 New World Animation's logo, which was used from 1993 to 1996 | |
| Formerly |
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|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | |
| Predecessor | DePatie–Freleng Enterprises |
| Founded | 1981; 44 years ago (1981) |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | 1996; 29 years ago (1996) |
| Fate | Acquired byNews Corporation and folded intoFox Family Worldwide |
| Successors | Studio: 20th Century Animation Marvel Animation Marvel Studios Animation Library: The Walt Disney Company (majority) Hasbro Entertainment (assets fromSunbow Entertainment andClaster Television) Amazon MGM Studios (viaUnited Artists) |
| Headquarters | Hollywood, Los Angeles,California |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Parent |
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Marvel Productions Ltd., later known asNew World Animation, was an Americanproduction company owned by theFox Entertainment Group subsidiary ofNews Corporation which was founded in 1981 as the television and film studio subsidiary of theMarvel Entertainment Group, based inHollywood,Los Angeles,California.[1] It later became a subsidiary ofNew World Entertainment and eventually of News Corporation.
The company as Marvel Productions produced animated television series, films and television specials such asSpider-Man and His Amazing Friends,The Incredible Hulk,My Little Pony: The Movie,The Transformers: The Movie, andG.I. Joe: The Movie as well asThe Transformers,Muppet Babies, andG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero television series. Most of Marvel Productions/New World Animation's non-Hasbro-related back catalog is currently owned byThe Walt Disney Company.
The company began in 1963 asDFE Films, and was sold toCadence Industries,Marvel Comics Group's owner, in 1981 after DFE founder and company executiveFriz Freleng departed the company to return to his former job atWarner Bros. Animation.[2][3] Freleng's business partner and DFE co-founderDavid H. DePatie continued to work for the company under the Marvel banner for several years until his retirement.[4]
Marvel Productions opened its Los Angeles studio in 1981.[3] In 1984,Margaret Loesch joined Marvel Productions as president and chief executive officer.[5] Marvel Comics Group, owned by Cadence Industries Corporation since 1968, was sold toNew World Pictures in 1986 along with Marvel Productions and incorporated as Marvel Entertainment Group.[6]
With New World having cash flow problems, MEG was sold in January 1989 toAndrews Group, a MacAndrews and Forbes subsidiary, owned byRonald Perelman. However, New World kept Marvel Productions and merged it with its own television business.[6] MP moved their offices from Van Nuys to West Los Angeles in May 1989.[1]
New World's problems continued, which led them to also be acquired by the Andrews Group within the year.[7] Loesch left forFox Kids in 1990.[8] In December 1992, New World formed New World Family Filmworks and New World Action Animation, headed by Marvel Productions presidentRick Ungar, to produce $20 million worth of family entertainment programming.[9][10]
Marvel Productions was renamed New World Animation in November 1993.[11] In 1994, Marvel and New World establishedMarvel Films including Marvel Films Animation.[6][12][13][14] New World Animation (The Incredible Hulk),Saban Entertainment (X-Men), and Marvel Films Animation (Spider-Man), each produced a Marvel series for television.[15]Tom Tataranowicz was in charge of both Marvel Films Animation and New World Animation during this period.[16]
News Corporation/Fox Entertainment Group acquired New World Entertainment, along with New World Animation and Marvel Films Animation for $2.5 billion in August 1996.[17] At the same time, Saban Entertainment secured the rights from Marvel Entertainment Group forCaptain America,Daredevil, andSilver Surfer, and additional characters to be developed into four series and 52 episodes over the next seven years.[18]
Fox Children's Productions and Saban Entertainment merged to formFox Kids Worldwide, a holding company and joint venture, in November 1996,[19] while Fox retained ownership of New World Animation.[20]
In July 2001, Fox Family Worldwide and its assets, including the Marvel Productions library and Saban Entertainment, were purchased byThe Walt Disney Company for $5.2 billion.[21][22][23]
After getting its 2002 profit participation statements for the Marvel Productions library, Marvel Enterprises sued The Walt Disney Company over royalties in August 2004 after Disney would not open their books. This was followed by a November 2004 suit which claimed that the purchase of Fox Family did not transfer the shows' copyrights to Disney as the purchase was done without Marvel's approval. As part of both suits, Marvel claimed library income concealment and failure to exploit the characters.[21]
On August 31, 2009, Disney acquiredMarvel Entertainment for $4 billion, reunifying the Marvel Productions library and Marvel Entertainment under the same corporate banner.[24] AfterDisney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox on March 20, 2019, the Marvel Productions and Fox Kids/Saban Entertainment libraries reunited with the New World Animation library.
