Imagi Animation Studios, also known as Imagi Studios, was a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

animation and visual effects studio based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and established in 2000 by Imagi International Holdings Limited (), a Hong Kong-based investment company.

Background

In 2000, Imagi Animation Studios was set up and production starts on its first project, the CGI-animated television series ''

Zentrix ''Zentrix'' is a 3D computer graphics, 3D-Computer-generated imagery, CG Hong Kong Chinese animation, donghua TV series directed by Tony Tong and Felix Ip under the Hong Kong-based company Imagi Animation Studios. The original story was written b ...

''. The company had a studio in

Chai Wan Chai Wan (; ), formerly known as Sai Wan (西灣), lies at the east end of the urban area of Hong Kong Island next to Shau Kei Wan. The area is administratively part of the Eastern District, and is a mosaic of industrial and residential area ...

, as well as a creative development and production facility in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and a satellite office in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. The company's first major CGI-animated theatrical film ''

TMNT ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after ...

'' was released March 23, 2007 by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, opening No. 1 at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

, and was being distributed internationally by the

Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

. Imagi's focus was to create high-quality CGI-animated feature films with

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

themes to entertain global audiences, combining

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

storytelling with computer animation done in Hong Kong.

Setbacks and bankruptcy

In January 2009, Imagi's auditing firm announced that the studio lacked funding to complete the release of ''Cat Tale'' (which was to have been released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

) and ''

Gatchaman is a Japanese animated franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman ...

'' and

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Felix Ip reported that ''Gatchamans release was not expected until later in 2009.It closed its doors as Imagi to assume another company name as to avoid any unclaimed debts to investors and staff. In June 2009, Imagi opened ''Gatchaman'' to licensing partners and announced a 3-D theatrical release for 2011. In October 2009, Imagi released ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 ''tankōbon'' vo ...

'', based on the manga series of the same name, the film was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

, losing the company $23 million in the process. In January 2010, Imagi's

based parent company Imagi International Holdings Limited announced that the ''Gatchaman'' project will be "''delivered in 100% Stereoscopic 3-D''" and that in order to safeguard working capital, it closed its

subsidiaries. This closure was finalized in late January with the layoff of approximately 30 staffers and the retaining of a few key personnel who will continue to work as consultants as Imagi seeks $30 million from investors to continue its animation projects. On February 5, 2010, following the financial failure of ''Astro Boy'', Imagi Animation Studios filed for bankruptcy and was sold to

Brad Foxhoven Brad Foxhoven is an American film producer and entertainment executive. Filmography External links American film producers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-bio-stub ...

. The sale was completed in May 2010.

Works

Theatrical Feature films

Television/Direct-To-Video Films

Short films

TV series

Cancelled films

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Hong Kong animation studios Mass media companies established in 2000 Mass media companies disestablished in 2010 Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange