Hollywood’s secret weapon is an independent animation studio called Titmouse

There’s a powerhouse in the entertainment industry that remains unknown to many casual cartoon viewers — it’s called Titmouse Animation.

As mainstream theatrical animation is digging itself [out of a rut](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/24/inside-out-2-is-highest-grossing-animated-movie-ever-passing-frozen-2.html) and facing the looming threat of artificial intelligence, Titmouse — which is set to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year — is hitting its stride. The independent production company has worked with almost every major Hollywood studio to create one-of-a-kind, diverse animated content. 

Even if you haven’t heard the name, you’ve probably seen Titmouse’s work. Early on, the studio made the main title sequence for Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” produced several animated sequences for NBC’s “Community” and did the cinematics for “Guitar Hero” games. More recently, Titmouse’s work can be seen on [Netflix](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/NFLX/)’s “Big Mouth,” [Amazon](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/NFLX/) Prime Video’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” on [Paramount+](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/PARA/).

“It’s cool, you know, [and] it’s weird being independent,” said Chris Prynoski, co-owner of Titmouse. “I like it. It’s kind of like being a giant freelancer.”

Most major Hollywood studios have an in-house animation studio — sometimes more than one, in the case of [Disney](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/DIS/) and [Universal](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/CMCSA/) — but for certain projects, working with a third party is necessary. This could be because the in-house team doesn’t have the bandwidth to work on these projects or because a third party, such as Titmouse, has a special area of expertise that the studio needs.

For example, Titmouse was called on by Universal to produce the 2D animation for a scene in 2023′s “Trolls Band Together” in which the trolls are briefly transported into a trippy, psychedelic world.

More: [https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/14/hollywoods-secret-weapon-is-an-animation-studio-called-titmouse.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/14/hollywoods-secret-weapon-is-an-animation-studio-called-titmouse.html)

Lower decks! Lower decks!