“As a screenwriter I’m interested in using humour to explore big emotions, and animation is such an inherently empathic medium, which is what I really love about it. The distance from reality invites an audience to let down their guard and connect in a way they mightn’t otherwise.” — Samuel Leighton-Dore 

Supported by Screen Queensland with mentoring and Market and Travel assistance, Samuel and Bradley travelled to Taiwan in 2024 to present Seahorsies at the Asian Animation Summit. 

“It was encouraging to have our project so warmly received and we’re excited about the feedback from commissioners. We made some lovely connections with other animation studios, including potential co-production partners in Taiwan and across the Asia Pacific,”

Samuel has also recently returned from the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival where he announced the studio’s latest project Willy while attending as part of the Ausfilm Australian Delegation, supported by Screen Queensland.  

“Attending the Annecy International Animation Film Festival was such a heartening and big-picture affirming experience. Seeing how passionate audiences are about animation was a reminder of why Brad and I care about it so much. I think it’s easy in Australia to look at animation, particularly adult animation, from a scarcity mindset. So, it was nice to view the industry from a place of such abundance and remember how many paths there are for a good story to make its way to the screen,” Sam shared. 

Willy is a co-production with Ludo Studio (Bluey, The Strange Chores) and Mad Ones and follows Wilbur “Willy” Davis, a teenager navigating sexuality, religion and masculinity while growing up on a struggling banana farm in Far North Queensland. 

“Brad and I co-created Willy as a way of examining the differences and similarities of our teenage years. He grew up in the North Queensland town of Ayr, and we really love spending time up there every year. It’s such a colourful, beautiful part of the world, but was also a pretty unique place to go through puberty as a young queer person,” Sam reflected. 

“We connected with producer Liam Heyen at Mad Ones very early on. He had similar lived experiences to us and really understood Willy’s heart, which was so important. Together we spent some time developing our characters and story world, before approaching the team at Ludo Studio, who shared our love for the series and joined as co-production partners, helping us bring North Queensland to life in beautiful 2D animation.” 

On the importance of being able to travel around the world to pitch their slate and make industry connections, Sam said animation can be an isolating medium to work in, “especially as a small studio with remote and dispersed creative teams.” 

“We love being based on the Gold Coast, and we hope to always be based here, but having the opportunity to introduce ourselves in-person to commissioners from the BBC, Netflix, Disney etc—and share our slate of Queensland-set stories on a global stage—makes bigger things feel possible for us. For us to make our mark internationally, there needs to be a familiarity with our company’s name, with our unique tone, with our style—and building this familiarity is only possible by showing up and being in the room, again and again.” 

Sad Man Studio’s projects touch on themes of masculinity, sexuality, queerness, mental health and connection. Sam said his creative practice has always been a way for him to better understand himself and his experiences, while searching for connection with others.  

“I think I’m drawn to stories and characters that help me communicate complex ideas in an imaginative, emotional way, I’ve lived with complex mental health my entire life (I have OCD and ASD) and my adolescence was deeply informed by felt expectations around masculinity, and the tension that created with my sexuality. But I think there’s a deep relief to be found in discovering shared experience, and no safer way to find it than through storytelling.”  

“In our projects, I hope that people see parts of themselves reflected back to them in a way that’s unexpected, funny and ultimately cathartic.” — Samuel Leighton-Dore 

With support from Screen Australia, Sad Man Studio produced a 5-minute proof-of-concept for Willy, which accompanied the announcement of the series. Take a look at the taster featuring leading Australian comedians Judith Lucy, Anne Edmunds, Reuben Kaye and Danielle Walker.

Follow Sad Man Studio on Instagram to remain up to date on their latest activities and slate of projects including Seahorsies and Willy.