Indian toons step out: Animation studios turn popular IPs into classrooms

From opening themed cafes to weaving characters into apps, animation studios are racing to build new touchpoints that can bulk up non-screen income and keep the IP alive in children's daily lives

Creators of Chhota Bheem, Little Singham and The Adventures of Tenali Raman are pushing their homegrown heroes beyond the TV screen, turning them into full-fledged franchises to unlock new revenue, stay on kids’ radars and reach a wider universe of young fans. 

From opening themed cafés to weaving characters into apps, animation studios are racing to build new touchpoints that can bulk up non-screen income and keep the intellectual property (IP) alive in children’s daily lives. 

Green Gold Animations will be opening a pilot cafe with the Chhota Bheem theme in the next two months in Hyderabad, with an investment of about ₹90 lakh. 

Rajiv Chilaka, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Green Gold Animation, said the company plans to open 25 such cafes next year, with the overall goal to open about 500 cafes in five years in India. 

Reliance Animation, on the other hand, has evolved from being an animation studio to a full-fledged content creation studio, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) powered content, anime, and live action. 

Little Singham, Shaktimaan, and Krishna aur Kans creator is also using animation for creating an app for early learning, and another education app for all ages. These apps are expected to be released in the next 18 months. 

“Branded entertainment segment is pretty big globally. Taking inspiration from Hello Kitty cafes across the globe, I would like to give an international experience to an Indian audience,” said Chilaka, adding that in the long term, the company expects to generate average revenue in the range of ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh per month from each cafe. 

Tejonidhi Bhandare, CEO, Reliance Animation, said that a 360-degree approach helps the company to further monetise their IPs and expand beyond the kids’ entertainment segment towards young adults as the audience base. 

Currently, other segments like education (including workshops and tie-ups with schools) contribute around 10 per cent in revenue to the company. 

He added that in the next 18 months, the plan is to have nearly 50 per cent of its revenue coming from other segments. For this expansion, Reliance Animation aims to raise funds in the near future. 

“The way animation companies conceptualise characters has fundamentally evolved. Today, this process begins at the development stage itself, where studios consult a range of specialists, spanning merchandise design, gaming, interactive media, and experiential entertainment, to ensure a truly 360-degree approach to character creation. Characters are no longer designed solely for the screen, they are envisioned as adaptable IPs that can seamlessly translate into soft toys, arcade players, games, interactive installations, and even physical or virtual spaces,” an executive from Toonz Media Group said on the condition of anonymity. 

The company, which is working on an anime series for global audiences with a Japanese partner, is also open to exploring new opportunities and innovative ways to maximise the potential of its IPs, either through merchandise, location-based experiences, or other emerging avenues. 

Toonz Media Group has the IPs for The Adventures of Tenali Raman among others.

 

“It’s the time of Content360. Characters and IP are central to fandom, and fandom is monetisable across events, gaming, merchandise, social, branding and many other avenues. Successful implementation of Content360 can generate 20 per cent to 25 per cent additional revenues in an Indian context,” said Ashish Pherwani, media and entertainment sector leader, EY. 

Most of these animation studios in India started in the kids’ entertainment segment with shows on channels featuring cartoons.

Now, Chilaka and Bhandare both noted that they are focusing on bringing teenagers and young adults under their target audience. 

“For example, we created a spin-off animated version of Simmba (Rohit Shetty’s film Simmba starring Ranveer Singh). It was inspired by the cop universe and was released as Smashing Simmba on Pogo for kids around 10 years old. Now, for young adults, we created the show in an anime style and have pitched it to the top OTT players,” Bhandare added. 

Through Reliance Animation’s YouTube channel, which has about seven million subscribers, it is tapping into the growing traction of unscripted formats and talk shows. The plan moving forward is to expand into various segments and create multiple YouTube channels for targeted audiences. 

Similarly, Green Gold Animation has signed an India-UK co-production deal with Red Kite for an upcoming animated feature film. Chilaka noted that the company plans to release at least one film for theatres every year, targeting teenagers and young adults. 

“This shift reflects a broader industry embrace of IP-led ecosystems. Animation companies are no longer just creating stories, they are building worlds, franchises, and long-term engagement platforms. This integrated, future-facing approach defines the next phase of animation-driven IP expansion,” said Toonz Media Group executive added.