This is a list of films, shows and specials involving production or distribution by the Canadian production studio Nelvana, a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment.
Series | Year(s) | Production partner | Network |
---|---|---|---|
Small Star Cinema | 1974–1975 | CBC Television | |
Series | Year(s) | Production partner | Original network |
---|---|---|---|
Mr. Microchip | 1983 | CBC Television | |
20 Minute Workout | 1983–1985 | Orion Television | Citytv (Canada) Syndication (United States) |
Inspector Gadget (season 1) | 1983 | DIC Audiovisuel Field Communications LBS Communications | Syndication |
The Edison Twins | 1984–1986 | CBC Television | |
Ewoks | 1985–1986 | Lucasfilm | ABC (United States) Global (Canada) |
Star Wars: Droids | 1985–1986 | ||
The Care Bears Family | 1986–1988 | Those Characters from Cleveland | United States ABC (1986–87) Syndication (1988) Canada Global |
Madballs | 1986–1987 | AmToy | Direct-to-video |
Scholastic's Blue Ribbon Storybook Video | 1986 | Scholastic Productions Karl-Lorimar Home Video | Direct-to-video |
Cricket's Club | 1986–1987 | Hi-Tops Video | Direct-to-video |
My Pet Monster | 1987 | Those Characters from Cleveland | ABC (United States) Global (Canada) |
T. and T. | 1988–1990 | Hal Roach Studios/Qintex Entertainment | Syndication (1988–89) The Family Channel (1990) Global |
Clifford the Big Red Dog | 1988 | Scholastic Productions | Direct-to-video |
Babar | 1989–1991 2000 | The Clifford Ross Company Ellipsanime (2000) Kodansha (2000) | Canada
Canal+ France 3 |
Beetlejuice | 1989–1991 | Tim Burton Inc. The Geffen Film Company Warner Bros. Television | ABC Fox Kids Network (1991) Global |
Series | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Year(s) | Production partner | Original network |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ollie's Pack | Pedro Eboli Graham Peterson | 2020–2021 | Nickelodeon (United States) YTV (Canada) | |
The Dog & Pony Show | Josh Selig | 2020–present | Discovery Inc. Little Airplane Productions redknot | Treehouse TV Discovery Kids (Latin America) |
The Hardy Boys [15] | 2021-2023 | Lambur Productions | YTV (Canada) Hulu (United States) | |
Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go | Britt Allcroft Rick Suvalle | 2021–present | Mattel Television | Cartoon Network & Netflix (United States) Treehouse TV (Canada) |
Super Wish [16] | Vanessa Esteves Adrian Thatcher | 2022–present | Redknot Discovery Inc. | YTV (Canada) Discovery Kids (Latin America) |
Best & Bester [17] | Joonas Utti Anttu Harlin | Gigglebug Entertainment Eye Present | Yle TV2 (Finland) YTV [18] (Canada) Nickelodeon (UK) | |
Builder Brothers' Dream Factory | Drew and Jonathan Scott | 2023–present | Sinking Ship Entertainment Scott Brothers Entertainment | Treehouse TV |
Zokie of Planet Ruby [19] | Brian Morante | Atomic Cartoons | Nickelodeon (UK) YTV (Canada) | |
Geek Girl [20] | 2024–present | RubyRock Pictures Aircraft Pictures | Netflix |
Series | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Year(s) | Production partner | Original network |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hamsters of Hamsterdale [19] | Zach Smith | 2024 | Nickelodeon (United States) Treehouse TV (Canada) | |
Leela's Island [21] | Maria Perez-Brown Fracaswell Hyman Janice Burgess | TIME Studios | Treehouse TV | |
Dreamweavers [22] | Bingo Animation Studio | YTV (Canada) Tencent Video (China) | ||
Bella's Bro-Bots [23] | Keith Chapman | Spin Master Entertainment | Treehouse TV | |
Millie Magnificent [24] | TBA | |||
Barney's World [25] [26] [27] | Sheryl Leach Kathy Parker Dennis DeShazer | Mattel Television | Cartoon Network (United States) Max (United States) | |
A Horse Named Steve [28] | TBA | Sixteen South | TBA | |
Piñata Smashlings [29] | Toikido |
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment and formerly Shaw Communications since 2000. Founded in July 1971 by Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith, it was named after Nelvana of the Northern Lights, the first Canadian national superhero, who was created by Adrian Dingle. The company's production logo is a polar bear looking at Polaris, the North Star.
Care Bears are multi-colored bears, painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. They were turned into plush teddy bears and featured in The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984) before headlining their own television series called Care Bears from 1985 to 1988. They also had multiple feature films including: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).
