Sunbow Entertainment (known as Sunbow Productions until 1995) was an American

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 ...

and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Griffin-Bacal's first animations were animated commercials for

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

's G.I. Joe toy line. The success of the animated commercials led partners Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal to form the company. Due to their close working relationship with Hasbro, Sunbow came to be recognized as the toy giant's unofficial television arm.

History

Beginnings and partnerships with Hasbro and Marvel Productions (1980–1992)

Sunbow is noted for many cartoons aired during the 1980s. Most of their work was co-produced with

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, California. It later became a subsidiary of New World Entertainmen ...

. Although it is not limited to Hasbro's various toy lines its reputation is linked to the cartoon series tied to them. Its animation was initially produced by the Japanese animation studio

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

, supplemented by the South Korean animation studio

AKOM AKOM Production, Ltd. (Animation KOrea Movie 애이콤 프로덕션) is a South Korean animation studio in Songpa-gu, Seoul that has provided much work since its conception in 1985 by Nelson Shin. Its biggest claim to fame is the overseas anima ...

later on. By 1987, most of Hasbro's toy lines were losing money and internal struggles forced the company to end popular series such as '' Jem'', '' G.I. Joe'' and ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, ...

''. Two of Sunbow's animated movies, '' The Transformers: The Movie'' and '' My Little Pony: The Movie'', flopped at the box office, forcing a third project, '' G.I. Joe: The Movie'', to be released directly to video. Sunbow also worked with

TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as '' Lupin the Third' ...

with Hasbro's '' Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light''.

Troubles with Original Material (1992–1998)

In a bid to produce original material, Sunbow produced several cartoons through the early 1990s such as ''

The Tick ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' and '' Conan the Adventurer''. Only ''The Tick'' managed to gain popularity and critical acclaim.

Sony Wonder ownership (1998–2000)

On May 4, 1998,

Sony Wonder Sony Wonder (founded as Sony Kids’ Music) is the kids and family entertainment label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not directl ...

, a division of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

, bought Sunbow Productions in order to expand to more original programming for their television division. On May 1, 1999, Sunbow took over European distribution of Sony Wonder's TV IPs.

TV-Loonland ownership, dormancy and closure (2000–2009)

On October 3, 2000, German-based company

TV-Loonland AG TV-Loonland AG was a German branding and management company that specialized in the production of children's programmes. The company's offices were located in Europe (Paris, Munich and London). The company's mascot is a sheep on the blue dome. H ...

purchased Sony Wonder's television business assets including Sunbow Entertainment. In exchange for the purchase, Sony Wonder retained US distribution rights to the Sunbow catalogue. Previously,

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

owned the U.S. home video distribution rights to the Sunbow catalogue. The rights then changed hands to Sony Wonder with its acquisition of the catalogue. On September 5, 2001, the company announced a co-production deal with Rumpus Toys to produce ''

Kappa Mikey ''Kappa Mikey'' is an American animated television series created by Larry Schwarz. The show was created by Schwarz's studio Animation Collective. The series premiered on February 25, 2006 and ended on September 20, 2008. 52 episodes were produce ...

'', with TV-Loonland holding worldwide and home video distribution rights. On May 29, 2002, the project was picked up by

Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...

for its teen-oriented programming block

The N The N (standing for Noggin) was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by Viacom and Sesame Workshop. Before the block's introduction, Noggin's daytim ...

. Noggin/The N signed a co-development deal for the series, For unknown reasons, Sunbow and TV-Loonland would later silently pull out of the deal, with the final produced show having no involvement with the two companies. On October 12, 2001, Sunbow announced a co-development deal with

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

to produce ''

Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from the fact that the key has been r ...

'', an animated series based on a comic book of the same name for an initial run of 13 episodes. However, the series never materialized. On November 6, production on TV special ''Donner'' was completed (originally started in June 2001), and aired as planned on December 1, on

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

. On April 10, 2002, the studio announced two additional projects - ''The Many Adventures of Johnny Mutton'', and ''Mr Stick & Slug Boy''. Another pickup came on October 8 with a television adaptation of the book ''

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish ''The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish'' is a book by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, first published in 1997 by White Wolf Publishing. It was republished in 2004 by Harper Children's with a new cover and afterword. The story is a retelling of ...

'' in development. None of these projects would come into fruition. After the announcement that ''The Cramp Twins''' second season would be produced by fellow-Loonland owned studio Telemagination on October 23, 2002, Sunbow later became dormant after their existing projects were shelved, although they still remained as a company until at least 2009. On March 29, 2007, Sony Music Entertainment announced they would shut down Sony Wonder, leaving the US deal under limbo. However, on June 20, 2007, it was announced that Sony Wonder had been moved into

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

. However, the Sunbow licenses were not included in the purchase. On May 14, 2008,

announced that it had obtained the rights to all the Sunbow Productions animated series based on Hasbro properties for $7 million. This includes ''

'', '' G.I. Joe'', ''

My Little Pony ''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature ...

'', ''

Jem and the Holograms ''Jem'', also known as ''Jem and the Holograms'', is an American animated musical television series that ran from 1985 to 1988. The series is about record company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, and the adventures of Jem and her ...

'', and many more. These titles are currently managed as part of the

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

library. TV-Loonland filed for bankruptcy on December 9, 2009; its catalogue was acquired by German distributor Made 4 Entertainment on April 5, 2011. In February 2017, a Belgian production company

Studio 100 Studio 100 is a Belgian production company with four television channels, four animation studios and 8 theme parks around the world. The headquarters of the group is based in Schelle, with offices in Breda, Munich, Paris, New York, Sydney and Los ...

purchased a majority stake in m4e.

Productions

Television

Specials

* '' G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra'' (1984) (co-production with Marvel Productions) * ''

The GLO Friends Save Christmas ''The Glo Friends'' is an American television series that originally aired in 1986 as a segment of ''My Little Pony 'n Friends''. Produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with Toei Animation, the 26 segments of ''Glo ...

'' (1985) * '' Transformers: Five Faces of Darkness'' (1986) (co-production with Marvel Productions and

) * '' Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light'' (1987) (co-production with

) * '' Transformers: The Return of Optimus Prime'' (1986) (co-production with Marvel Productions) * '' Transformers: The Rebirth'' (1987) (co-production with Marvel Productions) * ''

Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles is a line of military-themed toys produced by Hasbro that was sold between 1994 and 1995. It was intended to be a companion line to '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero''. Comic book artist Joe Kubert provided the ...

'' (1994) ('' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' spin-off) (co-production with Graz Entertainment)

Original specials

Hasbro properties : Note: All programs based on

properties are co-productions with Marvel Productions. These programs are owned by

Theatrical films

TV specials

* ''The Secret World of the Very Young'' (1984) * ''Donner'' (2001, in cooperation with

Rainbow Studios Rainbow Studios is an American video game developer based in Phoenix, Arizona, best known for developing offroad racing games, such as '' Motocross Madness'' and the '' MX vs. ATV'' series. It was established by Earl Jarred in 1986 under the n ...

and TV-Loonland AG)

References

{{Portal bar, Companies, United States, New York City, New York (state), Television, Film, 1980s 1980 establishments in New York City 2004 disestablishments in New York (state) American companies established in 1980 American companies disestablished in 2004 Mass media companies established in 1980 Mass media companies disestablished in 2004 American animation studios Marvel Comics animation Companies based in New York City 1998 mergers and acquisitions 2000 mergers and acquisitions Sony subsidiaries