| Show | Year | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spider-Man | 1981 | Syndication | Marvel property[25] |
| Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends | 1981–1983 | NBC[26] | Marvel property, paired withThe Incredible Hulk[25][27] |
| The Incredible Hulk | 1982 | NBC | Marvel property, paired withSpider-Man and His Amazing Friends[25][27] |
| Meatballs & Spaghetti | CBS | co-production withInterMedia Entertainment Company, Pan Sang East Co. Ltd, andMGM/UA Television[28] | |
| Pandamonium | co-production with InterMedia Entertainment Company and MGM/UA Television[citation needed] | ||
| Dungeons & Dragons | 1983–1985 | co-production withTSR Entertainment/Dungeons and Dragons Entertainment Corp[29] currently co-owned by Disney andHasbro Entertainment | |
| G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | 1983–1986 | Syndication | based on Hasbro toyline of same name withSunbow Productions[30] |
| Muppet Babies | 1984–1991 | CBS | based on Jim Henson's Muppets[31] |
| The Transformers | 1984–1987 | Syndication | based on Hasbro toyline of same name with Sunbow Productions[30] |
| Little Muppet Monsters | 1985 | CBS | based on Jim Henson's Muppets, co-produced withHenson Associates[30] |
| Super Sunday (a.k.a.Super Saturday) | Syndication | based on Hasbro toyline of same name co-produced with Sunbow Productions[30] | |
| The Young Astronauts | 1986 | CBS | Licensed from the Young Astronaut Council and planned to be adapted into a comic book byMarvel Comics;[35] Series was cancelled afterRogers Commission investigation intoSTS-51-L (Space Shuttle Challenger explosion) three days after episode was broadcast, resulting in litigation between the parties settled in 1990.[36] |
| Jem and the Holograms | Syndication | based on Hasbro toyline of same name co-produced with Sunbow Productions[33] | |
| Inhumanoids | based on Hasbro toyline of same name co-produced with Sunbow Productions[34] | ||
| My Little Pony 'n Friends | based on Hasbro toyline of same name, coproduced with Sunbow Productions;[30] first half of the show was My Little Pony while the second half was awheel series[32] | ||
| Defenders of the Earth[37] | Syndication | co-production withKing Features Syndicate (owner)[32] | |
| Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series | 1987 | NBC | based onFraggle Rock[31] |
| Little Wizards | ABC | co-production withNew World International[32] | |
| The Little Clowns of Happytown[38] | co-production withMurakami-Wolf-Swenson[39] currently owned byWildBrain | ||
| Dino-Riders[37] | 1988 | Syndication | co-produced byTyco Toys; aired as part of theMarvel Action Universe block[32] |
| RoboCop | co-production withOrion Pictures; aired as part of theMarvel Action Universe block[32] | ||
| Rude Dog and the Dweebs[32] | 1989 | CBS | |
| X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men | Syndication | aired on theMarvel Action Universe block as a pilot for an X-Men series[citation needed] | |
| Attack of the Killer Tomatoes | 1990–1991 | FOX | co-production withFox Children's Productions[32] |
| Kid 'n Play | NBC | co-production withSaban Entertainment[citation needed] | |
| Space Cats | 1991–1992 | NBC | co-production with Paul Fusco Productions[citation needed] |
| Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars![37] | 1991 | Syndication (U.S.) | co-production with Abrams/Gentile Entertainment,Continuity Comics, IDDH, and Sunbow Productions |
| Little Shop | Fox | co-production withSaban Entertainment,Saban International N.V., BIL Participations S.A. and Gorfy Corporation N.V. | |
| Biker Mice from Mars[34] | 1993–1996 | Syndication | studio known as New World Animation onwards, released as Marvel Productions, distributed by New World (internationally), Genesis Entertainment (domestically),[9] co-production with Brentwood Television Funnies, Worldwide Sports & Entertainment, Inc. andPhilippine Animation Studios[40] |
| The Incredible Hulk | 1996 | UPN | season 1, co-production withMarvel Films andSaerom Animation |
| Airdate | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 14, 1981 | Pink at First Sight | ABC | production inherited fromDePatie–Freleng Enterprises |
| May 20, 1982 | The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat | production inherited fromDePatie–Freleng Enterprises, co-production withDr. Seuss | |
| October 25, 1983 | The Charmkins | syndication | based on Hasbro toyline of same name |
| April 14, 1984 | My Little Pony: Rescue at Midnight Castle | ||
| September 12, 1984 | The Secret World of the Very Young | CBS | co-production with Sunbow Productions |
| March 23, 1985 | My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina | syndication | based on Hasbro toyline of same name |
| 1987 | Blondie and Dagwood | CBS | co-production withKing Features Syndicate |
| 1989 | Blondie and Dagwood: Second Wedding Workout | ||
| 1993 | The Magic Paintbrush | CBS prime time special sponsored byMcDonald's[9] | |
| November 28, 1996 | Party Town Friends | Syndication |
Except forFraggle Rock, the rights to series based on Jim Henson properties are now held byThe Muppets Studio, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.[42][43]
All programs based onHasbro properties were co-productions with Sunbow Productions. These programs are now owned by Hasbro through itsentertainment unit.
| Airdate | Title | studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 28, 1984 | Gallavants | Direct-to-Video | |
| June 20, 1986 | My Little Pony: The Movie | with Sunbow Productions[30] | Theatrical |
| August 8, 1986 | The Transformers: The Movie | ||
| April 20, 1987 | G.I. Joe: The Movie | Direct-to-Video planned for theatrical release. | |
| January 1993 | Gahan Wilson's Diner | Theatrical short[9] |
| Title | Original broadcast | Network |
|---|---|---|
| Solarman | 1988 | Syndication |
| X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men | 1989 |
Because of this, the show was postponed by CBS from the fall projected airing, although it was not cancelled. Eventually, YAC restrained the consultant and gave Marvel the freedom to go ahead with CBS' plans, and there was a meeting with CBS, Marvel and YAC in January, 1986, to discuss the show. The day after this meeting the space shuttle exploded and CBS notified the parties that the show was being cancelled.
Little Clowns of Happytown 1987 ABC.
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