South Korea’s Studio MIR Signs Co-Production Deal With DreamWorks (Updated)

Studio MIR will co-produce and co-develop the shows, a notably atypical arrangement between a Korean and American company. For decades, Korean animation studios have performed service work on American concepts, but they have rarely participated in the creative development of content for American producers. “The contract between DreamWorks and Studio Mir is a landmark in that it is a partnership of equals,” said MIR founder Jae Myung Yoo. “This contract is a solid opportunity for the entire Korean animation industry to create a better workforce and infrastructure in the field of animation.”

The deal, however, shouldn’t come as a total surprise to industry observers. In a 2012 piece about Studio MIR, I noted how differently the studio behaved from traditional South Korean animation subcontractors: “Historically, Korean service studios have been content to remain anonymous, but Studio MIR represents the new young breed of foreign animation studios that make an effort to connect with the public and interact with fans.” The logical extension of their approach was to become involved in the creation of original content, though no one could have anticipated it would be in partnership with DreamWorks.

Details of the financing arrangement between the studios have not been made public. No details have been released about the content of the series or how they will be distributed, though it would be reasonable to assume that DreamWorks’ ongoing distribution deal with Netflix may figure into this somehow.

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