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Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by
Haim Saban Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...
and
Shuki Levy Shuki Levy ( he, שוקי לוי; born June 3, 1947) is an Israeli-American music composer and television producer. Levy's best known work is soundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s, such as ''The Real Ghostbusters ...
, which was originally founded as a music production company Saban Productions. The first TV show produced by Saban is the live action/animated show ''
Kidd Video ''Kidd Video'' (originally in development as ''Hot Rocks'') is an American Saturday morning live action/cartoon created by DIC Enterprises in association with Saban Productions. The series originally ran on NBC from 1984 to 1985. Reruns contin ...
''. The company imported, dubbed, and adapted several Japanese series such as ''
Maple Town ''Maple Town'', also known as , is a 1986 Japanese anime series created by Chifude Asakura and directed by Junichi Sato. The series, animated by Toei Animation, consists of 52 half-hour episodes, which aired on TV Asahi in Japan from January ...
'', ''
Noozles ', also known as ''The Wondrous Koala Blinky'', is a 26-episode anime by Nippon Animation Company that was originally released in Japan in 1984. It depicts the adventures of a 12-year-old girl named Sandy and her koala friends, Blinky and Pinky, ...
'', ''Funky Fables'', ''
Samurai Pizza Cats ''Samurai Pizza Cats'' is an American animated television adaptation of the anime series ''Kyatto Ninden Teyandee'' (''Cat Ninja Legend Teyandee''), produced by Tatsunoko Productions and Sotsu Agency. The series originally aired in Japan on ...
'', and the first three ''
Digimon , short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures, who inhabit a "Di ...
'' series to North America and international markets syndication, including both animation and live-action shows. Saban also adapted various
tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...
shows from
Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by i ...
, including ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' (based on the ''
Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The sho ...
'' series), ''
Big Bad Beetleborgs ''Big Bad Beetleborgs'' (later ''Beetleborgs Metallix'') is an American live-action superhero television series by Saban Entertainment and was co-produced with Renaissance-Atlantic Films, Toei Company and Bugboy Productions. Two seasons aired on ...
'' (based on ''
Juukou B-Fighter , is a 1995 Japanese tokusatsu television series. B-Fighter is short for "Beetle Fighter". It was part of Toei's Metal Hero Series franchise. It dealt with three members of the prestigious fighting against the evil forces of the otherworldly Ja ...
''), ''
VR Troopers ''VR Troopers'' is a syndicated live action superhero fiction, superhero-adventure film, adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virtual rea ...
'' (featuring elements of ''Metal Hero'' series like ''
Space Sheriff Shaider is a tokusatsu television show that aired from March 2, 1984 to March 8, 1985. It is the last of the "Space Sheriff Series" of the broader Metal Hero Series franchise, the previous two being ''Space Sheriff Gavan'' and ''Space Sheriff Sharivan''. ...
'', ''
Jikuu Senshi Spielban is a Japanese tokusatsu television series, part of the Metal Hero Series franchise created by Toei Co. Ltd. and aired from to . ''Spielbans footage was used for Saban’s live-action series, ''VR Troopers''. For distribution purposes, Toei Com ...
'', and ''
Choujinki Metalder is the sixth and shortest entry of the Metal Hero Series franchise, running from March 16, 1987, to January 17, 1988, for only 39 episodes. It was the first series to air on Sundays instead of Mondays. ''Metalder'' bears many similarities to ...
''), and ''Masked Rider'' (an original interpretation using scenes from the Japanese ''
Kamen Rider Black RX is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series produced as part of the ''Kamen Rider'' series. The ninth show in the franchise, it is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei Company, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting ...
''). Saban was involved in the co-production of French/American animated shows created by
Jean Chalopin Jean Chalopin (born 31 May 1950) is a French bank executive. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he produced a range of successful animated series, first as the founder and president of the production company DIC, then at his newly created compa ...
for
DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...
. Some of these early 1980s co-productions were ''
Camp Candy ''Camp Candy'' is a 1989-1992 animated television series produced by DIC Animation City, Saban Entertainment and Worldvision Enterprises, in association with Frostbacks Productions, with comedian John Candy providing the voice for an animated vers ...
'', ''
Ulysses 31 (french: link=no, Ulysse 31) is an anime series (1981) that updates the Greek mythology of Odysseus (known as "Ulixes" or "Ulysses" in Latin) to the 31st century. The show comprises 26 half-hour episodes as a co-production between DIC Audiovisue ...
'', ''
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors ''Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors'' (French: ''Jayce et les Conquérants de la Lumière'') is an animated TV show which was first broadcast on TF1 on September 9, 1985 on the block ''Salut les p'tits loups !'', and eventually on September 16 in ...
'', and ''
The Mysterious Cities of Gold ''The Mysterious Cities of Gold'', originally released in Japan as and released in France as ''Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or'', is an animated series which was co-produced by DiC Audiovisuel and Studio Pierrot. Set in 1532, the series foll ...
'' (the third of which was a Japanese co-production). Saban has also distributed and provided music for TV programs produced by other companies, such as ''
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' is an American live-action/animated television series airing from September 4 to November 30, 1989, on syndication. The series is based on the video games ''Super Mario Bros.'' and '' Super Mario Bros. 2'' by ...
'', ''Inspector Gadget'' and the first two dub seasons of ''
Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...
''. Saban also operated a production company Libra Pictures, which was targeted to older audiences than it was on Saban's usual kid-friendly output, as well as a syndicated subsidiary Saban Domestic Distribution, whose primarily purpose was to distribute shows for first-run and off-net syndication.


