Irish animation producer Brown Bag Films has moved into a new 30,000-square-foot studio in Smithfield, Dublin, and will add 71 more staff by 2018.

Acquired by Canadian 2D specialist 9 Story Media Group in August 2015, Brown Bag currently employs 184 creative and production staff at its Dublin headquarters, Manchester-based studio and office in L.A.

The expansion has kicked off a recruitment drive for the Emmy-winning studio, and a number of positions for animation and production professionals are currently open on its website.

After finding success working on a string of hit CGI-animated children’s series including Octonauts, Doc McStuffins (pictured), Bing, Peter Rabbit and Henry Hugglemonster, Brown Bag is now adapting Richard Adams’ classic children’s novel Watership Down into a series for Netflix and BBC.

With the expansion, Brown Bag and 9 Story will have a combined team of nearly 500 people.

The studio launch comes after Brown Bag founder and CEO Cathal Gaffney added the additional title of 9 Story COO last month.

9 Story Media Group executive chairman Neil Court attended Brown Bag’s studio launch today along with Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, and IDA Ireland CEO, Martin Shanahan.