Flying Bark Productions
Australian animation studio and full-service producer of feature films, television, and digital content.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Flying Bark Productions is an Australian animation studio and entertainment production company based in Sydney. It operates as a full-service production facility, developing and producing animated feature films, television series, specials, web content, and other digital projects. The company is best understood as the successor to Yoram Gross Film Studios, the studio founded in 1967 by filmmakers Yoram Gross and Sandra Gross. Its historical identity is closely associated with Australian animation, children’s entertainment, and properties such as Dot and the Kangaroo and Blinky Bill. The business changed ownership and identity several times. In 1996, Yoram Gross Film Studios entered a partnership with Australian media group Village Roadshow, leading to the name Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow and an expansion of television production. The studio subsequently worked with German media company EM.TV & Merchandising, which acquired Village Roadshow’s interest in 1999 and renamed the company Yoram Gross-EM.TV. During this period, the company broadened its production and distribution activities and established a licensing division for its own programs and related children’s programming. In 2004, the company expanded its United States production-services and distribution presence through Yoram Gross USA, formed with Coote/Hayes Productions. In 2006, EM.TV acquired the remaining interest held by Yoram and Sandra Gross and obtained full control. Later that year, the business was restructured and rebranded as Flying Bark Productions, while its distribution arm became Flying Bark Distribution. The rebranding reflected an intention to broaden the studio’s portfolio beyond its established children’s properties and into additional animation categories, including adult-oriented projects. Studio 100 acquired Flying Bark Productions in 2008 as part of its purchase of EM.TV’s children’s and entertainment operations. The transaction made Flying Bark Studio 100’s Australian animation subsidiary and gave Studio 100 access to the Yoram Gross programming library, including Blinky Bill. Studio 100 Media subsequently handled distribution for the catalogue and future programming in relevant markets. Flying Bark has continued to develop an international production model. It announced plans for a Los Angeles branch in 2019, with Ian Graham appointed to lead its creative direction there. In 2022, the company created After Bark as a production arm for adult animation and other scripted and unscripted projects aimed at mature audiences. In 2023, former Nickelodeon Australia television director Hugh Baldwin joined After Bark to lead development as executive producer. In 2024, Flying Bark expanded into Europe by opening an animation studio in Madrid and partnering with Spanish animation supervisor Ramon Giráldez to lead the operation. Today, Flying Bark’s business spans original development, commissioned production, co-production, production services, and exploitation of an established intellectual-property catalogue. Its positioning combines Australian animation expertise with the international financing, distribution, and production network of Studio 100. The company’s work has historically focused on family and children’s entertainment, while its newer operations indicate a broader strategy covering adult animation and mature-audience content.
History
Flying Bark Productions traces its origins to 1967, when Yoram and Sandra Gross established Yoram Gross Film Studios in Australia. The studio became one of the country’s notable animation producers, creating feature films and television programs for children and families. Its early film catalogue included the Dot series, beginning with Dot and the Kangaroo, as well as other productions such as The Little Convict, The Magic Riddle, and Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala. These works established a durable Australian-oriented identity built around locally recognizable characters, natural environments, and family storytelling. The company entered a new corporate phase in January 1996, when it announced a partnership with Village Roadshow. Village Roadshow acquired an interest in the studio through its motion-picture production activities, and the business was renamed Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow. Executives associated with Village Roadshow Pictures, including Greg Coote and Graham Burke, joined the studio’s board. The company also agreed to produce a substantial slate of animated television series with Village Roadshow’s television division. This relationship gave the previously independent animation studio additional corporate resources and a stronger route into international television markets. In October 1997, Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow entered a co-production arrangement with German media