History


Early years

Saban Entertainment was formed in 1980 as Saban Productions, Inc., which was initially a music production company. The first Saban logo depicted a Saturn-like planet with "Saban," in a Pac-Man style font, going across the planet's ring. Several years later, the company created a division (Saban International N.V.) based in both the United States and the Netherlands for the international distribution of its shows (not to be confused with the interchangeable "Saban International Paris" as they were two different entities). In 1983, it formed a longtime relationship with DIC Enterprises, to create soundtracks for the programs, and also soundtrack outsourcing to different companies like Ruby-Spears Enterprises and
Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...
. In 1984, Saban moved into production outright with its first ever television program ''
Kidd Video ''Kidd Video'' (originally in development as ''Hot Rocks'') is an American Saturday morning live action/cartoon created by DIC Enterprises in association with Saban Productions. The series originally ran on NBC from 1984 to 1985. Reruns contin ...
'', which was in co-production with DIC Enterprises, and it was picked up by
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
as part of the 1984-85 Saturday morning children's programming block. The next project produced by Saban themselves is ''
Macron 1 Macron may refer to: People * Emmanuel Macron (born 1977), president of France since 2017 ** Brigitte Macron (born 1953), French teacher, wife of Emmanuel Macron * Jean-Michel Macron (born 1950), French professor of neurology, father of Emmanuel ...
'', a compilation of various unrelated Japanese anime shows, and relies on pop music, which was picked up for syndication by Orbis Communications for the fall of 1986. In 1986, Saban Productions bought the foreign rights to the DIC Enterprises library of children's programming from DIC's parent DIC Animation City and then sold the rights to
Jean Chalopin Jean Chalopin (born 31 May 1950) is a French bank executive. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he produced a range of successful animated series, first as the founder and president of the production company DIC, then at his newly created compa ...
's C&D. DIC then sued Saban for damages and in 1991, DIC and Saban reached a settlement. In 1987, DiC expanded its relationship with Saban Productions to co-produce its series, a relationship that eventually lasted until it was hit by a lawsuit in 1990. That year, both DIC and Saban Productions teamed up with
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
to provide series commitments to ''
I'm Telling! ''I'm Telling!'' is an American television game show, which ran from September 12, 1987 to March 5, 1988 on NBC Saturday mornings and was hosted by Laurie Faso with Dean Goss announcing. The show is essentially a children's version of ''The Newl ...
'' and ''
The New Archies ''The New Archies'' is an American animated sitcom produced by DIC Animation City, based upon the characters by Archie Comics. The series, originally produced for NBC's Saturday morning schedule and broadcast from September 12 to December 5, 198 ...
'', which was committed to 26 and 13 segments, respectively. On June 10, 1987, Saban Productions, who was the largest suppliers for music and TV, and producer of four Saturday morning animated series, is expanding to live-action TV and theatrical features, and the company has its boards on a made-for-television feature for the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
television network, a late-night hour series for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
, a first-run strip for syndication and a theatrical feature film, and the company is freefalling some of its projects, and had a pilot ''Love on Trial'', for the fall 1988 strip, which doesn't have a distributor for the property yet, but says Saban is marketing the first-run strip, making use of some of the selling techniques applied to the marketing of kid-vid in syndication, as well as fully financing ''Hidden Rage'', and putting up a modest $1.5 million for film, which Saban promised it was going to look like TV's $6 million, because the founder doesn't have the studio overhead and built-in excess, and teaming up with Ron Ziskin and his Four Point Entertainment on a late-night hour program ''Shocking But True'', for CBS, to appeal fans of the young audience, but all the projects were never realized. In late October 1987, Saban Productions had obtained three independently produced projects as part of the real first slate for the NATPE conference, and the first strips would be ''Love Court'', in collaboration with television syndicator
Orbis Communications Orbis may refer to: Companies * Orbis Business Intelligence, a British private intelligence firm * Orbis Technology, a British bookmaker software company now called OpenBet * Orbis (Polish travel agency), a Polish travel agency, established in 1 ...
, and the other strip would be the first game show which was set to be on
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...
, ''All-American Family Challenge'', which gave us a $20 million set that they work and didn't have to build, and the third pilot strip aimed at youths were Alphy's Hollywood Power Party, which will be a teen celebrity dance show, and the fourth project was a network game show version of the board game '' Uno'', which was set for
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, and was to be produced by Peter Berlin and Rob Fiedler, who joined Saban shortly after ''
Wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...
'' was cancelled. In 1988, Saban Productions and Washington-based newspaper columnist Jack Anderson will offer four quarterly specials under the branding ''American Expose'', with then-future '' Cops'' creator/producer
John Langley John Russell Langley (June 1, 1943 – June 26, 2021) was an American television and film director, writer, and producer who was best known as the creator and executive producer of the television show ''Cops (TV program), Cops'', which premiere ...
and
Malcolm Barbour Malcolm Barbour is an American former television producer and the co-creator and former executive producer of the television program '' Cops'' (alongside John Langley). Prior to ''Cops'', Barbour worked with Langley on ''Who Murdered JFK'', ''C ...
serving as producers. It is revealed that
Orbis Communications Orbis may refer to: Companies * Orbis Business Intelligence, a British private intelligence firm * Orbis Technology, a British bookmaker software company now called OpenBet * Orbis (Polish travel agency), a Polish travel agency, established in 1 ...
, who already syndicated Saban's ''
Macron 1 Macron may refer to: People * Emmanuel Macron (born 1977), president of France since 2017 ** Brigitte Macron (born 1953), French teacher, wife of Emmanuel Macron * Jean-Michel Macron (born 1950), French professor of neurology, father of Emmanuel ...
'' was signed on to distribute the programs. Newly created Saban International N.V, was to handle distribution of the same programs, as well as signing up for distribution of non-Saban television material. It is reported that Saban International N.V. would handle international sales of DiC programs such as '' Hey Vern, It's Ernest'', until a lawsuit hit in 1990. In early 1989, the company renamed itself Saban Entertainment, Inc. As the company grew, additional executives were hired to push into new areas like prime time programming. Saban hired Stan Golden from Horizon International TV to head their Saban international distribution arm. Then in August 1989, Tom Palmieri came from
MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the productio ...
to become Saban president. By January 2, 1990, Saban formed Saban/Scherick Productions division for production done with Edgar Scherick, primarily miniseries and made-for-TV movies. Around this time, they also began distributing the film library of
New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...
(which had been sold by New World to Trans-Atlantic Films, composed of ex-New World employees) to television stations. CLT in Luxembourg had signed a deal with Saban to market TV shows. In 1990, Saban entered into a partnership with video game publisher
Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide d ...
and syndicator
Bohbot Entertainment Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...
to develop the program ''
Video Power ''Video Power'' is an American television series that aired in two different formats from 1990 to 1992 in syndication. Both formats revolved around video games, and actor Stivi Paskoski presided over both series playing video game master Johnny Ar ...
''. Also that year, Saban started Saban Video, with distribution being handled by
Video Treasures Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...
. In 1991, Saban Entertainment has struck a deal with home video deal Prism Entertainment in order that Prism would gave home video distribution rights and Saban International gaining international distribution rights. By the following year of 1992, Saban signed a domestic distribution deal with
Bohbot Communications Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...
to handle '' Around the World in 80 Dreams'' for syndication.


