March Entertainment

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March Entertainment was a Canadian production company of digital animated entertainment for television and the World Wide Web. The company's properties include the television series Chilly Beach , Maple Shorts , Yam Roll , and Dex Hamilton .

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Founded as Infopreneur in 1996 by Dan Hawes and Doug Sinclair as a producer of web content, [1] [2] March Entertainment's Chilly Beach Flash animation series [3] would be broadcast on CBC Television starting in 2003. [4] The property also yielded two movies, The World is Hot Enough [5] and The Canadian President. [6] In 2011, the series launched in the U.S. on the streaming video website Hulu; [7] the series had also been available on iTunes. [8] Their series Yam Roll also made it to Hulu via Catherine Tait's distributor Duopoly Inc, which also released Smiley Guy Studios' Odd Job Jack . [9]

In 2007, the company co-produced the series Dex Hamilton: Alien Entomologist with Australia's SLR Productions. [10] [11] The company also co-produced G2G: Got to Go, which aired on Australia's Nine Network in September 2008 and before airing on Canada's CBC-TV. [12]

In 2009, March produced its first and only 3D CGI animated movie for toymaker Playmobil, entitled The Secret of Pirate Island. [13] The company was in production for a second DVD movie, which has since been scrapped. [14]

March animated season 1 of Mia and Me , an international co-production with Rainbow S.p.A., broadcaster ZDF and Lucky Punch. [15] The show, which mixes live action and CGI animation, was the most requested program at 2010s MIPJunior conference. [16]

March Entertainment was also responsible for the websites iLaugh and Edge of Toon.

The company went into decline in the early 2010s, [17] despite an investment of provincial funds, [18] [19] and was ultimately succeeded by Toonrush. [20] [21] [22]

The company's head office was in Toronto and it had an animation studio located in Sudbury, [23] before closing in 2013. [24]

Works

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References

  1. ↑ Ross, Ian (2004-07-19). "Animated success". Northern Ontario Business. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  2. ↑ "Dan Hawes". IEEE Xplore. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  3. ↑ "Infopreneur showcases weird Canadians". Playback . 2000-05-15. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  4. ↑ Caldwell, Rebecca (2003-09-03). "Great White North Park". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  5. ↑ "Chilly Beach movie, The World is Hot Enough, makes national debut". Sudbury.com. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  6. ↑ Valiquette, Mike (2011-05-09). "Press release: Chilly Beach on Hulu – CARTOON NORTH". Canadian Animation Resources. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  7. ↑ Claire Afan, Emily (2011-05-06). "Chilly Beach heads to Hulu". Playback . Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  8. ↑ Wild, Diane (2009-08-22). "Updated: Canadian TV on iTunes". TV, eh?. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  9. ↑ "Duopoly Brings 'Yam Roll' Online to Hulu". Animation Magazine . 2011-06-18. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  10. ↑ Ng-See-Quan, Danielle (2012-04-10). "March Entertainment inks deals for animated feature films". KidScreen. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  11. ↑ "Dex Hamilton: Alien Entomologist". Screen Australia . Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  12. ↑ "Program Guide - Programs". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  13. ↑ Foster, Tyler (2009-10-21). "Playmobil: The Secret of Pirate Island". DVD Talk .
  14. ↑ "March Entertainment Co-Produces Full 3D movies for Playmobil". Newswire.ca. 2009-11-27. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  15. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (2012-06-07). "Mattel Makes Playdate with 'Mia and Me'". Animation Magazine . Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  16. ↑ TV (2010-10-06). "Mia and Me is MIP Jr.'s Most-Requested Show". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  17. ↑ Valiquette, Mike (2009-09-22). "Rumour-killer, March Entertainment, Sudbury". Canadian Animation Resources. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  18. ↑ "Province bolsters Sudbury animation studio". Northern Ontario Business. 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  19. ↑ Pickard, Arron (2011-12-02). "NOHFC invests $2.5 million in animation studio". Sudbury.com. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  20. ↑ "Dan Hawes". Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  21. ↑ Miller, Scott (2022-06-17). "VR learning pilot project captures student focus in Clinton". CTV News . Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  22. ↑ Smith, Kathleen (2022-05-26). "Central Huron Secondary School's virtual reality pilot program a success". Goderich Signal Star . Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  23. ↑ Lacey, Keith (2006-03-20). "Made in Sudbury: Chilly Beach". Sudbury.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  24. ↑ "Dan Hawes: The rise and fall of a Sudbury animation studio". Sustainable Northern Ontario Economic Development. Retrieved 2024-06-15.


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