Canadian animation studio
CineGroupe
|
Industry
| Animation
|
---|
Founded
| 1974
; 50 years ago
(
1974
)
|
---|
Founder
| Jacques Pettigrew
|
---|
Headquarters
| Montreal
,
Quebec
,
Canada
|
---|
Key people
| Jacques Pettigrew (President, CEO)
Michel Lemire (Creative Director)
Christian Garcia (CGI Supervisor)
|
---|
Owner
| Jacques Pettigrew
|
---|
Parent
| Lionsgate
(1998?2002, minority stake)
|
---|
CineGroupe
is a Canadian
animation studio
based in
Montreal
,
Quebec
. The company was founded in 1974.
[1]
Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries.
[1]
Notable franchises from CineGroupe include:
What's with Andy?
,
The Kids from Room 402
, and
Pig City
(all aired on Fox Family, now known as
Freeform
); the computer-animated
Tripping the Rift
(Sci Fi, now known as
Syfy
); and
PBS
'
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
. With
Sony Wonder
, it has produced
Mega Babies
(also aired on Fox Family), as well as a direct-to-video feature,
Lion of Oz
(a
prequel
to both the L. Frank Baum work, and
the 1939 movie
).
In the 2000s, the company produced the animation for a sequel to the 1981 cult classic
Heavy Metal
for Columbia TriStar Home Video titled
Heavy Metal 2000
,
[2]
premiered on
Starz
in the United States and on
Teletoon
in Canada from 2001 onwards. In 2004, it made
Pinocchio 3000
, a sci-fi retelling of the Italian
tale
.
[3]
Galidor
, a live-action fantasy series for teenagers, has also been produced by the company. The company also cooperated with the toy maker
MGA Entertainment
in the creation of
Bratz: Starrin' and Stylin'
, a 2D-animated direct-to-video film based on MGA's
Bratz
line of fashion dolls.
History
[
edit
]
In August 1998, it was announced that
Fox Family Worldwide
would purchase a 20% minority stake in the company although CineGroupe would still be a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment, which owned 40% of the studio.
[4]
[5]
In January 2001, the studio formed a production and distribution joint-venture with
Telescene
, with the first production under it being the third series of
Big Wolf on Campus
. CineGroupe would hold an 80% stake while Telescene would hold 20%.
[6]
In July 2001, Lions Gate's ownership of the studio was confirmed to have been reduced to 30%, with Lions Gate president Andre Link having 50% of its voting stock, leading to the studio being a partner of Lions Gate instead of a subsidiary.
[7]
In September 2001, the company formed a division called CineGroupe Image to expand to live-action programming.
[8]
In October 2002, the company united with the music label Les Disques Star Records Inc. to create a home video distributor called CineGroupe Star.
[9]
The partnership ended in January 2004.
[
citation needed
]
In November 2002, the company announced that it would produce a
Britney Spears
cartoon.
[10]
By December 2003, Lions Gate Entertainment's stake in the studio was reduced further to 29.4%.
[11]
In January 2004, the CineGroupe Star joint-venture with Star Records was folded. in the month, the studio filed for a protection order from its creditors with the Quebec Superior Court.
[12]
In 2018, CineGroupe co-produced
Tshakapesh
, a 2D-animated series based on an Innu legend, which has aired on
APTN
and
Radio-Canada
. Two edutainment IPs are currently being developed by CineGroupe, aiming at raising awareness about water preservation and environmental protection. CineGroupe is also viewing revivals and revitalization of their old properties.
CineGroupe is currently partnered with HG Distribution (Henry Gagnon Distribution) for the distribution of its library.
[13]
However, only a portion of CineGroupe's catalogue is listed for distribution by HG. Several notable titles such as
Bad Dog
,
Daft Planet
, and
The Tofus
are not listed,
[14]
as are live-action series, such as
Big Wolf on Campus
.
[15]
Library
[
edit
]
Series
[
edit
]
Films
[
edit
]
Title
|
Release date
|
Co-production(s)
|
Note
|
Jean-du-Sud autour du monde
|
1983
|
|
|
Just a Game
|
May 22, 1983
|
Astral Films
(distributor)
|
|
Heavy Metal 2000
|
July 10, 2000
|
Columbia Tristar Home Video
(distributor)
|
|
Lion of Oz
|
September 26, 2000
|
Sony Wonder
(distributor)
|
|
Edge of Madness
|
January 1, 2002
|
Credo Entertainment, Gregorian Films,
Lions Gate Films
(distributor)
|
|
Pinocchio 3000
|
February 9, 2004
|
Filmax
, AnimaKids,
Christal Films
(distributor)
|
|
Bratz: Starrin' & Stylin'
|
August 3, 2004
|
MGA Entertainment
,
Toon City Animation
,
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(distributor)
|
|
TV specials
[
edit
]
Video games
[
edit
]
In 2002 and 2003, CineGroupe developed three video games for the
Game Boy Advance
.
[19]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Owner
| |
---|
Parent
| |
---|
Formerly
|
- Saban Entertainment Inc. (1980-2001)
|
---|
Founders
| |
---|
Subsidairies
| Major
|
- BVS International N.V. (1989?2016)
- Jetix Europe N.V.
(73.3%) (1996?2009)
- SIP Animation
(1977-2023)
- BVS International Services Inc. (1986-2011)
- Saban/Sherick Productions (1989-2001)
|
---|
|
---|
Divsions
|
- Libra Pictures International/Libra Home Entertainment (1994-2001)
|
---|
See also
| |
---|
|
---|
Lionsgate Studios Corp
| Motion pictures
| |
---|
Television production
and distribution
| |
---|
|
---|
Media assets
| |
---|
Former or defunct assets
and predecessors
| |
---|
Key personnel
| |
---|
|
|
---|
Active
companies
| |
---|
Defunct
companies
| |
---|
Related topics
| |
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