Sycamore Studios acquires exclusive animated movie rights to John Patrick Green’s “InvestiGators” book franchise

Sycamore Studios has acquired the exclusive animated motion picture rights to the “InvestiGators” franchise, an independent animation company said Monday in a report from Deadline. The deal gives the studio control over an animated feature adaptation of the children’s book series created by John Patrick Green, which is positioned as a family-oriented, crime-solving story centered on alligators.

Deadline reported that “InvestiGators” is a New York Times bestselling series and that it has reached 5 million copies in print since its debut in 2020. The franchise is described as featuring “crime-fighting alligators,” a hook that blends mystery storytelling with kid-friendly characters for early elementary and family audiences.

The Deadline write-up framed the acquisition as a rights “snap” after earlier stages of development in the children’s market, with Sycamore Studios characterized as an independent animation studio expanding its slate through an established book property. The report did not specify whether the project is in early development, who will write or direct the film, or the planned format beyond an animated motion picture.

Sycamore Studios’ acquisition of exclusive motion picture rights indicates it will be the primary company able to develop and produce an animated screen version of the franchise, subject to whatever downstream approvals are required through the rights chain. Exclusive rights arrangements typically include control over timing, creative adaptation decisions, and distribution strategy once production moves forward.

For families and educators, book-to-screen adaptations can affect how a franchise is consumed across multiple platforms, including classroom reading lists and home viewing. While the “InvestiGators” premise is already established in print, film and animation bring potential changes in pacing, character design, and storytelling scope that are often guided by rights holders during adaptation negotiations.

The Deadline report did not give a release date or production timeline. The next concrete steps, once rights are secured, would ordinarily involve script development, animation planning, and casting or voice talent decisions if the studio moves ahead with a full animated feature production.

Neither Deadline nor the report it cited provided additional deal terms such as financial structure, whether the agreement includes sequels or television expansion, or the extent of creative approvals retained by the original creator and publisher. Those details would become more relevant as development progresses and additional announcements are made by the parties involved.