Sunbow Entertainment is an
animation studioAnimation studio can refer to:* a studio where animation is created—see the List of animation studios.* Any three dimensional software animation package such as 3ds Max, Blender 3D, Cinema 4D, Lightwave, Maya, Houdini, or XSI....
, founded in 1980 and owned up until 1998 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The first animation efforts by Griffin-Bacal were producing the animated commercials for
HasbroHasbro is a U.S.-based, multinational toy and boardgame company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. The majority of its products, however, are manufactured overseas.-History:In 1923, two brothers—Henry...
's
G.I. JoeG.I. Joe is a line of military-themed articulated "action figures" produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot and Action Marine . The term G.I. stands for...
toy line.
The success of the animated commercials led partners Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal to form Sunbow Productions. One of Sunbow's most well known productions is the long running syndicated series
The Great Space CoasterThe Great Space Coaster was a children's television show that ran from 1981 through 1986. The series was directed by Dick Feldman, and distributed by Sunbow Productions.-Show summary and history:...
.
Sunbow is noted for many cartoons aired during the 1980s.
Sunbow Entertainment is an
animation studioAnimation studio can refer to:* a studio where animation is created—see the List of animation studios.* Any three dimensional software animation package such as 3ds Max, Blender 3D, Cinema 4D, Lightwave, Maya, Houdini, or XSI....
, founded in 1980 and owned up until 1998 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The first animation efforts by Griffin-Bacal were producing the animated commercials for
HasbroHasbro is a U.S.-based, multinational toy and boardgame company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. The majority of its products, however, are manufactured overseas.-History:In 1923, two brothers—Henry...
's
G.I. JoeG.I. Joe is a line of military-themed articulated "action figures" produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot and Action Marine . The term G.I. stands for...
toy line.
The success of the animated commercials led partners Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal to form Sunbow Productions. One of Sunbow's most well known productions is the long running syndicated series
The Great Space CoasterThe Great Space Coaster was a children's television show that ran from 1981 through 1986. The series was directed by Dick Feldman, and distributed by Sunbow Productions.-Show summary and history:...
.
Company overview
Sunbow is noted for many cartoons aired during the 1980s. Most of their work was co-produced with
Marvel ProductionsMarvel Productions Ltd. was a television and motion picture studio division of Marvel Comics, based in Hollywood, California. Originally an animation studio, Marvel produced such notable animated shows and specials such as Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, The Pink Panther in: Pink at First...
. Although it is not limited to Hasbro's various toy line products its reputation is tied to the many cartoon series tied to them. Its animation was initially produced by the Japanese animation studio
Toei Animationis a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
, supplemented by the South Korean animation studio
AKOMAKOM is a South Korean animation studio that has provided much work since its conception in 1985 by Nelson Shin. Its biggest claim to fame is the overseas animation for 200 episodes of The Simpsons, to which that number is consistently rising. In fact, they animated the first two seasons of that...
later on. By 1988, most of Hasbro's toylines were losing money and various internal struggles forced the company to end popular series such as
G.I. Joe and
TransformersThe Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animals. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan...
. Two of Sunbow's animated movies, (
The Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986....
and
My Little Pony: The MovieMy Little Pony: The Movie is an animated feature film based on the My Little Pony toy line. It was released on June 20, 1986 by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group...
) flopped at the box office, forcing a third project,
G.I. Joe: The MovieG.I. Joe: The Movie is a 1987 animated film spun off from the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, based on the original Hasbro toyline....
, to be released directly to video instead.
In a bid to produce original material, Sunbow produced several cartoons through the early 1990s such as
The Nudnik Show,
The Tick and
Conan the AdventurerConan the Adventurer was the name of a popular American animated television series adaptation of the literary and comic book character, Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s...
. Of these, only
The Tick managed to gain popularity and critical acclaim.
On April 28, 1998 Sunbow Productions was bought by
Sony WonderSony Wonder is a children and family's music and home video arm of Sony BMG Music Entertainment , founded in 1991. The division distributed material from Sesame Workshop and Classic Media...
, a division of Sony Music. Sunbow was sold for US$10 million dollars in 2000 to TV Loonland AG, which then bought Metrodome Distribution, who currently have the European rights to the Sunbow catalogue. After TV-Loonland acquired Sunbow Productions and Sony Wonder's television business, the company formed Sunbow Entertainment.
Previously,
Rhino EntertainmentRhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company, owned by Warner Music Group.-Company history:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of Pop Music, Rock & Roll, and R&B successes from...
owned the US home video distribution rights to the Sunbow catalogue. The rights then changed hands to Sony Wonder with its acquisition of the catalogue. However, Sony Wonder was shut down in March 2007.
On June 21, 2007 it was announced that Sony Wonder had been absorbed into
Sony Pictures Home EntertainmentSony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in 1978 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment....
, which currently owns the US rights to the Sunbow catalogue. However, it is unknown when or if any of the shows in the library will be re-released by the company in the future.