and distribution company EM.TV & Merchandising. The two companies jointly handled television productions, while EM.TV provided an increasingly important European and international distribution connection. Village Roadshow later sought to leave television production, and in 1999 EM.TV acquired Village Roadshow’s interest. The company was renamed Yoram Gross-EM.TV, and EM.TV became responsible for worldwide distribution of the studio’s programs. In late 1999, the group also established YG-EM Licensing, an in-house licensing operation intended to manage the exploitation of its own productions and related programming assets. The studio expanded its North American activities in 2004 by joining with Coote/Hayes Productions to establish Yoram Gross USA in Los Angeles. The subsidiary handled the company’s programs in the United States and Latin America and pursued distribution arrangements, including a home-video agreement involving Flipper and Lopaka. That same period saw Guy Gross, Yoram Gross’s son and a film composer associated with the studio’s productions, appointed producer and director for the company’s production projects. In January 2006, EM.TV completed its acquisition of the remaining 50 percent interest held by Yoram and Sandra Gross. This gave EM.TV’s entertainment division full control of the Australian animation group and its catalogue. Later in 2006, the company underwent a restructuring and was renamed Flying Bark Productions. Its distribution operation was renamed Flying Bark Distribution. The new identity was intended to support a broader production strategy that included both children’s animation and potential adult-oriented work. Management changed during the following year. Managing director Geoff Watson departed Flying Bark after a decade with the Australian animation company, while Canadian producer Michael Hefferon became managing director. Watson continued to lead the group’s New Zealand audio-production subsidiary, Trackdown Digital, in a managing-director capacity. In 2007, EM.TV announced plans to exit the children’s entertainment business and put Flying Bark and the associated programming catalogue up for sale. Zee Telefilms submitted a bid in 2008, but Studio 100 ultimately acquired Flying Bark and EM.TV’s entertainment operations in May of that year. The purchase made Flying Bark Studio 100’s first animation studio outside Belgium and brought properties such as Blinky Bill into Studio 100’s wider catalogue. Studio 100 Media assumed distribution responsibilities for the relevant library and future programming. Flying Bark continued to develop its executive and international footprint under Studio 100. In 2014, Tim Brooke-Hunt returned to the company as president after serving in senior children’s-content and production roles elsewhere in the Australian industry; he also became an adviser to the Studio 100 board. In 2019, Flying Bark announced plans for a Los Angeles branch, appointing storyboard artist and director Ian Graham as chief creative director. This move strengthened the company’s access to North American development, talent, and commissioning relationships. The studio further diversified in 2022 with the launch of After Bark, a production arm focused on adult animation and scripted and unscripted projects for mature audiences. Amy Noble and Kate Andrew were appointed to senior creative and legal/business-affairs roles in the new unit. In 2023, Hugh Baldwin joined After Bark as executive producer of development. In June 2024, Flying Bark expanded into Europe through the opening of a Madrid-based animation studio, with Spanish animation supervisor Ramon Giráldez involved in leading the new operation. These developments show the company evolving from a principally Australian children’s-animation studio into a distributed international production organization covering family, children’s, adult, and digital entertainment.
- 2024
Madrid studio opened
[1]Flying Bark establishes its first European animation studio in Madrid.
- 2022
After Bark launched
[1]The company establishes a unit dedicated to adult animation and mature-audience scripted and unscripted projects.
- 2008
Studio 100 acquisition
[1]Studio 100 acquires Flying Bark and the associated EM.TV entertainment operations.
- 2006
Flying Bark name adopted
[1]After EM.TV acquires the founders’ remaining stake, the company is restructured and renamed Flying Bark Productions.
- 2004
Yoram Gross USA established
[1]A Los Angeles-based subsidiary is created to support United States and Latin American production services and distribution.
- 1999
EM.TV takes control of Village Roadshow’s interest
[1]The company becomes Yoram Gross-EM.TV, with EM.TV distributing its programs internationally.
- 1996
Village Roadshow partnership
[1]Village Roadshow acquires an interest in the studio, which is renamed Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow.
- 1967
Yoram Gross Film Studios founded
[1]Yoram and Sandra Gross establish the Australian animation studio that later becomes Flying Bark Productions.
