alumni, Signs Exclusive Overall Agreement With Netflix

Netflix’s bustling slate of kids’ animation has just expanded again. The company has signed a multi-year overall agreement with Kuku Studios, a Berkeley, California-based studio set up by Pixar alumni. Under the agreement, Kuku will exclusively produce both series and films for the streaming service.

The studio’s first project for the streamer, which was previously announced, is the preschool series Go! Go! Cory Carson. The official synopsis for the show, which is based on the Go! Go! Smart Wheels toys from VTech Electronics, runs as follows:

Go! Go! Cory Carson features Cory, a little kid car with an engine that runs on fun! Cory and his family live in the town of Bumperton Hills, a charming neighborhood filled with characters of all different makes and models. While navigating the winding roads of childhood, Cory’s eager and playful spirit sometimes veers him off course. Luckily his friends and family are always there to get Cory back on track!

The only other project to be announced at this stage is an as-yet-untitled feature, “which explores the power and magic of dreams.” It has been greenlit for production and will be produced out of Kuku’s Berkeley, California-based studio. Netflix will debut its first original animated film, Sergio Pablos’s Klaus, in November; it has around a dozen more confirmed features in the pipeline, for family and older audiences alike.

Kuku was founded in 2016 by Alex Woo, Stanley Moore, and Tim Hahn, who formerly worked in story and production at Pixar. Their credits include Ratatouille, The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, and Monsters University. Netflix confirmed that all three will be working on these new projects, alongside director Erik Benson.

“With Go! Go! Cory Carson, the creative team at Kuku proved that they can bring their vast cinematic experience into the preschool realm, and the result is a breathtaking show that we can’t wait to share with children and families around the world on Netflix,” Melissa Cobb, vice president of original animation for Netflix, said in a statement. “A lot of what’s in our creative DNA at Netflix is shared with Kuku, and Alex, Stanley, and Tim have for years honed their ability to tell timeless stories about beloved characters in visually innovative ways.”

Go! Go! Cory Carson will launch on Netflix in early 2020.