Partnership with Marvel Entertainment Group and News Corporation

In 1992, Saban partnered with the Marvel Entertainment Group to produce an
animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
based on Marvel's comic-book heroes
the X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
. Saban obtained the rights in a joint partnership with
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a British film studio founded in 1979 which became a European competitor to Hollywood, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in 1 ...
and the
Fox Children's Network Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a joi ...
, becoming Saban's first hit program and the company's first breakthrough, teaming up with another company. The series ran until 1997. On August 28, 1993, Saban brought another hit to the Fox Kids lineup, ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...
'', an adaptation of the Japanese ''
Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The sho ...
'' franchise. In 1994 alone, licensed ''Power Rangers'' merchandise made Saban over a billion dollars in profits. At different times in the 1980s, both Loesch and Saban had attempted adaptations of these shows, but had found themselves repeatedly rejected by other networks.
New World Animation New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
(''
The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
''), Saban (''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
''), and Marvel Films Animation ( ''Spider-Man'') each produced a Marvel series for television. Later on in 1992, Saban formed a syndication subsidiary, Saban Domestic Distribution. The $50 million development slate was unveiled, and David Goodman, formerly of Goodman Entertainment Group was served as senior vide president of the company. Later in 1994, Saban signed a deal with A*Vision Entertainment to distribute cassettes under the Saban Home Entertainment and Libra Home Entertainment banners. In 1994, Saban Entertainment launched Libra Pictures in an effort to gear films for older audiences, while the Saban name was used for kid-friendly material, in a similar manner what The Walt Disney Studios and
Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...
would have to offer. Also later that year, Saban launched a partnership/joint venture with
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
to start the
UPN Kids ''UPN Kids'' was an American children's programming block that aired on UPN from September 10, 1995 to September 5, 1999. Airing on Sunday mornings, the block aired for one hour (10:00 to 11:00am), then two hours the following year (9:00 to 11: ...
block. The block would eventually debut on September 10, 1995, with the first two shows ''
Space Strikers ''Space Strikers'' (french: 20,000 Lieues dans l'espace, lit ''20,000 Leagues in Space'') is a 1995 animated television series based on the 1870 Jules Verne novel ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea''. Episodes center around the crew of the sp ...
'' and ''
Teknoman is a 1992 Japanese anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Production and Sotsu Agency. The series was directed by Hiroshi Negishi and written by Mayori Sekijima and Satoru Akahori. The story follows an organization called the Spac ...
''. In 1995, the Saban Interactive unit is producing CD-ROM software based on the ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' franchise. On October 17, 1995, Lance Robbins was made then president of motion pictures and television at the studio, and he was formerly at the Libra Pictures division. On November 3, 1995, Saban Entertainment and the
Fox Broadcasting Company 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 an ...
entered into a partnership that the two companies would create children's programing channels and services, develop and distribute programing and build licensing and merchandising opportunities on a global basis, and helped to expand its programming immediately. In July 1996, Fox Children's Network secured rights from
Marvel Entertainment Group Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly own ...
for ''
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
'', ''
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
'' and ''
Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
'' and additional characters to be developed into four series and 52 episodes over seven years. Also in the same month, Saban formed a new division, Saban Enterprises International, to handle international licensing, merchandising and promotional activities under president Michael Welter. Oliver Spiner, senior vice president of Saban International, took over operational duties previously handled by Welter. Eric S. Rollman was promoted from senior vice president production to executive vice president of Saban Animation. Also in 1996, Fox Children's Network merged with Saban Entertainment to form
Fox Kids Worldwide ABC Family Worldwide is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television that is responsible for the operations of the U.S. cable network Freeform. The company was originally formed as International Family Entertainment, a spin-off of the Christian Broad ...
, which included the
Marvel Productions New World Animation Ltd., formerly known as Marvel Productions, was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It later became a subsidiary of ...
and Marvel Films Animation library. Also that year, Saban debuted its first FCC-friendly series ''
The Why Why Family ''The Why Why Family'' (french: Les Kikekoi, also known as ''Saban's The Why Why Family'') is an animated children's television series, which originally aired in 1996, produced by Saban International Paris and Saban Entertainment. The show was broa ...
''. Shortly afterwards, Saban terminated its deal with WarnerVision, and decided that they would move itself to
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
. In 1998, its syndication unit Saban Domestic Distribution announced that they would refocus on develop movies for syndication outside of the Twentieth Century Fox and Saban stations.
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
was developing a ''
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
'' animated series with Saban Entertainment for
Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's block programming, programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channel ...
to premiere in fall 1998. However, due to Marvel's bankruptcy, the series was canceled before the premiere. Both Marvel and Saban would become parts of
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
; Saban (renamed BVS Entertainment) in 2002 and Marvel by the end of 2009. Then in 2010, Haim Saban founded a new company,
Saban Capital Group Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commu ...
(SCG); they produced shows under the name Saban Brands, such as all Power Rangers seasons starting with ''
Power Rangers Samurai ''Power Rangers Samurai'' is the eighteenth season of the children's television series ''Power Rangers'', which is based on the Japanese ''Super Sentai Series''. The season was the first to be produced by SCG Power Rangers, after Saban Brands ( ...
'' and '' Glitter Force''.


