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Three J's Productions (also known as Grogs Inc.) were a Canadian puppet company troupe active from 1992 to 2009. They produced a variety of television shows and short films for Nickelodeon, its sister channels YTV and Nickelodeon Canada, Treehouse TV, and CBC Television.
The Grogs were founded by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley in 1992 in Toronto. As a puppet troupe, they were somewhat unusual as they designed and moulded their puppets and sets as part of the creative process for writing, directing, and performing in their TV shows. They were present in the process from pre-production to post-production with the help of their partner Jack Lenz. The troupe's name comes from their work on interstitials for YTV featuring a group of monster puppets called the Grogs; by the end of the year, YTV had aired a Christmas special featuring the Grogs, [1] and the duo were working on a series. [2] After a stunt 12-hour "takeover" of the channel on New Year's Day 1994 by one of their characters, Warren Chester Grog, the channel's viewership soared. [3] However, when the network wanted to merchandise the puppets, the relationship soured; the process introduced them to Lenz, who counseled them to start their own company—at which time the network fired Shannon and Hopley. [4]
In 1997, Hopley operated the titular monster in the Goosebumps episode, The Blob That Ate Everyone. In 1999, the Grogs began a partnership with Nickelodeon, producing a series of shorts called Nanalan' for the network and its sister channel Noggin, which aired in Canada on YTV and CBC. In 2004, Nickelodeon released the shorts to DVD. Nanalan' was developed into a full-length series that finished airing in 2004. In the same year, the Grogs appeared and worked on the Nick Jr. series Whoopi's Littleburg . In 2005, they produced a teen-oriented sitcom for Nickelodeon titled Mr. Meaty , which likewise began as a collection of shorts. These were originally seen on TurboNick and during commercial breaks on Nickelodeon's channels. It was picked up for two seasons of 22-minute episodes that aired from 2006 to 2009 on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons.
Their other work has included Swami Jeff's Temple of Wisdom, The Grogs, Warren, Filth, Gidian, Iffer, Sorbet, Jasper and Cupcake, Al's Tales of the Tank, It's Alive! , Ooh, Aah & You , the animated series Weird Years , and Hotbox .
The Grogs were formally dissolved in 2009 after a successful 17-year partnership. [5]
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. 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.
YTV is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. The channel and its programming is targeted at children and young teenagers; consisting of both original live-action and animated television series, movies, and third-party shows from various international markets, mainly from U.S.-based kids networks such as Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network. Its name was originally thought to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television", though the channel's website has denied this.
Treehouse TV is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel for preschool children that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from sister network YTV's former programming block, "The Treehouse". The channel is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Having launched on November 1, 1997, it is the first ever full-day preschool-oriented TV channel in Canada.
Nanalan' is a Canadian children's television series created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. It began in 1999 as a series of three-minute shorts and later ran for a season of full-length episodes spanning 21 minutes each. It chronicles the small-scale adventures and discoveries of a three-year-old puppet girl named Mona in her grandmother Nana's backyard. The title is a contraction of the phrase "Nana Land," referring to the setting.
Adult puppeteering is the use of puppets in contexts aimed at adult audiences. Serious theatrical pieces can use puppets, either for aesthetic reasons, or to achieve special effects that would otherwise be impossible with human actors. In parts of the world where puppet shows have traditionally been children's entertainment, many find the notion of puppets in decidedly adult situations—for example, involving drugs, sex, profanity, or violence—to be humorous, because of the bizarre contrast it creates between subject matter and characters.
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Mr. Meaty is a teen sitcom created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. The show centers on two lazy teenage boys, Josh Redgrove and Parker Dinkleman, who work at a fast food restaurant called Mr. Meaty inside a shopping mall as they often encounter supernatural and bizarre situations. The series is set in the fictional town of Scaunchboro, based on Scarborough, Toronto.
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John Frederick "Jack" Lenz is a Canadian composer. He has written, performed, and produced music for film, television, and theatre, along with working on non-soundtrack album ventures. He is also the founder of Live Unity Enterprises, an organization devoted to the production of music for the Baháʼí community.
Ooh, Aah & You is a short-form children's series created by the Canadian puppeteer duo Jason Hopley and Jamie Shannon, who also created Nanalan' and Mr. Meaty. It was produced by Kick Start Productions. In the United States, the shorts premiered in July 2005 during the Playhouse Disney line up. Ooh and Aah are a pair of monkey puppets. On March 31, 2007, they became the official hosts of Playhouse Disney, replacing Clay and Page. They introduced the various long format and short format shows that aired on the network.
Weird Years is a Canadian family animated series and sitcom produced by Lenz Entertainment and Mercury Filmworks. Created by Jason Hopley and Jamie Shannon, the show was aired on YTV from November 2006 to June 2007. 26 half-hour episodes of the show were produced. The series follows the Dorkovitch family, who emigrated from the fictional Kryobia in Eastern Europe to Happy Valley, Labrador, Canada. The family try to adapt to life in the New World and maintain the traditions of their homeland.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 19th Gemini Awards were held on December 13, 2004, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was co-hosted by several celebrities, took place at the John Bassett Theatre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
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The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 12th Gemini Awards were held on March 1, 1998, to honour achievements in Canadian television. There were two awards ceremonies in 1998; the 13th was held on October 4, 1998. The 12th awards ceremony was hosted by Cathy Jones and Steve Smith. It took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
Nickelodeon is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel based on the American cable network of the same name owned by Corus Entertainment under a brand licensing agreement with Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global.
Jamie Christopher Shannon is a Canadian actor, best known for his work in the Canadian television series Nanalan', as well as Ooh, Aah & You, and the Canadian-American television series Mr. Meaty.
The 14th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television, theater and music for the 1991-1992 season, and took place on January 16, 1993, at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California.
Numb Chucks is a Canadian animated television series that was created by Phil LaFrance and Jamie LeClaire and premiered on YTV in Canada on January 7, 2014. The series focuses on Dilweed and Fungus, a pair of woodchucks with big hearts, who are obsessed with using their bungling kung-fu skills to protect the lives of the citizens in their town of Ding-a-Ling Springs. The series was cancelled and its last episode aired on December 1, 2016. A total of 52 episodes were produced.
The 36th Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Association, honored excellence of young performers between the ages of 5 and 21 in the fields of film, television, theatre and the internet for the 2014 calendar year. Winners were announced on May 15, 2015, at the annual ceremony and banquet luncheon held in the Empire Ballroom of the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California.
Cartoon Network is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is part of The Cartoon Network, Inc. unit of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery which primarily focuses on animated programs.