Malaysian prodco Lil Critter Workshop (LCW) is expanding to the UK by opening a new Bristol-based animation studio. 

According to a release, The studio will focus on developing original IPs and cultivating relationships with studios and co-production partners in the UK and across Europe.

Walid Omar, LCW’s co-founder and executive producer, will lead the Bristol office and will be recruiting senior executives and creative staff in the leadup to the office’s opening date (which has not yet been announced). He is also searching for freelance writers and IP owners to work with the company’s team in Malaysia.

LCW launched in Malaysia in 2015 and has produced two 2D-animated comedy series, Hogie the Globehopper (52 x 11 minutes) in 2016 and Buck & Buddy (60 x six minutes) in 2020. After debuting in Malaysia, Hogie was picked up by Netflix in 2017, where it airs globally, and it has since sold to linear broadcasters Discovery Kids MENA and CITV in the UK. 

The prodco’s first CG-animated show Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials (26 x 22 minutes) is an action-adventure series for children ages six to 10 and is co-produced by fellow Malaysian animation studio Scribble Studios. The two companies received an undisclosed amount from Epic Games’ US$100 million MegaGrant program to fund the project last year.

In it, a trio of mismatched heroes must team up to complete daring missions, treasure hunts and challenges to win the Great Tournament, which is held once every four years in the land of Euthenia. The series is in development and slated for a 2023 release.