BVS Entertainment

On July 23, 2001, it was announced that the group would be sold to The Walt Disney Company as part of the sale of Fox Family Worldwide/Fox Kids Worldwide (now
ABC Family Worldwide ABC Family Worldwide is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television that is responsible for the operations of the U.S. cable network Freeform. The company was originally formed as International Family Entertainment, a spin-off of the Christian Broad ...
) by Haim Saban and
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
, and on October 24, 2001, the sale was completed and the group was renamed BVS (Buena Vista Studios) Entertainment. The last official program and fully produced and distributed by both Saban Entertainment, Inc and Saban International N.V. Holland was ''
Power Rangers Time Force ''Power Rangers Time Force'' is a television series and the ninth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 24th Super Sentai series ''Mirai Sentai Timeranger'', running for 40 half-hour episodes from February to November 2001. I ...
'', which ran between February 3 to December 15, 2001 – however, ''
Power Rangers Wild Force ''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is a television series and the tenth season of Power Rangers. It is also the anniversary season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 25th Super Sentai series ''Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'', which itself w ...
'' was the last series created by Saban (Saban created the series and produced only pre-production, following the acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide, the show was copyrighted to Disney and was distributed by BVS, although the show was produced by MMPR Productions, the producer of the Power Rangers series during the Saban era from 1993 to 2001). For other subsidiaries, Haim Saban left the Saban International Paris subsidiary, which split to become an independent studio, while Saban's distribution arm was folded into
Buena Vista Television Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...
''
Digimon , short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures, who inhabit a "Di ...
'' (the second half of ''
Digimon Tamers is a Japanese anime television series and the third television series in the '' Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series takes place in a new setting separate from the preceding series, ''Digimon Adventure'' and '' Digimo ...
'' and ''
Digimon Frontier , is the fourth anime television series in the ''Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. Unlike the previous series, the main characters can merge with ancient spirits known as "Legendary Warriors" to become Digimon themselves. The ...
'') episodes. This division ceased operations on July 14, 2003, after Disney lost the rights to dub ''Digimon''. Disney however would go on to dub and distribute the previously un-dubbed four Digimon movies; ''Revenge of Diaboromon'' (DA02), ''Battle of Adventurers'' (DT), ''Runaway Locomon'' (DT) and ''Island of the Lost Digimon'' (DF) in 2005 and the fifth TV season, ''
Digimon Data Squad ''Digimon Data Squad'', known in Japan as , is the fifth anime television series in the ''Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series aired in Japan on Fuji TV from April 2, 2006 to March 25, 2007. A standalone film based on ...
'' in 2007, but this time the dubbing was handled by post-production studio
Studiopolis Studiopolis, Inc. is an American post-production studio located in Studio City, Los Angeles. It specializes in voiceover recording and dubbing for cartoon, anime, and video game projects. They were formerly known as Screenmusic Studios and then ...
. The majority of the previous cast members returned sans some voice actors, like
Joshua Seth Joshua Seth is an American voice actor, comedian, and author. Biography Seth was born in Kent, Ohio, and graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. As a child, Seth attended several experimental programs at Kent State Universit ...
.


Saban International Paris

Saban International Paris, later SIP Animation, was a television production company based in France that operated from 1977 to 2008. Saban International Paris was founded in France by Haim Saban and Jacqueline Tordjman in 1977 as a record company. In 1989, Saban International Paris moved into the animation field. The studio would go on to produce many animated series for Fox Kids Europe in the 1990s and 2000s. Haim Saban departed the company in 2001 with the purchase of Fox Family Worldwide, which was followed by The Walt Disney Company taking a stake in the company and a name change to SIP Animation on October 1, 2002. SIP continued to co-produce animated series with Jetix Europe (previously Fox Kids Europe) during the 2000s. SIP Animation was closed in 2009.


List of television series and films


Animated TV series

Saban Entertainment * ''
Kidd Video ''Kidd Video'' (originally in development as ''Hot Rocks'') is an American Saturday morning live action/cartoon created by DIC Enterprises in association with Saban Productions. The series originally ran on NBC from 1984 to 1985. Reruns contin ...
'' (1984–1985) (co-production with DIC Enterprises) * ''
Lazer Tag Academy ''Lazer Tag Academy'' is an animated television series inspired by Worlds of Wonder's Lazer Tag (their branded version of the pursuit game referred to generically as "laser tag") that was created by Ruby-Spears Productions. Original episodes aired ...
'' (1986–1987) * ''
My Favorite Fairy Tales is a Japanese fantasy original video animation (OVA) series of fairy tales and other classic stories produced by Studio Unicorn in 1986. Originally consisting of 10 episodes played both in Japanese and English languages, with the purpose of teac ...
'' (1986) (co-production with Academy and Studio Unicorn) * '' ALF: The Animated Series'' (1987–1989) (co-production with DIC Enterprises for Alien Productions) * ''
The New Archies ''The New Archies'' is an American animated sitcom produced by DIC Animation City, based upon the characters by Archie Comics. The series, originally produced for NBC's Saturday morning schedule and broadcast from September 12 to December 5, 198 ...
'' (1987) (co-production with DIC Enterprises) * ''
Kissyfur ''Kissyfur'' is an American animated children's television series which aired on NBC. It was produced by Jean Chalopin and Andy Heyward and created by Phil Mendez for DIC Animation City. The series was based on a half-hour NBC special called ''Ki ...
'' (1988) (season 2 only; co-production with DIC Enterprises for
NBC Productions Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...
) * ''
ALF Tales ''ALF Tales'' is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series that aired on NBC from September 10, 1988, to December 9, 1989. The show is a spin-off of '' ALF: The Animated Series'' which featured characters from that series playing various char ...
'' (1988–1989) (co-production with DIC Enterprises for Alien Productions) * ''
The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and W ...
'' (1989) (co-production with DIC Enterprises for
Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...
) * ''
Camp Candy ''Camp Candy'' is a 1989-1992 animated television series produced by DIC Animation City, Saban Entertainment and Worldvision Enterprises, in association with Frostbacks Productions, with comedian John Candy providing the voice for an animated vers ...
