London-based Moonbug Entertainment is closing Singapore’s One Animation, which it acquired in 2022. Moonbug will maintain an office in the country under the leadership of Yasmin Zahid (head of APAC distribution and brand partnerships) to keep building franchises and expanding its presence in the Asia Pacific region. 

One Animation is best known for its international hit series Oddbods (pictured). Broadcasters around the world have picked up the non-dialogue preschool comedy (180 x seven minutes), including Disney, Cartoon Network, Netflix, Nickelodeon and Tencent. 

With the closure, “some” of the animation team was laid off a few weeks ago, a Moonbug spokesperson tells Kidscreen. Moonbug declined to share how many positions were eliminated or if One Animation CEO Sashim Parmanand is still at the company. One’s third-party animation service work—which was a big part of its business before the Moonbug acquisition—has been wrapped up. 

Moonbug shuttered the animation studio in order to focus its resources solely on pre- and post-production, outsourcing the rest of its animation work to third parties. The same strategy was at the heart of a similar move the company made last November when it laid off CoComelon staffers. 

One Animation’s brands—including both Oddbods and spinoff Minibods—will stay in the market, with Moonbug’s office in Singapore focusing on expanding them into bigger franchises and securing more deals across Asia. Oddbods season four is launching this month. 

When Moonbug acquired One two years ago, co-founder and CEO Renè Rechtman praised the studio in a release. “One Animation’s creative storytelling and international appeal provide us with even stronger credentials as we continue on our journey to be the leading digital-first kids entertainment company in the world.” 

Today, Moonbug echoes this sentiment, but its business strategy is laser-focused on its own IPs. “When Moonbug acquired One Animation in 2022, it not only acquired an incredible premium kids franchise in Oddbods, but also an incredible Singapore-based leadership team and production studio,” says a spokesperson. 

“At that time, the production capabilities not only supported Oddbods, but also provided third-party animation services for other media companies. As was always the plan, in order to focus resources entirely on Moonbug’s own franchises, we have scaled back the studio operations and wound down third-party services. Consistent with the majority of Moonbug’s production pipeline, most animation is now being outsourced. We are immensely grateful for the valuable contributions from the team, and the APAC region will remain a key market and priority for us in 2024.”

A source close to One says today’s news is difficult to bear, not just because of the layoffs, but because it’s a strike against Singapore’s broader CG animation industry, which took another hit back in August 2023 when Lucasfilm Singapore closed its doors.