British television production company
Ragdoll Productions Limited
Logo used since 2000
|
Formerly
| Ragdoll Productions (U.K.) Limited (1985-2000)
Ragdoll Video Limited (1991?2000)
[1]
[2]
Ragdoll Limited (2000-2013)
[3]
|
---|
Company type
| Private
|
---|
Industry
| Television production
|
---|
Founded
| 26 July 1984
; 39 years ago
(
1984-07-26
)
|
---|
Founder
| Anne Wood
|
---|
Headquarters
| ,
England
|
---|
Key people
| Christopher Wood
|
---|
Owner
| Ragdoll Ltd.
|
---|
Subsidiaries
| The Ragdoll Foundation
|
---|
Website
| ragdoll
.co
.uk
|
---|
Footnotes / references
[1]
|
The evolution of WildBrain
|
1968
| FilmFair
London is founded
|
---|
1971
| DIC Audiovisuel is founded
|
---|
1972
| Strawberry Shortcake
brand is first developed
|
---|
1974
| CPLG
is founded
|
---|
1976
| CINAR and
Colossal Pictures
are founded
|
---|
1982
| DIC Enterprises is founded
|
---|
1984
| Ragdoll Productions
is founded
|
---|
1987
| DIC Audiovisuel closes
|
---|
1988
| Studio B Productions
is founded
|
---|
1992
| Epitome Pictures
is founded
|
---|
1993
| DIC Enterprises becomes
DIC Entertainment
|
---|
1994
| Wild Brain
is founded? and Red Rover Studios is founded, DIC Entertainment brands as The Incredible World of DIC
|
---|
1995
| Platinum Disc Corporation is founded
|
---|
1996
| CINAR buys FilmFair's library
|
---|
1997
| Decode Entertainment
is founded
|
---|
1999
| Wild Brain acquires Colossal Pictures' employee base
|
---|
2002
| Nerd Corps Entertainment
is founded
|
---|
2004
| Halifax Film Company is founded, CINAR rebrands as
Cookie Jar Group
|
---|
2005
| Platinum Disc Corporation merge as
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
|
---|
2006
| Decode and Halifax Film merge as DHX Media, DIC acquires CPLG, and Ragdoll Worldwide is formed with
BBC Worldwide
|
---|
2007
| DHX Media buys Studio B Productions and Wild Brain becomes
Wildbrain Entertainment
|
---|
2008
| Cookie Jar Group absorbs DIC and
House of Cool
absorbs Red Rover Studios
|
---|
2010
| DHX Media buys Wildbrain Entertainment? and Peanuts Worldwide is founded
|
---|
2011
| Decode Entertainment and Red Rover Studios closes
|
---|
2012
| DHX Media buys Cookie Jar Group
|
---|
2013
| DHX Media buys Ragdoll Worldwide
|
---|
2014
| DHX Media buys Epitome Pictures, Nerd Corps, and Echo Bridge Home Entertainment's family content library; Cookie Jar Group is absorbed
|
---|
2016
| The WildBrain multi-channel network launches and Studio B and Nerd Corps merge as
DHX Studios
|
---|
2017
| Wildbrain Entertainment closes; DHX Media buys
Peanuts Worldwide
and Strawberry Shortcake
|
---|
2018
| Halifax Film becomes
Island of Misfits
|
---|
2019
| DHX Media rebrands as
WildBrain
, Epitome Pictures closes, and the WildBrain MCN becomes
WildBrain Spark
|
---|
2020
| CPLG becomes WildBrain CPLG
|
---|
2021
| Echo Bridge Home Entertainment closes
|
---|
2023
| WildBrain acquires House of Cool
|
---|
2024
| WildBrain Spark merged into it's parent company as
WildBrain London
thru it's YouTube network, digital studio and media solution businesses
|
---|
|
Ragdoll Productions Limited
, or simply
Ragdoll
, is a British television production company founded in 1984 by
Anne Wood
, who had previously worked for
Yorkshire Television
and
TV-am
. It is located in
Bloxham
,
Oxfordshire
, and has produced a number of
children's programmes
, most notably
Pob's Programme
,
Teletubbies
,
Rosie and Jim
,
Brum
,
Boohbah
,
Tots TV
, and
In the Night Garden...
,
most of which are now owned by
WildBrain
.
History
[
edit
]
Ragdoll Productions was founded on 26 July 1984 by
Anne Wood
, who produced shows for the
ITV
network. It was incorporated as
Ragdoll Productions (U.K.) Limited
in April 1985 and was originally based in
Birmingham
.
[4]
The company's first show,
Pob's Programme
, premiered on
Channel 4
later that year. The company was later commissioned by
Central Independent Television
to produce
Playbox
, which demonstrated the ability for the company to produce their own characters. In 1989,
The Magic Mirror
and
BOOM!
marked the company's debut in the animation and live-action markets.
[5]
The company at first produced puppet-based programmes, and their mascot was originally a female
rag doll
that was based on one that belonged to Wood's daughter.
In 1992, the company moved their operations to
Stratford-upon-Avon
and opened up The Ragdoll Shop.
In the mid-1990s, Ragdoll expanded operations to the
United States
, and signed a deal with The Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Company to sell their programmes in the market.
