DIC Movie Toons (originally known as the Nickelodeon Sunday Movie Toons in the United States) were a series of animated television films produced by DIC Entertainment [a] for Nickelodeon. [1] [2] It started in 2002, beginning on October 6 and ending on December 29. MGM Home Entertainment released the films on home media.
Most films released under the label are owned by WildBrain, which holds the rights to most of DIC's library; exceptions include GlobeHunters, which was a Nickelodeon in-house production owned by Viacom International as well as films based on comic strips. [3] [4]
Initially, 39 films were ordered from Nickelodeon to air, with later productions including adaptations of concepts such as Black Beauty and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , but only 13 of them did so. [5] [6] With the exception of Groove Squad , which was a completely original story (it was about a group of crime-fighting cheerleaders), all of the made-for-TV films were either based on various DIC productions such as Inspector Gadget , Sabrina: The Animated Series , and Dennis the Menace , or adapted from stories from classic literature such as Treasure Island and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas . In order, the movies featured were:
In October 2002, Disney Television International purchased the broadcast rights to the movies for DIC to air on Disney Channel, Toon Disney and Playhouse Disney networks in France, Germany, Italy, Southeast Asia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, the Middle East and Scandinavia. [6]
In November 2002, Super RTL purchased the German free-to-air broadcasting rights to the films as part of a six-year deal with DIC. Other networks like YTV in Canada, Cartoon Network Japan, Televisa in Mexico and RCTV in Venezuela purchased the broadcast rights to the movies in their respective regions. [21]
Later on, DIC would pre-sell the movies to ITV in the UK, Club RTL in Belgium, Mediatrade in Italy, Alter TV in Greece and Anteve in Indonesia. [22]
All of the movies apart from A Christmas Carol were later released to VHS and DVD in the United States by MGM Home Entertainment throughout 2003. [23] MGM released the films in three phases and ended with two three-pack boxsets in October - one for boys [24] and another for girls. [25]
In October 2005, it was announced that Entertainment Resource had acquired home media rights to the Movie Toons. On November 1, the company released double packs containing two movies on one disc - The Archies in Jugman/Dennis the Menace: Cruise Control, Groove Squad/Sabrina: Friends Forever, The Amazing Zorro/Treasure Island, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea/Time Kid, and Globehunters/Dinosaur Island. Inspector Gadget's Last Case and My Fair Madeline were originally intended to be released as single releases later on in the year, but such a release never occurred. [26]
In 2008, Gaiam through GT Media re-released the films on DVD. The company released the films as single-disc and double-packs containing two movies on a single disc, and also released a "Gold Collection" that contained two discs with three movies on each. [27]
In 2013, My Fair Madeline was re-released by Stepping Stones Entertainment. [28]
In the United Kingdom, a selection of the films were distributed through Prism Leisure [29] and later Boulevard Entertainment.
In Australia, Shock Entertainment's Kaleidoscope Film and DVD imprint [22] released a majority of the Movie Toons on DVD (except for My Fair Madeline, Time Kid and Treasure Island). In 2010, Jigsaw Entertainment re-released Inspector Gadget's Last Case, Sabrina, Friends Forever!, The Archies in Jugman, Dennis the Menace: Cruise Control with Movie Toons branding. The company also released Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever! under the Movie Toons brand, although it was not officially part of it. Umbrella Entertainment released My Fair Madeline in 2010, and re-released it in 2013.
In France, TF1 Video released selected films including Sabrina, Friends Forever and Inspector Gadget's Last Case.
Italy, Spain/Latin America, and Ukraine, the movies were released by Eagle Pictures, Sum, and ICTV respectively. [22]
In Poland, these movies were dubbed and distributed by Kartunz. [30]
There was also an animated TV-movie called Dennis the Menace: Cruise Control released on October 27, 2002.
Inspector Gadget is an animated science fiction comedy series co-created by Andy Heyward, Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi, and was originally syndicated by DIC Audiovisuel and Lexington Broadcast Services Company. The show revolves around the adventures of a clumsy, dim-witted police officer from Metro City named Inspector Gadget—a police inspector with various bionic gadgets built into his body—who is sent on missions to thwart plans by his nemesis Dr. Claw, the leader of an evil organization known as "M.A.D.", while unknowingly being assisted by his niece Penny and their dog, Brain.
Archie's Weird Mysteries is an animated television series based on the characters by Archie Comics. The series premise revolves around a Riverdale High physics lab gone awry, making the town of Riverdale a "magnet" for B movie-style monsters. All the main characters solve strange mysteries in a format similar to both Scooby-Doo and The X-Files.