'' (1989–1992) (seasons 1 & 2 co-produced with DIC Enterprises) * ''
Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City that was most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eas ...
'' (1990–1991) * ''
Video Power ''Video Power'' is an American television series that aired in two different formats from 1990 to 1992 in syndication. Both formats revolved around video games, and actor Stivi Paskoski presided over both series playing video game master Johnny Ar ...
'' (1990–1992) * ''
Little Shop ''Little Shop'' is a 1991 animated fantasy comedy television series that aired on Saturday morning cartoon, Saturday mornings on the Fox Kids, Fox Kids TV network, about a teenager and a giant talking plant. ''Little Shop'' was based on the 1960 ...
'' (1991) * ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' (1992–1997) (co-production with Graz Entertainment and
Marvel Entertainment Group Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly own ...
) * ''
Jin Jin and the Panda Patrol Jin Jin and the Panda Patrol () is a 1994 animated TV series created by Beijing Golden Panda Animation Company and dubbed by Saban Entertainment. Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also ...
'' (1994) * '' BattleTech: The Animated Series'' (1994) (co-production with Worldwide Sports and Entertainment) * ''
Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker, also called Creepy Crawlers, is an activity toy made by Mattel, beginning in 1964. The toy consists of a series of die-cast metal Molding (process), moulds resembling various bug-like creatures, into which is poured a liquid chemical ...
'' (1994–1996) (co-production with
Abrams/Gentile Entertainment The Mego Corporation was an American toy company that in its original iteration was first founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed dolls (i ...
) * ''
Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic ''Saban's Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic'' is an American animated television series that was produced by Saban Entertainment. It centers on the fictional adventures of Japanese real-life magician Princess Tenko, Mariko Itakura. After each e ...
'' (1995–1996) * ''
Little Mouse on the Prairie ''Little Mouse on the Prairie'' () is a 26 episode animated series made by the cooperation of the US and China, loosely based on the '' Serendipity'' book by Stephen Cosgrove with the same title. The story features a city mouse named Osgood Dee wh ...
'' (1996) * ''
Bureau of Alien Detectors ''Bureau of Alien Detectors'' (commonly initialized as ''BAD'') is a 1996 American animated series by Saban Entertainment that aired on the UPN network's weekend-morning cartoon block UPN Kids. It was touted as " X-Files meets the A-Team," and onl ...
'' (1996) * ''
The Mouse and the Monster ''The Mouse and the Monster'' is a 1996–97 American animated series created by Jerry Leibowitz for Saban Entertainment. It centered around a mouse named Chesbro, and a beatnik monster named Mo. The show was originally part of the UPN network's ...
'' (1996–1997) * ''
Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
'' (1998) (co-production with
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
) * '' Bad Dog'' (1998–1999) (co-production with
CinéGroupe CinéGroupe is a Canadian animation studio based in Montreal, Quebec. The company was founded in 1974. Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries. Notable franchises from CinéGroupe include: ''What's with Andy?'', ''The Kids from R ...
) * ''
Monster Farm ''Monster Farm'' is a short-lived animated series from Saban Entertainment that aired on Fox Family. It aired on one of the channel's animation blocks for one season, from 1998 to 1999. Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disn ...
'' (1998–1999) * ''
The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs ''The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs'' is an American children's animated series, produced by Saban Entertainment, that aired on Fox Kids from 1998 to 1999. Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, ...
'' (1998–1999) * ''
Mad Jack the Pirate ''Mad Jack the Pirate'' is an American animated comedy-adventure television series. The show was created by Bill Kopp and was directed by Jeff DeGrandis (who previously worked together on '' Toonsylvania''). On American television, the show was br ...
'' (1998–1999) * '' The Avengers: United They Stand'' (1999–2000) (co-production with Marvel Studios) * ''
The Kids from Room 402 ''The Kids from Room 402'' is an animated series produced by CinéGroupe and Saban Entertainment that premiered on October 9, 1999 on the Fox Family Channel in the USA, and on August 29, 2000 on Teletoon in Canada. It consists of 52 half-hour epis ...
'' (1999–2000) (co-production with
CinéGroupe CinéGroupe is a Canadian animation studio based in Montreal, Quebec. The company was founded in 1974. Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries. Notable franchises from CinéGroupe include: ''What's with Andy?'', ''The Kids from R ...
) * '' Xyber 9: New Dawn'' (1999–2000) * ''
NASCAR Racers ''NASCAR Racers'' is an animated television series by Saban Entertainment which features two rival NASCAR racing teams, Team Fastex and Team Rexcor, competing against each other in the futuristic NASCAR Unlimited Division. The series ran from 199 ...
'' (1999–2001) * ''
Spider-Man Unlimited ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' is an American animated series by Saban Entertainment which features the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man, intended as a loose sequel series to the previous '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', which ran from 199 ...
'' (1999–2001) (co-production with Marvel Studios) * ''
Action Man Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe. Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of Co ...
'' (2000–2002) * ''Pigs Next Door'' (2000) * ''
What's with Andy? ''What's with Andy?'' (''Sacré Andy !'' in French) is an animated children's television series loosely based on the semi-autobiographical ''Just!'' book series by Australian author Andy Griffiths. The animated series was primarily produced by Can ...
'' season 1 (2001–2002) (co-production with
CinéGroupe CinéGroupe is a Canadian animation studio based in Montreal, Quebec. The company was founded in 1974. Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries. Notable franchises from CinéGroupe include: ''What's with Andy?'', ''The Kids from R ...
) * ''
Titeuf ''Titeuf'' (known sometimes as ''Tootuff'' in English) is a French comic series created by Swiss comic books creator Zep in 1992, which was adapted into a 2001 animated TV series and a 2011 film of the same name. It also appears in the dedica ...
'' season 1 (2001–2002) * ''
Barbapapa ''Barbapapa'' is a 1970 children's picture book by the French-American couple Annette Tison and Talus Taylor, who lived in Paris, France. Barbapapa is both the title character and the name of his "species". The book was the first of a series of ...
'' (co-production with
RTL Television RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by the RTL Group, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is consider ...
) Saban International Paris


