Kanbar Entertainment is an independent film production studio founded by private investorMaurice Kanbar and Hollywood veteranSue Bea Montgomery in 2002. The studio producedHoodwinked!,[1]which was one of the first computer-animated films to be entirely independently financed.[2][3][4]
The film was produced on a budget of less than $8 million,[5]considerably less than the typical budget for an animated film.[6]To save costs, Kanbar Entertainment founded the animation studio Digital Eye Candy inManila, Philippines to create most of the film's animation in which hired a small group of independent animators.[7][8][9]
The Weinstein Company signed on as the film's distributor near the end of its production[10]and it was released in December 2005.[11]The film received mixed critical reviews,[12] but was financially successful, earning over $110 million worldwide.[13]
Hoodwinked!'s success led to a sequel being announced in January 2006.[14] Although Kanbar Entertainment originally intended to finance the film entirely on its own as it had done with the first film, it was convinced by The Weinstein Company to enter into a co-financing agreement with the studio.[15]This allowed the film to be produced on a larger budget than its predecessor at $30 million.[16]
The film was initially scheduled for a January 2010 release, but in December 2009, The Weinstein Company postponed the release date.[17]
Kanbar Entertainment sued The Weinstein Company in March 2010, claiming that the delay violated their agreement and also accusing the studio of not contributing to monthly production accounts after February 2009, neglecting to consult them on a release strategy, and failing to respond to proposed changes to the film, even though they held "final authority on production decisions".[15]Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil was eventually released in April 2011 to almost universally negative critical reviews[18]and financial failure, earning $23.1 million worldwide; less than its budget.[19][20]
Kanbar Entertainment enlisted InterWorks, Inc. to create anAndroid basedvideo game ofHoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. Kanbar Entertainment had several ideas proposed to them by InterWorks, Inc. and choseHoodwinked Too! Decoder Game, which was released on theAndroid Market in correlation with the film's April 29, 2011 release date.[21]
Maurice Kanbar and Sue Bea Montgomery also founded the studio Kanbar Animation in 2002 for the production ofHoodwinked![24][25][26][27][28][29] Kanbar Animation was described byVariety as the "animation banner" of Kanbar Entertainment.[14] It was only used for two films, the first and its sequelHoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil.