Jean Chalopin is a French businessman, banker and former television producer. In 1971, he founded the production company DIC Entertainment, which specialized in children-oriented television and film productions. Through the company, he co-created successful television series including Inspector Gadget, The Real Ghostbusters, Sonic Underground, and Dennis the Menace; he also served as the co-writer and producer of The Mysterious Cities of Gold. He created a successor company, C&D in 1987. DIC was dissolved into Cookie Jar Group in 2013, and he has since shifted focus onto a career in banking.
Sabrina: The Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the Archie Comics series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Produced by Savage Studios Ltd. and Hartbreak Films in association with DIC Productions, L.P., the series is an animated spin-off of the 1996–2003 live-action series Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
20th Century Home Entertainment is a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Blue Sky Studios, and 20th Century Animation and several third-party studios, as well as television series by 20th Television, Searchlight Television, 20th Television Animation, and FX Productions in home entertainment formats.
Inspector Gadget is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series Inspector Gadget. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated series, video games, and films.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, and other audiovisual content across digital formats and platforms.
Inspector Gadget is a 1999 American superhero comedy film directed by David Kellogg and written by Kerry Ehrin and Zak Penn from a story by Ehrin and Dana Olsen. Loosely based on the 1980s animated television series of the same name, the film stars Matthew Broderick as the title character, Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw, Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny, and Dabney Coleman as Chief Quimby. Five new characters were introduced: Dr. Brenda Bradford, Sykes, Kramer, Mayor Wilson and the Gadgetmobile. The film tells the origin story of Inspector Gadget as he attempts to foil an evil plot concocted by the series villain, Dr. Claw. It was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Los Angeles, California, with the castle-like main tower of Pittsburgh's PPG Place playing a central role.
Hong Ying Animation Co., Ltd. is a Chinese animation studio founded in 1986. The studio has worked on several American and other foreign cartoons.
Sabrina: Friends Forever is a 2002 animated television film produced by DIC Entertainment as part of their DIC Movie Toons series of movies. It originally aired on October 6, 2002, on Nickelodeon in the United States and was later released onto VHS and DVD by MGM Home Entertainment, followed on with international airings on Disney Channel and Toon Disney. It is a continuation of the animated television series Sabrina: The Animated Series and was followed by another television series, Sabrina's Secret Life.
Heathcliff is a children's animated television series that debuted on September 3, 1984. Produced by DIC Audiovisuel, it was the second animated series based on the Heathcliff comic strip. 65 half-hour episodes aired in first-run syndication in the fall of 1984, followed by a second season of 21 episodes in 1985 and continued to air in syndication until 1988. The Catillac Cats characters were created by Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi.
The All-New Dennis the Menace is an animated series based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham that aired from September 18 to December 11, 1993 on CBS.
Madeline is an animated preschool television series produced by DIC Entertainment, L.P., as part of the Madeline media franchise. It began as a series of six television specials from 1988 to 1991, and then continued as Madeline and The New Adventures of Madeline from 1993 to 2001. The show is narrated by Christopher Plummer.
Cookie Jar Toons was a daily children's programming block on the This TV digital broadcast network when it was partially owned by the former Weigel Broadcasting. The block was programmed by Canada-based DHX Media.
Groove Squad Cheerleaders is a 2002 animated television film produced by DIC Entertainment as part of the DIC Movie Toons series of movies. It debuted on Nickelodeon on November 24, 2002 and was later released on VHS and DVD by MGM Home Entertainment, eventually airing internationally on Disney Channel and Toon Disney. The titular squad consists of three high school cheerleaders and best friends who gain superpowers after accidentally being zapped by a jolt of electricity from the mad scientist Dr. Nightingale. With help from their team mascot and their hairstylist, a former Mi6-agent, they must learn to use their newfound powers to defeat Dr. Nightingale while hiding their identities as superheroes and win the annual cheerleading competition. It was the only movie of the DIC Movie Toons to be an original story, as the other movies were either based on existing cartoons or adapted from classic literature.
Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure is a 2002 animated television film produced by DIC Entertainment and Frederator Studios for Nickelodeon as part of the DIC Movie Toons series. It originally aired on December 15, 2002. It was released on home media by MGM Home Entertainment. Loosely based on Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, the plot follows a trio of genetic animals, a gorilla named Eddie, a cheetah named Sasha, and a parrot named Trevor, who decide to escape a laboratory and travel the world in hopes of finding a place known as Himalaya USA. Meanwhile, a hunter is tasked with catching the animals within a period of eighty days – before the tracking devices attached to the latter self-destruct.