Products and positioning
An internationally oriented animation production studio rooted in Australian children’s entertainment and supported by Studio 100’s global production and distribution network.
Animated feature film · 1977
Dot and the Kangaroo
A landmark Yoram Gross animated feature and the starting point for the long-running Dot film series. The film centers on a young girl’s journey through the Australian bush and helped establish the studio’s signature combination of family adventure, Australian settings, and environmental themes.
Animated feature films · 1977
Dot film series
A collection of animated features following Dot through encounters with Australian animals and landscapes. The series includes titles such as Around the World with Dot, Dot and the Bunny, Dot and the Whale, Dot and the Smugglers, Dot Goes to Hollywood, and Dot in Space.
Animated feature and television property · 1992
Blinky Bill
A major Australian children’s entertainment property associated with Yoram Gross and later Flying Bark. The character appeared in feature and television productions, including Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala and Blinky Bill’s White Christmas, and became part of Studio 100’s catalogue after the 2008 acquisition.
Animated television and feature property
Flipper and Lopaka
An animated children’s property set in an underwater world. It formed part of the studio’s television output and was also developed as Flipper and Lopaka: The Feature. The property received international distribution support, including a home-video arrangement for North American markets.
Adult animation and mature-audience production · 2022
After Bark
A Flying Bark production arm created to develop adult animated programs as well as scripted and unscripted projects aimed at mature audiences. Its formation represents an expansion beyond the company’s long-standing family and children’s focus.
Web series · 2014
The Eggsperts
A digital animation project listed among Flying Bark Productions’ web-series work, reflecting the studio’s activity beyond conventional feature-film and television formats.
Brand decisions
2024
Expand into MadridStrategyBackground
Flying Bark pursued a wider international production footprint and entry into European and Spanish animation markets.
Action taken
The company opened an animation studio in Madrid and partnered with Ramon Giráldez to lead the Spanish operation.
Aftermath
The Madrid operation became Flying Bark’s first European studio and extended its production network beyond Australia and North America.
2022
Create After BarkStrategyBackground
Flying Bark sought to extend its production activities beyond children’s and family entertainment.
Action taken
The company launched After Bark as a unit for adult animation and scripted and unscripted projects intended for mature audiences.
Aftermath
The new arm broadened the group’s development scope and created a distinct label for mature-audience projects.
2008
Sell Flying Bark to Studio 100M&ABackground
EM.TV’s parent group was exiting children’s entertainment and animation to focus more heavily on sports activities.
Action taken
Studio 100 acquired Flying Bark, its programming library, and the associated entertainment operations.
Aftermath
Flying Bark became Studio 100’s Australian animation subsidiary, while Studio 100 Media took on catalogue and future-program distribution.
Reported transaction value. €41 million (2008 transaction)
2006
Rebrand as Flying Bark ProductionsStrategyBackground
EM.TV obtained full ownership after acquiring the founders’ remaining interest and reorganized the Australian animation business.
Action taken
Yoram Gross-EM.TV was renamed Flying Bark Productions, and Yoram Gross Distribution became Flying Bark Distribution.
Aftermath
The new brand was intended to support a broader portfolio spanning children’s and adult animation.
1999
EM.TV acquires Village Roadshow’s interestM&ABackground
Village Roadshow was seeking to leave television production while EM.TV had an established European media and distribution network.
Action taken
EM.TV acquired Village Roadshow’s interest, renamed the studio Yoram Gross-EM.TV, and assumed worldwide distribution responsibilities.
Aftermath
The company added an in-house licensing division and operated as part of EM.TV’s broader entertainment business.
1996
Partner with Village RoadshowM&ABackground
Yoram Gross Film Studios sought additional corporate and television-production capacity through a relationship with Village Roadshow.
Action taken
Village Roadshow acquired an interest in the studio, which became Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow and agreed to produce animated television series with Village Roadshow Television.
Aftermath
The partnership introduced a succession of later ownership and distribution arrangements involving EM.TV.
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