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| Formerly | Stowmar Enterprises(1978–1981) Open Studio(1981–1982) Broadcast Arts(1982–1993) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Television Film Commercials Animation Digital Video games VFX |
| Founded | March 19, 1978; 47 years ago (1978-03-19) |
| Founder | Steve Oakes Peter Rosentheal |
| Defunct | April 24, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-04-24) |
| Fate | Closed |
| Headquarters | Crystal City, Virginia, U.S.(1978–1981) Washington, D.C., U.S.(1981–1985) New York City,New York, U.S.(1985–2014) San Francisco,California, U.S.(1996–2000) Los Angeles,California, U.S.(2008–2015) |
Key people | Jan Korbelin (Managing Partner) Marina Grasic (Managing Partner) Camille Geier (SVP/Head of Studio) Vadim Turchin (VFX/CG Supervisor) |
Number of employees | 60 |
| Parent | Harmony Pictures(1994–1999) Intelefim(1999–2002) |
Curious Pictures (stylized ascurious?ictures) was an American animation studio and multi-media company that was primarily based inNew York City that producedtelevision programs,commercials,animation andvideo games. The company is known for its flagship work such as the preschool television seriesA Little Curious forHBO,Little Einsteins forDisney Jr. andTeam Umizoomi forNick Jr. Other well-known works includeSheep in the Big City andCodename: Kids Next Door forCartoon Network.
After working at Stowmar Enterprises, Steve Oakes and Peter Rosentheal co-founded Broadcast Arts inWashington, D.C. in 1981. One of the company's first assignment was a series of network IDs forMTV, which had set the standard for the network's irreverent humour. This success established the fledgling studio and brought them projects forWPLJ,Showtime,Cinemax,ABC, and more. Broadcast Arts moved toNew York City in 1985. Broadcast Arts produced hundreds of commercials, constantly weaving together multiple animation and special effects techniques for various projects, as well as the animation for the first season ofPee-wee's Playhouse. Broadcast Arts changed its name to Curious Pictures in 1993.
Having worked together for several years, the team of five partners, Susan Holden, Steve Oakes, David Starr, Peter Rosentheal, and Richard Winkler, continued producing television commercials, with the intention of expanding to television programming, toy production, and other ventures. In 1994, the company expanded into a 25,000 square-foot studio inLower Manhattan, fully equipping it with acel andcomputer animation department, a shooting stage with two motion control camera systems, a prop and model shop, and digital editing rooms. From 1995 to 1999, an office was maintained inSan Francisco to support the company's expansion into animated television series.In 1998,A Little Curious forHBO became the company's first half-hour series, followed soon after by another project,Sheep in the Big City, forCartoon Network. Other animated series includedCodename: Kids Next Door, created byMr. Warburton, for Cartoon Network,Little Einsteins forPlayhouse Disney,[1] andTeam Umizoomi for Nickelodeon.
