Amphibia creator Matt Braly has launched his own independent animation studio, Fantasy Project, following the cancellation of his Sony Pictures Animation feature film. The move comes after years of development on a project co-written with Rebecca Sugar that was ultimately scrapped over concerns about its mass audience appeal. Braly announced the new venture as a way to regain creative control and actually produce finished animation in an industry where projects often get arbitrarily canceled.
According to TheWrap, Braly had been developing a feature film with Sony Pictures Animation that was to be co-written by Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar. The project was canceled after years of development due to concerns its premise wouldn’t be digestible enough for a mass audience. This experience directly influenced Braly’s decision to start his own studio, where he can bypass traditional development cycles and put finished animation into the world.
Cartoon Brew reported that Braly described his goal with Fantasy Project as simply wanting to “actually produce a damn thing.” He noted that working for two or three years on a project for a big studio only to have it arbitrarily yanked at the conclude motivated his shift to independence. The studio’s first project is a gothic reimagining of The Nutcracker mythology, planned as an animated short with backing from an upcoming crowdfunding campaign.
Braly’s Wikipedia page confirms he founded Fantasy Project in 2026 and lists it as his current employer after previous roles at DreamWorks Animation, Disney Television Animation, and Sony Pictures Animation. The animator, born November 8, 1988, in Sacramento, California, is best known as the creator and executive producer of Disney Channel’s Amphibia, which ran for three seasons and 58 episodes.
In addition to Amphibia, Braly’s credits include work as a storyboard artist and director on Gravity Falls, writing an episode of Steven Universe, and writing and directing episodes of Big City Greens. His career began after graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in 2010 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. The Thai-American animator spent summers with his mother’s family in Bangkok during childhood and grew up in a bilingual household.
Fantasy Project’s initial output will be a series of interconnected animated shorts focusing on the character Clara, with plans to release four shorts forming a roughly 24-minute film. The first episode is slated for release on December 25, 2026, according to Braly’s statements to Cartoon Brew. This approach allows him to create meaningful content without waiting for studio greenlights that may never come.
The launch reflects broader industry challenges where experienced creators with significant fandoms can spend years developing projects that never reach audiences. Braly joins other independent efforts like Dana Terrace’s Knights of Guinevere series, though he noted he is pursuing this entirely on his own without aid from established indie studios like Australia’s Glitch Productions.
As animation studios continue to tighten pipelines and contract TV animation opportunities, Braly’s independent model represents one potential path forward for creators seeking to maintain creative control. His focus on producing tangible finished work rather than endless development cycles addresses a common frustration in the modern animation landscape where projects frequently stall or get canceled late in development.
For updates on Fantasy Project’s progress and the release of Clara and the Below, fans can follow Matt Braly’s official social media channels where he has shared concept art and development updates. The animator’s shift to independence highlights ongoing conversations about creative autonomy in animation and alternative production models outside traditional studio systems.
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