Meet the creators

Rugile Kazlauskiene is a clinical psychologist, cognitive behavior psychotherapist and a loving mom. Her interest in helping little ones deal with their emotions, especially during Covid, was piqued and she wanted to find a way to reach a wider audience of children and caregivers outside of her clinical setting.

Rugile met Vytautas while volunteering at a children's camp, and that’s how the journey of the Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos! began.

Growing up, "Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos!" artist and co-creator Vytautas Tautkevičius was influenced by animated series like "Dexter's Laboratory," "The PowerPuff Girls" and anime. He went on to earn a degree in fine arts and after graduation began to work in gaming industry. At the same time, his interest in human behaviour led him to an additional focus in art therapy. "I became interested in the intersection of art and psychology," he explains.

During his art therapy studies, he worked at a kindergarten. "That experience helped me better understand the struggles children are facing. Through their drawings I got to know their inner worlds" says Vytautas.

Our series is co-written and edited by award-winning writer/producer Rita Street of Radar Cartoons, LLC. Best known for co-creating "Space Chickens in Space" for Disney EMEA, she is also the EP for Flying Bark and Studio 100's ongoing movie and TV franchise, "100% Wolf."

Karolis Kveselis is Lithuanian animated movies director, born and raised in Kaunas. Karolis has been fascinated by 3D computer graphics and animation since the childhood. Inspired by the early computer animation films and video game cinematics, he decided to build his career in this field. With no professional schools available in Lithuania at the time to nurture his interest, Karolis started self-learning journey, driven by determination and passion. Over the course of 10 years, he acquired and accumulated knowledge that allows him to comprehend the entire process of computer animation production, from sketches and 3D modeling to lighting, music, and how to serve the final product for viewers. He has worked on various projects, where he started his first steps as a director by creating commercials, promotional materials and game trailers.

Mindaugas Jokūbaitis is an accomplished producer and IP creator with more than a decade of experience driving innovation in the industry. As CEO and founder of OAK9 Entertainment, he has guided the studio’s growth into a leading Lithuanian producer of original content and new media franchises. Jokūbaitis has developed and produced a diverse slate of projects, including the award-winning short “Just Imagine” and the groundbreaking preschool series “Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos!”. The series blends entertaining stories with psychologically informed lessons to enable children and their caregivers to explore universal challenges such as sadness, anger and anxiety. It’s the first Lithuanian animated preschool franchise to secure international distribution.

Photos by Vita Kučinskienė