This week’s voting looked a lot like game seven of the World Series: Another company took the early lead and held onto it for most of the weekend—but at the last minute, reader votes surged for The Cartoon Coalition, putting this fledgling LA-based studio led by Larry Kasanoff (pictured), Sean Catherine Derek and Kiran Joshi over the top to win Kidscreen’s Gold Star!

GOLD STAR WINNER – The Cartoon Coalition: This new kids company on the block is aptly named—just check out the number of animation industry mavens involved. At a time when this genre doesn’t have it easy, it’s good to see fledgling studios emerge and double down. The Coalition already has robust plans to embrace emerging tech tools and set up operations in growing markets like Asia and the Middle East. And we’re certainly interested in some of the quirky family movie concepts on its slate. (Wild animals with a karaoke machine? Sign us up!)

And here’s what we said about the runners-up, who also had winning weeks:

Little Dot Studios: The UK digital agency just got rewarded for what its CEO Dan Jones called two years of “intense” work bettering its business to get B Corp-certified, a rare-in-the-industry signal that a company is determined to balance profit with purpose. Getting the B Corp seal of approval means years of scrutiny into a company’s environmental impact, transparency and accountability. One benefit for Little Dot is that the certification could make the company more attractive to prospective employees and business partners—and another is a Gold Star nomination this week!

Lopii Productions: Lopii had a good week, eh? The Toronto-based studio inked deals with not one but two Canadian broadcasters for M is for Me. Get your maple syrup and toques ready, because this preschool series is all about what it means to be Canadian, celebrating kids’ identity, culture and diversity. At a time when trade and cultural relations between the US and Canada have gotten tense, Lopii has committed to bringing kids some entertainment that highlights what’s great about the Great White North.

Playground Productions: Just in time for the World Series, the studio hit a home run with its revival of Backyard Sports. This nostalgic video game brand is getting its first animated adaptation, with a star-studded Backyard Baseball-focused Sticky Situation special in the works. But what’s especially impressive is Playground’s emphasis on financing the project independently—with a little help from arcade/restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s. It seems for Playground, knocking it out of the park shouldn’t happen at the expense of creative control—even if it means turning down offers from bigger studios and platforms. Let’s play ball!

Roblox: Tariffs may be causing turmoil in the toy industry, but they can’t touch the explosive growth of gaming. Roblox blew away expectations with its Q3 results, which saw revenue rise a jaw-dropping 48% to US$1.35 billion. Not only is this the eighth consecutive quarter of growth for the seemingly endlessly popular gaming platform, but bookings also jumped a record 70% and engagement was up over 90%. At this point, we’re starting to wonder, who’s not on Roblox?

Check back on Friday for our next batch of nominees. Hope to see you on the list soon!