{"id":1864477,"date":"2026-04-03T21:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1864477"},"modified":"2026-04-03T21:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:14:19","slug":"ai-animation-studio-toonstar-will-turn-books-into-digital-shows-for-harpercollins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1864477","title":{"rendered":"AI animation studio Toonstar will turn books into digital shows for HarperCollins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/tuQCWyNNrea11gOgfpN.0Q&#8211;\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD03MjA-\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/screenshot_2026-04-03_at_5.02.43%E2%80%AFpm_0654.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"article-a301e7ea-1bc7-4a8d-b1d0-656541f46270\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"mx-auto md:px-10 md:max-w-[1220px]\">\n<nav class=\"prestige-breadcrumb relative mx-4 md:mx-0\" aria-label=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<ol class=\"no-scrollbar overflow-scroll whitespace-nowrap text-battleship\">\n<li class=\"inline\">\n<li class=\"inline-block cursor-default last:pr-10 md:last:pr-20 font-bold\">AI<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<header class=\"mb-4 px-4 md:mb-6 md:px-0\">\n<h1 class=\"layout-h1 my-2 font-bold leading-tight\">AI animation studio Toonstar will turn books into digital shows for HarperCollins<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"my-2 text-[18px] font-light leading-5 md:max-w-[660px] md:text-[20px]\/[28px]\">Ah, lovely AI content.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flex-col items-start lg:flex lg:flex-row lg:items-center lg:justify-between mt-6\">\n<div class=\"relative md:mr-[10px]\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"flex mr-2\">\n<div class=\"shrink-0 cursor-pointer inline-block size-[42px] lg:size-[48px]\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt role=\"img\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full rounded-full object-cover object-center shadow-[0_0_0_2px_#ffffff]\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/pm9NNYx6s2hTLTQZ6v82Dw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTgwO2g9ODA-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-01\/7bf86900-aa5a-11ee-af37-00cf16fbdc05\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-block\">\n<div class=\"w-max text-sm\/5 font-semibold lg:!flex flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col\">\n<div class=\"flex w-max items-center\">Devindra Hardawar<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"font-normal sm:before:inline-block\">Senior Editor<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lg:hidden\">\n<div class=\"text-xs text-dolphin dark:text-shark md:text-sm\/5 pt-4\">\n<div class=\"inline-block\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-03T21:14:19.000Z\">Fri, April 3, 2026 at 9:14 PM UTC<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ml-0 mt-4 flex items-center lg:ml-3 lg:mt-0\">\n<div class=\"ml-0 mr-2\">\n<div class=\"relative flex\">Add Engadget on Google<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden lg:block\">\n<div class=\"text-xs text-dolphin dark:text-shark md:text-sm\/5 pt-4\">\n<div class=\"inline-block\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-03T21:14:19.000Z\">Fri, April 3, 2026 at 9:14 PM UTC<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-x-8 lg:gap-x-0 mx-auto md:px-10 md:max-w-[1220px] md:grid-cols-[[main-start]_1fr_[main-end_right-start]_min-content_[right-end]] lg:!gap-x-8\">\n<div class=\"md:col-main\" data-i13n-boundary=\"true\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-[[fullbleed-start_body-start]_minmax(auto,750px)_[body-end_fullbleed-end]]\">\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative overflow-hidden fig-image-round left-1\/2 w-screen -translate-x-1\/2 md:left-0 md:w-auto md:translate-x-0\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt class=\"object-cover object-center\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/9DG.t2uCzOHUwU8QSUzp7Q--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03NDU-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/bPmu9qNEaPSYuPeSmOzYOg--~B\/aD0xMzc4O3c9MjI5NjthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/screenshot_2026-04-03_at_5.02.43%E2%80%AFpm_0654.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">Toonstar animation<\/span><span> (Toonstar)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px] drop-cap\" data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">HarperCollins is tapping into AI to bring some of its book franchises to life. Specifically, the publisher is teaming up with Toonstar, an AI animation studio, to turn them into digital shows. The first project will be an adaptation of Lisa Greenwald\u2019s \u201cFriendship List\u201d series, which will also be joined by a graphic novel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">You\u2019d be forgiven for being unaware of Toonstar, a studio that received some buzzy early on for simplifying typically complex animation pipelines with AI, but has mostly remained under the radar. Its biggest claim to fame is producing StEvEn and Parker YouTube series, which has amassed 3.38 million subscribers and sometimes has episodes reaching around a million views. It\u2019s not something I\u2019ve heard animation fans speaking about, though. And honestly, it was tough to sit through a few minutes of its sub-<em>South Park<\/em> animation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">\u201cBy leaning into the [AI] technology, we can make full episodes 80 percent faster and 90 percent cheaper than industry norms,\u201d Toonstar co-founder John Attanasio, told <em>The New York Times<\/em> last year. In that same interview, the company revealed that it uses AI across its production, including having it dub dialog for international audiences, as well as working on storylines.