Augenblick Studios
| Company type | Independent animation studio |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Aaron Augenblick |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn , United States |
Area served | Television, film, digital outlets |
Key people | Aaron Augenblick (founder) |
| Products | Animated shorts, television series, feature films, music videos |
Augenblick Studios is a Brooklyn-based independent animation studio established in 1999 by Aaron Augenblick. The studio focuses on creating animated shorts aimed at adult audiences for television, film, and digital outlets. Its clientele includes prominent networks such as Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, TED conference, PBS, MTV, and Nickelodeon. The company’s emblem depicts a moonshine bottle adorned with wings.
History
After graduating from the School of Visual Arts, Aaron Augenblick founded Augenblick Studios in the Dumbo area of Brooklyn. Prior to launching the company, he contributed to MTV Animation projects including Daria and Cartoon Sushi. The studio’s inaugural project was the acclaimed short "Ramblin' Man" (2001), which earned awards, followed by other independent productions like "Drunky" (2001) and "Plugs McGinniss" (2003).
Augenblick Studios made its television debut in 2004 with Shorties Watchin' Shorties on Comedy Central, a series featuring animated interpretations of stand-up routines by leading comedians. The studio also provided animation for MTV2's Wonder Showzen (2004), Comedy Central’s mockumentary Golden Age—which was officially selected for Sundance—and contributed the short "Lying Rhino" to the film The Ten (2007). In 2008, they produced 11 episodes of Adult Swim’s Superjail! and created animated shorts for Nickelodeon's Yo Gabba Gabba.
From 2010 through 2012, Augenblick Studios was responsible for producing 31 episodes of Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans. They crafted a music video for Weird Al Yankovic’s 2011 album Alpocalypse, collaborated on an animated segment for Saturday Night Live in 2013, and partnered with Animation Domination High Def on Fox’s Golan the Insatiable (2015). The studio animated Tyler, the Creator’s series The Jellies!, which premiered in 2017, and contributed to Cartoon Network’s MAD. In 2019, Augenblick supplied animation sequences for Netflix’s documentary series Losers.
In January 2016, the studio announced its first feature-length animated film, the R-rated comedy The Adventures of Drunky, featuring Sam Rockwell and Jeffrey Tambor. Although production was delayed amid controversies, completion was planned for 2022. In August 2020, Augenblick Studios launched the original horror-comedy series Death Hacks on Snapchat and began work on Adult Swim’s Teenage Euthanasia, which premiered in September 2021.
In 2021, Augenblick co-established Future Brain Media alongside Daniel Powell to specialize in children's animation. This branch has produced two seasons of City Island for PBS Kids.
Television
| Year | Title | Notes | Client |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Shorties Watchin' Shorties | Comedy Central | |
| 2005–06 | Wonder Showzen | animated segments | MTV2 |
| 2007 | Sesame Street: Kids' Favorite Country Songs | "Tall Tale" segment | Sesame Workshop |
| 2007–08 | Superjail! | pilot and season 1 only | Adult Swim |
| 2009 | Xavier: Renegade Angel | animated contest entry | Adult Swim |
| 2010–12 | Ugly Americans | season 1 and part of season 2 | Comedy Central |
| 2012–13 | Mad | additional animation | Warner Bros. Animation |
| 2012 | Saturday Night Live | animation segments ("Cool Drones", "Faberge Egg Cop") | NBC |
| 2013–15 | Golan the Insatiable | Fox | |
| 2013–14 | The Heart, She Holler | animated segments | Adult Swim |
| 2013 | T.I. & Tiny: The Holiday Hustle | VH1 | |
| 2017–19 | The Jellies! | Adult Swim | |
| 2019 | Losers | Netflix | |
| 2021 | Headspace Guide to Meditation | animation | |
| 2021 | Teenage Euthanasia | season 1 only | Adult Swim |
| 2021 | Cake | season 5 (Swan Boy segments) | FXX |
| 2022–present | City Island | produced by Future Brain Media | PBS Kids |
| 2023 | One Piece | 2nd-key animation; ep 1066 | Toei Animation |
Feature films
| Year | Title | Co-production partner | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Murder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story | Bonded By Blood | animated production |
| 2020 | Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics | Netflix | animated content |
| 2020 | Zoolander: Super Model | CBS All Access (Paramount+) | animation |
| 2022 | 'The Adventures of Drunky' | Cartuna | animation and post-production services |
| 2022 | 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story' | Funny or Die | includes animated sequences |
Short films
| Year | Title | Client | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 'Ramblin' Man' | animation work | |
| 2002 | 'Moomie's Garage' | Nickelodeon | single interstitial episode |
| 2003 | 'The Man with the Smallest Penis in Existence and the Electron Microscope Technician Who Loved Him' | animated short | |
| 2006 | 'The Lying Rhino' | ThinkFilm | animation project |
| 2007 | 'Golden Age' | Comedy Central | animated production |
| 2013–14 | 'DC Nation Shorts' | Warner Bros. Animation | Metal Men series shorts |
| 2013 | 'Cookie Chemistry' | TED-Ed | |
| 2013 | 'What Is JASH?' | Jash | |
| 2013 | 'Spacemen From Brookstonia' | Ottawa Animation Festival | |
| 2017 | 'ASAP Fables: The Snake With No Manners' | Topic | animation piece |
| 2017–18 | 'The Nib' | Topic | |
| 2018–19 | 'Monologue' | Topic | animated series; three episodes |
| 2020 | 'Death Hacks' | Snapchat | animation production |
| 2020 | 'NYS COVID PSA' | 'Tribeca Film Institute' | 'animation work' |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Another Tattoo" | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| 2013 | "Tiny Anthem" | The M Machine |
| 2014 | "Far Away" | Feed Me & Kill the Noise |
| 2015 | "Rubble Kings Theme" | Run the Jewels |
| 2019 | "Expensify This" | 2 Chainz x Adam Scott |
| 2020 | "Ultraviolent" | Kill the Noise |
| 2023 | "Your Horoscope for Today" | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| 2024 | "Polkamania!" ("Hello" segment) | "Weird Al" Yankovic |