Foreign television series

Saban Entertainment dubbed and or distributed the following foreign television series in English: * ''
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea ''Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea'' ( French: ''Les Mondes Engloutis'', "The Engulfed Worlds") is a 1985-1987 French animated series created by Nina Wolmark. The series consists of 52 episodes, each between 20 and 25 minutes in length, div ...
'' (1986–1987) * ''
Macron 1 Macron may refer to: People * Emmanuel Macron (born 1977), president of France since 2017 ** Brigitte Macron (born 1953), French teacher, wife of Emmanuel Macron * Jean-Michel Macron (born 1950), French professor of neurology, father of Emmanuel ...
'' (1986–1987) * ''
Maple Town ''Maple Town'', also known as , is a 1986 Japanese anime series created by Chifude Asakura and directed by Junichi Sato. The series, animated by Toei Animation, consists of 52 half-hour episodes, which aired on TV Asahi in Japan from January ...
'' (1987) * '' A Christmas Adventure'' (1987) (TV special; co-produced with
DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...
) * ''
Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics ''Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics'', also known as ''Grimm Masterpiece Theater'' (グリム名作劇場 ''Gurimu meisaku gekijō'') in the original version and ''The Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (in Australia and New Zealand), is a Japanese anime antholo ...
'' (1988–1989) * ''
Noozles ', also known as ''The Wondrous Koala Blinky'', is a 26-episode anime by Nippon Animation Company that was originally released in Japan in 1984. It depicts the adventures of a 12-year-old girl named Sandy and her koala friends, Blinky and Pinky, ...
'' (1988) * ''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the nov ...
'' (1988) * ''
Tales of Little Women , also simply known as ''Little Women'', is a Japanese animated television series adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's 1868-69 two-volume novel ''Little Women'', produced by Nippon Animation. It was first aired in 1987 (January–December) by the ...
'' (1988–1989) * ''
The Hallo Spencer Show ''Hallo Spencer'' is a German children's television series, created by Winfried Debertin and produced by Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) from 1979 until 2001. In these 22 years, 275 episodes were filmed, including a number of 'specials' featuring th ...
'' (1989) * ''
Ox Tales ''Ox Tales'', also known as , is an anime television series produced by Telecable Benelux B.V. in association with Saban Entertainment and animated by Telescreen Japan. It was a co-production between Japan and the Netherlands based on a Dutc ...
'' (1989) * ''
Wowser "Wowser" is an Australian and New Zealand term that refers to a person who seeks to deprive others of behaviour deemed to be immoral or sinful. History The term originated in Australia, at first carrying a similar meaning to "lout" (an annoying ...
'' (1989) * ''
Maya the Bee ''Maya the Bee'' () is the main character in ''The Adventures of Maya the Bee'', a German book written by Waldemar Bonsels and published in 1912. The book has been published in many other languages and adapted into different media. The first Ame ...
'' (1989–1990) * ''
Bumpety Boo is an anime children's television series produced by the Nippon Animation company from 1985 to 1986. The series consists of 130 10-minute episodes, distributed as 43 half-hour segments. Synopsis The show follows the adventures of a young boy ...
'' (1989) * '' Peter Pan: The Animated Series'' (1990) * '' Pinocchio: The Series'' (1990) * ''
Dragon Warrior previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a franchise of Japanese role-playing video games created by Armor Project (Yuji Horii), Bird Studio ( Akira Toriyama) and Sugiyama Kobo (Koichi Sugiyama) to its publ ...
'' (1990) * ''
The Littl' Bits is a Japanese anime television series with 26 episodes, produced in 1980 by Tatsunoko Productions in Japan in cooperation with TV Tokyo (then an independent station; what became the TV Tokyo network was not organised until 1982, thus the show i ...
'' (1990) * ''Tic Tac Toons'' (1990–1992) (anthology series consists of '' The Wacky World of Tic & Tac'' and '' Eggzavier the Eggasaurus'') * ''Funky Fables''/''Sugar and Spice'' (1991) * ''
Three Little Ghosts is an anime television series by Pierrot. The 50-episode series aired on Nippon Television from April 1991 to August 1992.Samurai Pizza Cats ''Samurai Pizza Cats'' is an American animated television adaptation of the anime series ''Kyatto Ninden Teyandee'' (''Cat Ninja Legend Teyandee''), produced by Tatsunoko Productions and Sotsu Agency. The series originally aired in Japan on ...
'' (1991) * ''
Bob in a Bottle is an anime television series by Tatsunoko Productions. that originally ran from October 1969 to September 1970, with a total of 52 episodes on Fuji TV. It tells the story of a boy who finds a bottle with a mysterious power - each time its ...
'' (1992) * ''
Jungle Tales ''Jungle Tales'' (later called ''Jann of the Jungle'') was an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle. Publication history Jungl ...
'' (1992) * ''Mirai Keisatsu Urashiman, Rock 'n Cop'' (1992) * ''Little Ghosts, There, Here, and Where, Three Little Ghosts "Afraid of the Dark"'' (1992) * ''Huckleberry no Bouken, Huckleberry Finn'' (1993) * ''Shuke and Beita'' (1993) * ''Button Nose'' (1994) * ''The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee, Honeybee Hutch'' (1995–1996) * ''
Teknoman is a 1992 Japanese anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Production and Sotsu Agency. The series was directed by Hiroshi Negishi and written by Mayori Sekijima and Satoru Akahori. The story follows an organization called the Spac ...
'' (1995–1996) * ''Eagle Riders'' (1996–1997) * ''
Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...
'' (1996–1998) (TV distributor and musical composer for the Funimation-Ocean Productions dub of the first two seasons) * ''Tonde Burin, Super Pig'' (1997) * '':ja:楽しいウイロータウン, Willow Town'' (1997) * '':ja:ビット・ザ・キューピッド, Bit the Cupid'' (1998) * ''Digimon Adventure'' (1999–2000) * ''Cybersix (TV series), Cybersix'' (1999–2000) * ''List of Hello Kitty animated series, Hello Kitty's Paradise'' (2000) * ''Flint the Time Detective'' (2000) * ''Dinozaurs'' (2000) * ''The Vision of Escaflowne, Escaflowne'' (2000) * ''Digimon Adventure 02'' (2000–2001) * ''Mon Colle Knights'' (2001–2002) * ''
Digimon Tamers is a Japanese anime television series and the third television series in the '' Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series takes place in a new setting separate from the preceding series, ''Digimon Adventure'' and '' Digimo ...
'' (2001–2002) * ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2000 TV series), Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' (2001–2002) * ''Shinzo'' (2002; produced in 2000-01) * ''Hatsumei Boy Kanipan'' (unreleased; produced in 2000–01) * ''Slayers'' (unaired edited version; produced in 2001)


Live-action TV series

Saban Entertainment produced and or distributed the following live action TV series: * ''Choudenshi Bioman, Bio-Man'' (1986) (unaired pilot) * ''
I'm Telling! ''I'm Telling!'' is an American television game show, which ran from September 12, 1987 to March 5, 1988 on NBC Saturday mornings and was hosted by Laurie Faso with Dean Goss announcing. The show is essentially a children's version of ''The Newl ...
'' (1987–1988) (co-production with DIC Enterprises) * ''2 Hip 4 TV'' (1988) * ''Treasure Mall'' (1988) * ''Offshore Television'' (1988–1989) (co-production with King World R&D Network) * ''Couch Potatoes (game show), Couch Potatoes'' (1989) * ''
Video Power ''Video Power'' is an American television series that aired in two different formats from 1990 to 1992 in syndication. Both formats revolved around video games, and actor Stivi Paskoski presided over both series playing video game master Johnny Ar ...
'' (1990–1992) * ''Scorch (TV series), Scorch'' (1992) (co-production with Allan Katz Productions and Honeyland Productions for Lorimar Television) * ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' series (1993–2002): ** ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...
'' (1993–1995) ** ''Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers'' (1996) ** ''Power Rangers Zeo'' (1996) ** ''Power Rangers Turbo'' (1997) ** ''Power Rangers in Space'' (1998) ** ''Power Rangers Lost Galaxy'' (1999) ** ''Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue'' (2000) ** ''
Power Rangers Time Force ''Power Rangers Time Force'' is a television series and the ninth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 24th Super Sentai series ''Mirai Sentai Timeranger'', running for 40 half-hour episodes from February to November 2001. I ...
'' (2001) ** ''
Power Rangers Wild Force ''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is a television series and the tenth season of Power Rangers. It is also the anniversary season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 25th Super Sentai series ''Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'', which itself w ...
'' (2002) (only pre-production) * ''Mad Scientist Toon Club'' (1993–1994) * ''
VR Troopers ''VR Troopers'' is a syndicated live action superhero fiction, superhero-adventure film, adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virtual rea ...
'' (1994–1996) * ''Sweet Valley High (TV series), Sweet Valley High'' (1994–1997) * ''Masked Rider (TV series), Masked Rider'' (1995–1996) * ''
Big Bad Beetleborgs ''Big Bad Beetleborgs'' (later ''Beetleborgs Metallix'') is an American live-action superhero television series by Saban Entertainment and was co-produced with Renaissance-Atlantic Films, Toei Company and Bugboy Productions. Two seasons aired on ...
'' (1996–1998) * ''Breaker High'' (1997–1998) * ''Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation'' (1997–1998) * ''Captain Kangaroo#Reboot, The All New Captain Kangaroo'' (1997–1998) * ''Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog'' (1998–1999) * ''The New Addams Family'' (1998–1999) * ''Los Luchadores'' (2001)