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_ld97b4ilfeiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_15d97b4ilfeiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Toonstar initially pitched itself as an animation studio leaning into Web3 and NFTs, but those technologies seem virtually absent from the company\u2019s presence today. <em>Space Junk<\/em>, one of its early series, was \u201cput on hold for a variety of reasons,\u201d a representative told Engadget. \u201cIt\u2019s possible we\u2019ll resurrect the concept in the future,\u201d they added. Its original domain now points to a crypto gambling site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">\u201cWe\u2019re honored to bring <em>Friendship List<\/em> to life as an animated series,\u201d Attanasio said in a press release. \u201cOur artist-centered approach ensures these beloved characters and stories stay true to the author\u2019s vision, while our Ink &amp; Pixel production technology enables fast, high-quality production at scale which unlocks the ability to meet audiences where and when they enjoy content today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Toonstar has certainly proved it can make \u201ccontent\u201d for YouTube. Can it actually produce an enjoyable animat edshow? That\u2019s another question entirely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px]\">\n<div class=\"commerce col-body\" data-pw=\"disclosure\">\n<div class=\"mb-7 flex items-center rounded-lg p-3 p-5 w-fit flex-col md:flex-row\">\n<p class=\"text-[12px] text-battleship dark:text-gandalf md:text-[13px]\">If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"hidden flex-none md:block col-right\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full flex-col flex-nowrap\">\n<div class=\"flex-auto\">\n<div class=\"sticky flex flex-none\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_1pp7b4ilfeiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"md:col-main grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px]\">\n<div class=\"no-scrollbar col-body mx-4 mb-8 mt-2.5 overflow-x-scroll whitespace-nowrap md:mx-0 md:max-w-[750px] md:overflow-x-visible\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto max-w-screen-sm\">\n<ul class=\"inline-flex text-xs md:text-sm\">\n<li class=\"mr-6\">About our ads<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px] drop-cap\" data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">HarperCollins is tapping into AI to bring some of its book franchises to life. Specifically, the publisher is teaming up with Toonstar, an AI animation studio, to turn them into digital shows. The first project will be an adaptation of Lisa Greenwald\u2019s \u201cFriendship List\u201d series, which will also be joined by a graphic novel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">You\u2019d be forgiven for being unaware of Toonstar, a studio that received some buzzy early on for simplifying typically complex animation pipelines with AI, but has mostly remained under the radar. Its biggest claim to fame is producing StEvEn and Parker YouTube series, which has amassed 3.38 million subscribers and sometimes has episodes reaching around a million views. It\u2019s not something I\u2019ve heard animation fans speaking about, though. And honestly, it was tough to sit through a few minutes of its sub-<em>South Park<\/em> animation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">\u201cBy leaning into the [AI] technology, we can make full episodes 80 percent faster and 90 percent cheaper than industry norms,\u201d Toonstar co-founder John Attanasio, told <em>The New York Times<\/em> last year. In that same interview, the company revealed that it uses AI across its production, including having it dub dialog for international audiences, as well as working on storylines.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_ld97b4ilfeiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_15d97b4ilfeiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Toonstar initially pitched itself as an animation studio leaning into Web3 and NFTs, but those technologies seem virtually absent from the company\u2019s presence today. <em>Space Junk<\/em>, one of its early series, was \u201cput on hold for a variety of reasons,\u201d a representative told Engadget. \u201cIt\u2019s possible we\u2019ll resurrect the concept in the future,\u201d they added. Its original domain now points to a crypto gambling site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">\u201cWe\u2019re honored to bring <em>Friendship List<\/em> to life as an animated series,\u201d Attanasio said in a press release. \u201cOur artist-centered approach ensures these beloved characters and stories stay true to the author\u2019s vision, while our Ink &amp; Pixel production technology enables fast, high-quality production at scale which unlocks the ability to meet audiences where and when they enjoy content today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Toonstar has certainly proved it can make \u201ccontent\u201d for YouTube. Can it actually produce an enjoyable animat edshow? That\u2019s another question entirely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/ai\/ai-animation-studio-toonstar-will-turn-books-into-digital-shows-for-harpercollins-211419155.html&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/tuQCWyNNrea11gOgfpN.0Q&#8211;\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD03MjA-\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/screenshot_2026-04-03_at_5.02.43%E2%80%AFpm_0654.jpg&#8221;] AI AI animation studio Toonstar will turn books into digital shows for HarperCollins Ah, lovely AI content. Devindra Hardawar Senior Editor Fri, April 3, 2026 at 9:14 PM UTC Add Engadget on Google Fri, April 3, 2026 at 9:14 PM UTC Toonstar animation (Toonstar) HarperCollins is tapping into AI to bring some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,63],"class_list":["post-1864477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-engadget-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1864477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864477\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1864477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1864477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1864477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}