20th Century Family (formerly Fox Family; also known as 20th Century Studios Family) is a division of 20th Century Studios which produces family-friendly films and television programs. Besides theatrical films, the division oversees mixed media (live-action with animation), family animated holiday television specials based on film properties, and film features based on TV shows.

Background

Before Fox started its family division,

20th Century Animation 20th Century Animation, Inc. (originally known as Fox Family Films, Fox Animation Studios, and 20th Century Fox Animation and sometimes referred to as Fox Animation) is an American animation studio located in Century City, Los Angeles. Formed ...

was known as Fox Family Films, as one of four film divisions of 20th Century Fox under executive John Matoian. The division was planned to produce six feature films a year as part of a plan to produce more films per year overall. Fox senior vice president of production

Chris Meledandri Christopher Meledandri (; born May 15, 1959) is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation, and has worked as the producer of the ''Despicable Me'' franchise ...

was transferred into the unit as executive vice president in March 1994 after having been hired the previous year. The week of May 6, 1994, Fox Family announced the hiring of

Don Bluth Donald Virgil Bluth (; born September 13, 1937) is an American film director, animator, production designer, and animation instructor, best known for his animated films, including '' The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), '' An American Tail'' (1986), ''Th ...

and

Gary Goldman Gary Wayne Goldman (born November 17, 1944) is an American film producer, director, animator, writer and voice actor. He is known for working on films with Don Bluth such as ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' for his directorial debut, ''Anastasia'', ' ...

for a new $100 million

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...

which began construction that year in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. In three years, the animation studio would produce and release its first film, ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

''. In September 1994, Matoian was promoted by

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

to head up the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

. Meledandri was selected to head up the unit in 1994. It produced live-action films such as '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' (1995), ''

Dunston Checks In ''Dunston Checks In'' is a 1996 Canadian-American children's comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis. The film stars Eric Lloyd, Graham Sack, Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, Rupert Everett, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and Sam the Orangutan as Dunston. T ...

'' (1996) and ''

Home Alone 3 ''Home Alone 3'' is a 1997 American family comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell in his directorial debut, produced by John Hughes, and starring Alex D. Linz and Haviland Morris. The film tells the story of an 8-year-old boy who defends his ho ...

''. By August 1997, Fox Family had decreased the number of live-action films. R.L. Stine agreed with Fox Family Films in January 1998 for a film adaptation of the ''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually ...

'' book franchise with

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

producing, but it never came to fruition. After the success of ''

'', Fox Family Films was renamed to

Fox Animation Studios Fox Animation Studios was an American animation production company owned by 20th Century Fox and located in Phoenix, Arizona. After six years of operation, the studio was shut down on June 26, 2000, ten days after the release of its final film, ...

, later 20th Century Fox Animation, and simply 20th Century Animation.

History

On October 30, 2017, Morrison was transferred from her post as president of

20th Century Fox Animation 20th Century Animation, Inc. (originally known as Fox Family Films, Fox Animation Studios, and 20th Century Fox Animation and sometimes referred to as Fox Animation) is an American animation studio located in Century City, Los Angeles. Formed ...

, the prior Fox Family Films, to be president of a newly created 20th Century Fox division, Fox Family, which as a mandate similar to Fox Family Films. The division pick up supervision of a ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and t ...

'' film and some existing deals with animation producers, including Tonko House. With the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney in March 2019, rights to ''

The Dam Keeper ''The Dam Keeper'' is a 2014 American animated short film directed by Robert Kondo and Daisuke Tsutsumi. It tells the story of Pig, an introverted youth who lives in a windmill and keeps a dark fog from engulfing his town. Although socially re ...

'' feature animated film returned to Tonko House. After the Disney acquisition in 2019, the company was renamed to 20th Century Family in 2020 to avoid confusion with

Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (stylized in all-caps as FOX Corporation) is a publicly traded American mass media company operated and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Incorporated ...

. On March 12, 2020, Morrison was named president, Streaming, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production to oversee live action development and production of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios for Disney+.

Productions

Released films

In development

* ''The Prom Goer's Interstellar Excursion'' based film, co-produced with

Chernin Entertainment Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and owned by former News Corporation president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin, also CEO and chairman of the company. Jenno Topping is the current Head ...

* ''Paper Lanterns'' live-action/animated family film written by Jonny Sun and co-produced with Chernin Entertainment * ''The Garden'' live-action/CGI musical film based on book of Genesis's ''The Garden of Eden'' and co-produced with Franklin Entertainment

References

{{Film studios American companies established in 2017 20th Century Studios Walt Disney Studios (division) Disney production studios Disney acquisitions