Live-action films

* ''Alphy's Hollywood Power Party'' (1987; TV special) * ''Rescue Me'' (1988) * ''Who Murdered JFK?'' (1988; TV special) (co-production with Barbour/Langley Productions) * ''Terrorism USA'' (1989; TV special) (co-production with Barbour/Langley Productions) * ''The Phantom of the Opera (miniseries), The Phantom of the Opera'' (1990) (produced by Saban/Scherick Productions, Hexatel, Starcom, TF1, Reteitalia, and Beta Film) * ''Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming'' (1990) (produced by Saban/Scherick Productions for TNT (American TV network), TNT) * ''A Perfect Little Murder'' (1990) (co-production with MollyBen Productions for Gary Hoffman Productions) * ''Blind Vision'' (1991) * ''Till Death Us Do Part'' (1991) (produced by Saban/Scherick Productions) * ''Prey of the Chameleon'' (1992) * ''Round Trip to Heaven'' (1992) * ''Black Ice (1992 film), Black Ice'' (1992) * ''Revenge on the Highway'' (1992) * ''Nightmare in the Daylight'' (1992) (produced by Saban/Scherick Productions and Smith/Richmond Productions) * ''Anything for Love'' (1993) * ''In the Shadows, Someone's Watching'' (1993) * ''Under Investigation'' (1993) * ''Terminal Voyage'' (1994) * ''Samurai Cowboy'' (1994) * ''Shadow of Obsession'' (1994) * ''Guns of Honor: Rebel Rousers'' (1994) * ''Blindfold: Acts of Obsession'' (1994) * ''Guns of Honor: Trigger Fast'' (1994) * ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' (1995) * ''Virtual Seduction'' (1995) * ''Christmas Reunion'' (1995) * ''Chimp Lips Theater'' (1997; two TV specials) * ''Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie'' (1997) * ''Casper: A Spirited Beginning'' (1997) * ''The Christmas List'' (1997) * ''Gotcha'' (1998) * ''Circles'' (1998) * ''Men in White (1998 film), National Lampoon's Men in White'' (1998) * ''Casper Meets Wendy'' (1998) * ''Rusty: A Dog's Tale'' (1998) * ''Addams Family Reunion'' (1998) * ''Earthquake in New York'' (1998) * ''Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'' (1998) * ''Like Father, Like Santa'' (1998) * ''Men of Means'' (1999) * ''Taken'' (1999) * ''Michael Jordan: An American Hero'' (1999) * ''Don't Look Behind You (film), Don't Look Behind You'' (1999) * ''Heaven's Fire'' (1999) * ''Au Pair (film), Au Pair'' (1999) * ''Ice Angel'' (2000) * ''Au Pair II'' (2001) * ''Oh, Baby!'' (2001) * ''Three Days (2001 film), Three Days'' (2001)


Animated films/specials

* ''Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World'' (1987) (co-production with DIC Entertainment and Mattel) * ''Barbie and The Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth'' (1987) (co-production with DIC Entertainment and Mattel) * ''Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might'' (1997) (TV distributor and musical composer for the 1997 Funimation-Ocean Productions dub) * ''Digimon: The Movie'' (2000)


Library content

These programs were distributed by Saban Entertainment starting in 1996, when they merged with Fox Children's Network to form Fox Kids Worldwide. Marvel Productions/New World Animation * ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' (1966) ** ''Iron Man'' ** ''The Sub-Mariner'' ** ''The Incredible Hulk'' ** ''Captain America'' ** ''The Mighty Thor'' * ''Spider-Man (1967 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1967–1970) * ''The New Fantastic Four'' (1978) * ''Spider-Woman (TV series), Spider-Woman'' (1979) * ''Spider-Man (1981 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1981) * ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981 TV series), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981) * ''The Incredible Hulk (1982 TV series), The Incredible Hulk'' (1982) * ''Dungeons & Dragons (TV series), Dungeons & Dragons'' (1983–1985) * ''Little Wizards'' (1987–1988) * ''RoboCop: The Animated Series'' (1988) * ''Dino-Riders'' (1988) * ''Rude Dog and the Dweebs'' (1989) * ''Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (TV series), Attack of the Killer Tomatoes'' (1990–1991) * ''Biker Mice from Mars'' (1993–1996) * ''Spider-Man (1994 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1994) * ''Iron Man (TV series), Iron Man'' (1994) * ''Fantastic Four (1994 TV series), Fantastic Four'' (1994) * ''
The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
'' (1996) Fox Children's Productions * ''Bobby's World'' (1990–1998) (distributed until 2004) * ''Peter Pan and the Pirates'' (1990–1991) * ''Piggsburg Pigs!'' (1990–1991) * ''Zazoo U'' (1990–1991) * ''Eek! The Cat / EEK!Stravaganza'' (1992–1997) ** ''The Terrible Thunderlizards'' (1993–1997) ** ''Klutter!'' (1995–1996) * ''Count DeClues' Mystery Castle'' (1993; TV special) * ''Grunt & Punt'' (1994–1995) * ''Red Planet (miniseries), Red Planet'' (1994) * ''The Tick (1994 TV series), The Tick'' (1994–1996) * ''Life with Louie'' (1994–1998) * ''Goosebumps (TV series), Goosebumps'' (1995–1998) (International distribution only) Créativité & Développement * '':fr:La Vie des Botes, Botts'' (1986–1987) * ''Diplodos'' (1987–1988) * '':fr:La Lucarne d'Amilcar, Amilcar's Window'' (1987–1989) * '':fr:Sophie et Virginie, Sophie and Virginie'' (1990–1992) * ''Heroes on Hot Wheels'' (1991–1992) * ''The Twins of Destiny'' (1991–1992) * '':fr:Cupido (série télévisée d'animation), Cupido'' (1991) * ''The Adventures of T-Rex'' (1992–1993) * ''Magic Trolls and the Troll Warriors'' (1992; TV special) * ''The Bots Master'' (1993–1994) DIC Audiovisuel / DIC Enterprises (pre-1990)