In May 2008,
HasbroHasbro is a U.S.-based, multinational toy and boardgame company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. The majority of its products, however, are manufactured overseas.-History:In 1923, two brothers—Henry...
released news that it had obtained the rights to all the Sunbow and Marvel co-produced cartoons based on its properties. This includes
Transformers,
G.I. JoeG.I. Joe is a line of military-themed articulated "action figures" produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot and Action Marine . The term G.I. stands for...
,
My Little PonyMy Little Pony is a line of colourful toy ponies marketed primarily to young girls and produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These dolls can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes, and typically a unique symbol on one or both sides of their hindquarters.Following the related My...
and many more.
Productions
Among the various series produced by Sunbow are:
- Cramp Twins (2001)
- Lion of Oz (2000)
- Mega Babies
Mega Babies was a Canadian cartoon created by the Tremblay brothers, Christian and Yvon, and produced by CinéGroupe and Landmark Entertainment Group in association with Sony Wonder....
(1999)
- Salty's Lighthouse
Salty's Lighthouse was a children's series created by Nina I. Hahn and produced by Sunbow Entertainment, seen on the TLC network .The show centered around a young boy named Salty, and his friends in a lighthouse....
(1999)
- Deepwater Black
Deepwater Black is a 1995 novel, first in the Deepwater trilogy, by the New Zealand science fiction writer Ken Catran, where a cast of young characters are supposedly stranded in space whilst a virus ravages Earth. The book series itself is quite different from the television series later developed...
(Mission: Genesis in the U.S.) (1997)
- The Brothers Flub
The Brothers Flub is an animated television series produced by Sunbow Productions and co-produced by Ravensburger. It aired in the United States of America on the television network Nickelodeon...
(1997)
- The Adventures of Hyperman
The Adventures of Hyperman, is a Television Series that aired from November 4 1995 to August 10 1996 on CBS. It was based on an edutainment computer game of the same name.-Episode list:*1 ?/Stuck on You...
(1995)
- The Mask
The Mask: The Animated Series is a television animated series based on the comic book superhero, The Mask, but is a sequel to the 1994 film adaptation. The show ran for three seasons, from August 12, 1995 to February 7, 1997, and spawned its own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask...
(1995)
- The Littlest Pet Shop
Littlest Pet Shop is a toy franchise owned by Hasbro. An animated television series based on the franchise by Sunbow Productions and Creativite et Developpement debuted in 1995. It follows the lives of five miniature animals...
(1995)
- The Tick
The Tick is an American animated television series adaptation of the New England Comics superhero, The Tick. The series debuted September 10, 1994 on the Fox network's Fox Kids block and was responsible for introducing the satirical comic book character to a mainstream audience. Lasting three...
(1994)
- Conan the Adventurer
Conan the Adventurer was the name of a popular American animated television series adaptation of the literary and comic book character, Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s...
(1992)
- Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars (1991) (Co-Production With IDDH, and Continuity Comics
Continuity Publishing, also known as Continuity Comics, was a short-lived American independent comic book company formed by Neal Adams in 1984.Continuity mainly published a variety of superhero comics developed by Adams. Continuity Publishing, also known as Continuity Comics, was a short-lived ...
)
- The Nudnik Show (1991)
- Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light was originally a range of action figures from Hasbro, released in 1987. This action figure range was promoted by two different media, telling the stories of the characters...
(1987) (Co-Production with TMS Productions, formerly known as , is a Japanese animation studio, founded on October 1946. One of the oldest and most prominent anime studios in Japan, it has also produced numerous animated series airing in other countries such as France, the United States, and Italy...
)
- My Little Pony 'n Friends
My Little Pony 'n Friends was an animated TV series based on Hasbro's My Little Pony toyline, which also included adaptations of other Hasbro toylines. The series was originally syndicated by Claster Television...
(1986) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- Robotix
Robotix may refer to:* Robotix, a 1986 cartoon produced by Sunbow & Marvel Productions* Robotix , a robotics competition organized by the students of IIT Kharagpur...
(1986) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- Inhumanoids
Inhumanoids was an animated series and Hasbro toy property in 1986. In the tradition of other Hasbro properties such as Transformers, G.I. Joe and Visionaries, the show was produced by Sunbow and Marvel Productions and animated in Japan by Toei Animation...
(1986) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- Super Sunday (1985) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- Jem
Jem, also called Jem and the Holograms, is an American animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U.S. first-run syndication...
(1985) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- G.I. Joe (1985) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- Transformers
The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animals. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan...
(1984) (Co-Production With, Marvel Productions)
- G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra (1984) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- The Charmkins (1983) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- The Great Space Coaster
The Great Space Coaster was a children's television show that ran from 1981 through 1986. The series was directed by Dick Feldman, and distributed by Sunbow Productions.-Show summary and history:...
(1981; co-produced with MetromediaMetromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986.- Overview :...
)
The only movies produced by Sunbow were:
- G.I. Joe: The Movie
G.I. Joe: The Movie is a 1987 animated film spun off from the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, based on the original Hasbro toyline....
(1987) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986....
(1986) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
- My Little Pony: The Movie
My Little Pony: The Movie is an animated feature film based on the My Little Pony toy line. It was released on June 20, 1986 by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group...
(1986) (Co-Production With Marvel Productions)
External links