 Logo used since 2020 | |
| Formerly | Sony Kids' Music/Video (1992–1993) Sony Wonder (1993–2023) Sony Pictures Family Fun (2015–2020) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | February 1992; 33 years ago (1992-02) |
| Founder | Linda Morgenstern |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Family films |
| Parent | Sony Music Entertainment (1992–2004) Sony BMG Music Entertainment (2004–2007) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007–present) |
| Website | kidszone |
Sony Pictures Kids Zone is the kids and family entertainment label ofSony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned bySony Music Entertainment.
Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not directly related to the formerSony Wonder Technology Lab, an interactive technology and entertainment museum, although the museum was also owned bySony.
Sony Music Video launched itsSony Kids' Music andSony Kids' Video labels in February 1992 after months of planning under the banner SMV Children's Library. Artists signed to Sony Kids' Music at launch includedDan Crow,Tom Chapin,Tom Paxton,Kevin Roth,Rory, and Lois Young, who would all release product in the spring.[1] After Sony Music Video dissolved in October, Sony Kids' Music and Video were coordinated and marketed throughEpic Records beginning in January 1993.[2] On May 22, 1993,Nickelodeon signed a long-term agreement with Epic Records to distribute home video and audio titles through Sony Music.[3]
On July 3, Sony Kids' Music and Video were merged asSony Wonder; Sony Wonder's president Ted Green sought new strategic alliances like their one with Nickelodeon.[4][5][6] On April 24, 1995,Children's Television Workshop entered a long-term agreement to distributeSesame Street videos, music, and books through Sony Wonder, while Columbia Pictures began development on two Muppet films which would be released on video byColumbia TriStar Home Video. Sony Wonder also took over distribution ofRandom House Home Video titles in April.[7][8]
On July 29,Nickelodeon and Sony Wonder launched theNick Jr. Video label with three titles based onEureeka's Castle,Gullah Gullah Island, andAllegra's Window; an audio line launched on March 26, 1996.[9] In 1996, two years afterViacom's acquisition of Paramount Communications,[10] Sony Wonder's deal with Nickelodeon expired, leaving Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. videos and DVDs to be distributed byParamount Home Entertainment (andCIC Video internationally until 1999).[11]
On August 2, 1997, Sony Wonder entered a long-term worldwide joint venture with Together Again Video Productions to create and distribute new and previousKidsongs titles, starting with 20 new episodes ofThe Kidsongs Television Show.[12] On December 27, Sony Wonder andGolden Books Family Entertainment agreed to release titles from Golden Books' catalog starting in spring 1998;[13] the contract continued with Classic Media after they acquired Golden Books.
The company was also the Canadian home video distributor for series produced byCINAR, such asArthur,Wimzie's House,Madeline,A Bunch of Munsch,The Busy World of Richard Scarry, andCaillou.[14]
On May 4, 1998, Sony Wonder boughtSunbow Entertainment,[15] which had produced various shows based onHasbro's toy lines but whose original programming had mostly under-performed. On March 1, 2000, Sony Wonder signed a first-look distribution agreement with German-based management firmTV-Loonland AG to handle the distribution of their shows in German-speaking and Eastern European territories[16] and eventually signed a UK home video deal with Maverick.[17] On October 3, as an extension to the previous agreement, TV-Loonland purchased the television division of Sony Wonder, including its programming and ownership in Sunbow. As part of the deal, Sony kept the North American home video and international audio rights to its library.[18][19][20] On May 14, 2008, Hasbro acquired the Sunbow programs based on its properties, which are now part ofHasbro Entertainment.[21][22][23][24] In 2009, TV-Loonland filed for bankruptcy.[25] In 2011, Loonland sold its catalogue to m4e AG.[26] In February 2017,Studio 100 acquired a majority stake in m4e AG, becoming the current owner of television rights to most of the Loonland catalogue, including the Sunbow and Sony Wonder titles.[27]
From the end of 2006 to 2007, Sony Wonder began losing distribution agreements. The first company to revoke their deal with Sony Wonder wasWorld Wrestling Entertainment, who signed withGenius Products in October 2006.[28] In January 2007, Sony Wonder had also lost their long-time distribution agreement deal withClassic Media to Genius, and this was followed withSesame Workshop also signing with Genius in February 2007.[29][30] Shortly after in March,Shout! Factory announced they would also end their agreement with Sony Wonder and signed a new deal withVivendi Visual Entertainment.[31]
With the loss of these agreements, Sony BMG Music Entertainment announced that it would shut down Sony Wonder to focus on its core music business. The last two releases under the Sony Wonder label were the 20th Anniversary Edition ofThe Transformers: The Movie andA Sesame Street Christmas Carol, which were released in November 2006.[22][23][24]
On June 20, 2007,Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced that it would revive the Sony Wonder brand as its kids and family entertainment label.[32][33][34] The company announced that properties that would be released under Sony Wonder would includeThe Berenstain Bears,Dragon Tales,Harold and the Purple Crayon,Holly Hobbie & Friends,It's a Big Big World andStuart Little: The Animated Series.[33]
In 2015, the Sony Wonder label was rebranded asSony Pictures Family Fun, and later folded intoSony Pictures Kids Zone in 2020. The Sony Wonder label was still used for the direct-to-videoThe Swan Princess film series until 2023.