Media releases

Most Saban Entertainment-owned media from the early 1990s made their way to VHS in most regions. However, from the late 1990s on, almost all Saban Entertainment-owned entities were only released as Australian and New Zealand DVD region code#4, Region 4 VHSes. And also, according to current North American rights holders, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment had (and still has) no plans to release these titles to DVD and Blu-ray, and as such, some of them instead aired on their sibling television channel, Disney XD and originally was on Toon Disney and Freeform (TV channel), ABC Family before the retirement of the Jetix branding in the United States. In most European countries, Fox Kids Europe (later Jetix Europe) had a sister channel called Fox Kids Play (later Jetix Play) which aired various Saban Entertainment programs and shows owned by Fox Kids Europe/Jetix Europe. Some shows were also released on DVD and VHS by various independent distributors, such as Maximum Entertainment in the United Kingdom. Many Marvel-related series distributed by Saban, plus some live action films like ''Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'' and ''Three Days (2001 film), Three Days'' are available on the Disney+ streaming service, while ''The Tick (1994 TV series), The Tick'' is available on Hulu. On March 13, 2012, Shout! Factory announced a home video distribution deal with Saban Brands, which includes ''
VR Troopers ''VR Troopers'' is a syndicated live action superhero fiction, superhero-adventure film, adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virtual rea ...
'', the two seasons of ''Big Bad Beetleborgs, Beetleborgs'' and ''Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation''. The first 17 seasons of ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' have been licensed for DVD releases by Shout! Factory, which has released the first 17 seasons to DVD in Region 1. In Germany, they have released complete season box sets to every ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' series, with the English versions included up until season 6 due to problems with Disney. In Australia, ''Digimon: Digital Monsters'' seasons Digimon Adventure, one and Digimon Adventure 02, two was re-released by Madman Entertainment on August 17, 2011. In addition, the first five series was released on DVD in North America through New Video.


Saban's library

In 1996, the company had a library of more than 3,700 half-hours of children's programming, making it one of the largest in the world. By the time they were sold to Disney in 2001, their library had increased to over 6,500 half-hours of children's programing. The Fox Kids/Saban Entertainment library today is mostly owned by The Walt Disney Company, with a few exceptions: * The ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' franchise and other PR-related shows (''
VR Troopers ''VR Troopers'' is a syndicated live action superhero fiction, superhero-adventure film, adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virtual rea ...
'', ''Masked Rider (TV series), Masked Rider'', ''Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation'', ''
Big Bad Beetleborgs ''Big Bad Beetleborgs'' (later ''Beetleborgs Metallix'') is an American live-action superhero television series by Saban Entertainment and was co-produced with Renaissance-Atlantic Films, Toei Company and Bugboy Productions. Two seasons aired on ...
'', and ''Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog''), which were purchased back by Haim Saban from Disney for $43 million on May 12, 2010. The ''
Digimon , short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures, who inhabit a "Di ...
'' franchise in the United States was also purchased back by Saban on September 25, 2012. These programs are now owned by Hasbro through Entertainment One, eOne, which acquired the assets of Saban Brands in 2018 (except ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' and ''Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie'' (which were acquired by Disney (via 20th Century Studios) on March 20, 2019)), while ''Digimon'' has reverted to Toei Animation (except ''Digimon: The Movie'' (which was also acquired by Disney (via 20th Century Studios) on March 20, 2019)). * ''Pigs Next Door'' was a co-production with Fox Kids, Constantin Medien, EM.TV and Wavery B.V. Studio 100, which acquired EM.TV's children's library in 2008, owns the US digital rights and some international rights to the series (Europe, China, Australia, New Zealand and Quebec). * Disney sold ''Bobby's World'' to series creator Howie Mandel in 2004. Currently, Splash Entertainment owns the distribution rights to the series under license from him. * The international distribution rights to the pre-1990 DIC Enterprises library reverted to DIC in the 2000s. This library is currently owned by WildBrain through Cookie Jar Entertainment. * ''Goosebumps (TV series), Goosebumps'' is owned by Scholastic Entertainment, with distribution handled by 9 Story Media Group. * Many of Saban's anime licenses, such as ''Eagle Riders'', ''
Macron 1 Macron may refer to: People * Emmanuel Macron (born 1977), president of France since 2017 ** Brigitte Macron (born 1953), French teacher, wife of Emmanuel Macron * Jean-Michel Macron (born 1950), French professor of neurology, father of Emmanuel ...
'', ''
Noozles ', also known as ''The Wondrous Koala Blinky'', is a 26-episode anime by Nippon Animation Company that was originally released in Japan in 1984. It depicts the adventures of a 12-year-old girl named Sandy and her koala friends, Blinky and Pinky, ...
'', ''Flint the Time Detective'', ''
The Littl' Bits is a Japanese anime television series with 26 episodes, produced in 1980 by Tatsunoko Productions in Japan in cooperation with TV Tokyo (then an independent station; what became the TV Tokyo network was not organised until 1982, thus the show i ...
'' and ''Pinocchio: The Series, Saban's Adventures of Pinocchio'', expired in the 2000s. *
CinéGroupe CinéGroupe is a Canadian animation studio based in Montreal, Quebec. The company was founded in 1974. Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries. Notable franchises from CinéGroupe include: ''What's with Andy?'', ''The Kids from R ...
owns the series that it co-produced with Saban and SIP, including ''
What's with Andy? ''What's with Andy?'' (''Sacré Andy !'' in French) is an animated children's television series loosely based on the semi-autobiographical ''Just!'' book series by Australian author Andy Griffiths. The animated series was primarily produced by Can ...
'' and ''
The Kids from Room 402 ''The Kids from Room 402'' is an animated series produced by CinéGroupe and Saban Entertainment that premiered on October 9, 1999 on the Fox Family Channel in the USA, and on August 29, 2000 on Teletoon in Canada. It consists of 52 half-hour epis ...
''. These series are distributed through partner company HG Distribution.


References

{{authority control Saban Entertainment, 1980 establishments in California 2002 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1980 American companies disestablished in 2002 Anime companies Companies based in Los Angeles Fox Kids Mass media companies established in 1980 Mass media companies disestablished in 2002 Former News Corporation subsidiaries Disney acquisitions Television production companies of the United States 2001 mergers and acquisitions