The Care Bears Movie is a 1985 animated musical fantasy film directed by Arna Selznick from a screenplay by Peter Sauder. It was the second feature film from the Canadian animation studio Nelvana after the 1983 film Rock & Rule, in addition to being one of the first films based directly on a toy line and the first based on Care Bears. It introduced the Care Bears characters and their companions, the Care Bear Cousins. The voice cast includes Mickey Rooney, Georgia Engel, Jackie Burroughs and Cree Summer. In the film, an orphanage owner tells a story about the Care Bears, who live in a cloud-filled land called Care-a-Lot. While traveling across Earth, the Bears help two lonely children named Kim and Jason, who lost their parents in a car accident, and also save Nicholas, a young magician's apprentice, from an evil spirit's influence. Deep within a place called the Forest of Feelings, Kim, Jason and their friends soon meet another group of creatures known as the Care Bear Cousins.
The History of Canadian animation involves a considerable element of the realities of a country neighbouring the United States and both competitiveness and co-operation across the border.
Patrick Loubert is one of the founders of the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited, along with Clive A. Smith and Michael Hirsh. He has produced, and executive-produced, much of the company's most memorable fare.
Michael Hirsh (born 1948) is a Belgian-born Canadian producer, TV executive, entrepreneur, and author. He has been attributed to building from the ground up the Canadian animation industry and, more specifically, award-winning children's programming since the 1980s. He co-founded Nelvana, a Canadian based animation and entertainment studio in 1971 with partners Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith producing numerous cartoons that established Nelvana as a leader in the industry including Little Bear, Franklin, Babar, Max & Ruby, The Magic School Bus, Care Bears, Adventures of TinTin, Inspector Gadget, Droids and Ewoks, among many, many others. After Corus Entertainment's acquisition of Nelvana, Hirsh became CEO of Cookie Jar Entertainment, which created numerous highly popular children's shows, among them Arthur, Johnny Test, and Strawberry Shortcake. When Cookie Jar was acquired by DHX Media Hirsh became the Executive Chairman of the company, the largest supplier of kids programming to online streaming services as well as a leader in production and licensing and merchandising for children. Three years after the acquisition by DHX Media, Hirsh left the company to serve as CEO and chairman of WOW! Unlimited Media from 2015 to December 2023.
Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese-American animation studios since 1978. The company, based in Xindian, Taipei and Los Angeles, California, has done traditional hand-drawn 2D animation/ink and paint for various TV shows and films for studios across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Christopher John Wiggins was an English-born Canadian actor.
Peter Sauder is a Canadian film and TV writer, television producer and animator best known for his contributions to Nelvana franchises such as Care Bears, Babar, Strawberry Shortcake and Star Wars: Droids. Peter, who is originally from Toronto, wrote the first ever story for another hit Nelvana series, Franklin. He is sometimes credited as Pete Sauder.
Charles Bonifacio is a Canadian animator who worked on Nelvana productions such as Rock and Rule, Inspector Gadget, Star Wars: Ewoks, the Care Bears television series and the first two Care Bears movies of the 1980s. He was director of animation on The Care Bears Movie and on Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. In the 1990s, he worked on FernGully: The Last Rainforest and Disney's Mulan.
Sunny Besen Thrasher is a Canadian former child actor who starred as Paul Edison in Nelvana's live-action series The Edison Twins, and supplied voices in the first two Care Bears movies. He's the son of Prairie Oyster keyboardist and Canadian songwriter Joan Besen.
Hong Ying Animation Co., Ltd. is a Chinese animation studio founded in 1986. The studio has worked on several American and other foreign cartoons.
Strawberry Shortcake is a cartoon character used in greeting cards published by American Greetings. The line was later expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products featuring the character, as well as an extended cast of friends and pets. In addition, the franchise has spawned television specials, animated television series and films. The franchise is currently owned by the Canadian children's television company WildBrain through the holding company Shortcake IP Holdings LLC.
Arna Selznick is a Canadian animator, best known for directing Nelvana's 1985 animated film The Care Bears Movie. Arna owns and operates a studio called Dancingmonkeys with her husband/partner John van Bruggen.
Dale Schott is a Canadian animator, writer and storyboard artist, best known for directing the 1986 animated film Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation.
Those Characters from Cleveland, LLC, officially doing business as Cloudco Entertainment and formerly known as AG Properties and American Greetings Entertainment, is an American company which formerly traded as American Greetings' former character brand division. Properties owned by the company include Care Bears, Holly Hobbie, Madballs, Buddy Thunderstruck, Tinpo, The Get Along Gang and Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese.
TV-Loonland AG was a German branding and management company that specialized in the production of children's programmes. The company's offices were located in Europe. The company's mascot is a sheep on a blue dome.