Finnish Animation Producer Gigglebug Entertainment Launches In Stitches, A Dedicated Adult Animation Banner

Finland’s Gigglebug Entertainment, developer and producer of Disney’s 101 Dalmatian Street and The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti, has launched a dedicated adult animation division and revealed the first project in its pipeline, a workplace comedy titled Soap.

Branded as In Stitches, the new adult animation banner was established to develop “bold, offbeat, and experimental comedy content from contemporary voices,” said Gigglebug in a release. “The label will tap into the talent across Gigglebug’s 100 in-house artists and designers and will look to develop their previously unpitched adult-targeted concepts,” it added.

In Stitches will be overseen by Gigglebug’s existing management team, including CEO and co-founder Anttu Harlin, creative director and co-founder Joonas Utti, and managing director Beth Parker. According to Harlin:

We have an amazing pool of talent under our roof, and browsing their personal portfolios continues to blow our minds – they have so many fresh, daring, and hilarious ideas that we’re eager to develop alongside our family-focused work. In Stitches is still very much in keeping with Gigglebug’s DNA, as it’s also driven by the desire to spread joy, but it will enable us to bring boundary-pushing and more risky content for adult audiences, which encourages them to have a laugh at the bare, naked, and surreal truth of being alive.

Here’s what we know about the first In Stitches project, Soap, which will be looking for buyers at next month’s MIPCOM:

• The series’ concept was developed as part of Gigglebug’s Idea Lab, an internal pitching and creation scheme. It’s based on an idea from 2d animator Sasil Leirana and will be written by The Amazing World of Gumball scribes Tobi Wilson and Paul Rice. Soap will be produced by Harlin and Utti, with Elliott Palmer as development executive.
• This 20 x 22’ workplace comedy is told from the first-person perspective of a bar of hotel soap that is looking for a change of scenery. Tired of cleaning up after messy marriages, drug deals, and violent crimes, Soap just wants to make a clean getaway.
• According to Harlin, “Soap perfectly encapsulates our vision for [In Stitches], and we are excited to have the remarkably talented Tobi and Paul bringing their comedic genius to the project – as well as for our animation team to flex their creative muscles in a new genre.”