In 2000, Ragdoll dropped their rag doll mascot for a more simplistic logo designed by
Lambie-Nairn
, with the company also adopting a new name of
Ragdoll Limited
by that point. During that time, the company started to move away from puppet-based shows (which started with
Teletubbies
in 1997), by making animated cartoons. Ragdoll still produced live-action shows, but would use costumes and animatronics instead of puppets.
In October 2001, Ragdoll parted ways with Itsy Bitsy following a failure to reach an agreement with the company's majority owner, the Handleman Group. Ragdoll then started to sell their programmes on their own from then-on, forming Ragdoll USA.
[6]
In January 2002,
Teletubbies: Everywhere
, a spin-off of
Teletubbies
, was announced to air on
CBeebies
within its launch window.
[7]
On 14 June, a new series titled
Boohbah
was announced and was pre-sold to
CITV
and
GMTV
for a 2003 delivery.
[8]
The show later saw an international roll-out.
At MIPTV 2005, Ragdoll announced a new series titled
Blurrfect
and that CITV had acquired broadcasting rights for an autumn 2005 delivery.
[9]
By September 2005, the series was renamed
Blips
, and soon premiered on 29 September 2005 as part of the CITV's autumn schedule.
[10]
[11]
On 13 October, Ragdoll unrevealed two new series that were pre-sold to the BBC:
In the Night Garden...
and
Tronji
, for a 2007 delivery.
[12]
In October 2005, Ragdoll subsidiary The Ragdoll Foundation announced that
Five
's
Milkshake!
block had commissioned a series of six short films titled
What Makes Me Happy?
, which would air daily from 19 December.
[13]
In September 2006, Ragdoll formed a joint venture with
BBC Worldwide
called Ragdoll Worldwide, to sell and license the company's programmes outside of the UK and North America.
In the Night Garden...
and
Tronji
would be the first two programmes created as part of the venture, while existing programmes were handled by BBC Worldwide, which managed the international broadcast sales and the UK and international licensing of all Ragdoll properties (including
Blips
,
Boohbah
,
Brum
,
Tots TV
,
Rosie and Jim
, and
Open a Door
), with Ragdoll retaining all British broadcast rights. A new subsidiary, Ragdoll USA Inc., part of the new joint venture, would manage Ragdoll's distribution in North America.
[14]
In January 2013, Ragdoll opted to end their agreement with BBC Worldwide and put up Ragdoll Worldwide for sale.
[15]
On 16 September, Canadian studio DHX Media (currently named
WildBrain
) purchased the venture from both companies for £17.4 million (or USD$24 million)
[16]
The deal included the rights to most of Ragdoll's programming produced from 1990 to 2012. The company also changed to its current name of
Ragdoll Productions Limited
, with "Productions" added back to the name after 13 years.
In 2015, Ragdoll produced the live-action/stop-motion series
Twirlywoos
with DHX, making it the first and only co-production between the companies.
In 2018, the company co-produced a short film with
Disney UK
for the Hope Works initiative, titled
What Shall We Do With The Angry Monster?
.
[17]
In 2021, Ragdoll formed a deal with British distribution company
Cake Entertainment
for them to distribute their new series,
B.O.T. and the Beasties
, for
CBeebies
. On 29 March, the company was relocated to
Shenington
, with Anne Wood retiring from the company on 14 December, and leaving her son Christopher as director of the studio.
On 13 June 2024, Ragdoll would once again move their operations, this time to
Bloxham
, another small town in Oxfordshire.
Pre-Ragdoll productions
[
edit
]
The following are some of productions made by Anne Wood before Ragdoll was founded, accompanied by a brief description and vital statistics:
- Puzzle Party
- first broadcast in 1977. Hosted by
Gyles Brandreth
and featuring characters Gnigel and Gnu, the show was one of Anne Wood's earliest TV shows for the BBC.
- The Book Tower
- first broadcast in 1979, hosted by
Tom Baker
and
Stephen Moore
.
- Ragdolly Anna
- first broadcast in 1982, based on the children's books by Jean Kenward.
- Roland Rat
- first broadcast in 1983.
Productions
[
edit
]
Ragdoll's programmes produced between 1990 and 2017 (excluding
Pob's Programme
,
BOOM!
and
Storytime
) are currently owned by
WildBrain
(formerly known as DHX Media).
Ragdoll Productions
[
edit
]
Ragdoll Worldwide
[
edit
]
The Ragdoll Shop
[
edit
]
The Ragdoll Shop
in
Stratford-upon-Avon
,
Warwickshire
was a store that consisted of themed play areas based on Ragdoll properties and an area where merchandise was sold. The store first opened in 1992, and traded until 2005, because of expansion limits and failure to find a new larger venue.
[18]
The building that formerly housed the shop is now a optometrist's practice named Dr. CP Grey's. The picture of Rosie and Jim waving can still be seen in the black window at the top of the building.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Founders
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Television series
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Films
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Active animation
studios/companies
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Defunct animation
studios/companies
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Related topics
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WildBrain Television
| |
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WildBrain (UK) Limited
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Other
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People
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Related
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