The ULULU Company

Last updated

The ULULU Company
FormerlyThe Curiosity Company (1997–2018; 2023–present)
Company type Private
Industry Television production
Animation production
FoundedApril 21, 1997;27 years ago (1997-04-21)
Founder Matt Groening
Headquarters,
Key people
Matt Groening
Products Futurama
Disenchantment
Logo as "The Curiosity Company", used from 1999 to 2013 and then since 2023 The Curiosity Company logo.png
Logo as "The Curiosity Company", used from 1999 to 2013 and then since 2023

The ULULU Company, also known as The Curiosity Company for secondary branding, is an American production company founded in 1997 by Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons , for Gracie Films. The company productions include the television series Futurama [1] and Disenchantment [2] and the 1999 television film Olive, the Other Reindeer . Groening revived the name The Curiosity Company in 2023.

Contents

Filmography

Television series

TitleGenrePremiereSeasonsRuntimeStatusNotes
Futurama Animated sitcom
Science fiction
Satire
March 28, 19999 seasons, 160 episodes22 minRenewed [3] Credited as "The Curiosity Company"; co-production with 20th Television (seasons 1–7) and 20th Television Animation (seasons 8–present)
Disenchantment Fantasy
Adventure
Satire
August 17, 20185 parts, 50 episodes19–36 minEnded [4]

Television films

TitleGenrePremiereRuntimeNotes
Olive, the Other Reindeer Christmas comedy musical film December 17, 199945 minCo-production with DNA Productions, Flower Films, Fox Television Studios and 20th Century Animation
Futurama: Bender's Big Score Science fiction comedy adventure film November 27, 200789 minCo-production with 20th Television
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs Science fiction comedy adventure film June 24, 200889 min
Futurama: Bender's Game Science fantasy comedy film November 4, 200887 min
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Science fiction comedy film adventure film February 23, 200989 min

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Groening</span> American cartoonist (born 1954)

Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series The Simpsons (1989–present), Futurama, and Disenchantment (2018–2023), and the comic strip Life in Hell (1977–2012). The Simpsons is the longest-running American primetime television series in history and the longest-running American animated series and sitcom.

<i>The Simpsons</i> American animated sitcom

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television and the human condition.

<i>Futurama</i> 1999 American animated sci-fi sitcom

Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1,000 years and revived on December 31, 2999. Fry finds work at the interplanetary delivery company Planet Express, working alongside the one-eyed mutant Leela and the robot Bender. The series was envisioned by Groening in the mid-1990s while working on The Simpsons; he brought David X. Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John DiMaggio</span> American actor (born 1968)

John William DiMaggio is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on Futurama, Jake the Dog on Adventure Time, Marcus Fenix in the Gears of War series, Dr. Drakken on Kim Possible, Hak Foo in Jackie Chan Adventures, The Scotsman on Samurai Jack, Brother Blood on Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!, Shnitzel on Chowder, Fu Dog on American Dragon: Jake Long, Hammerhead and Sandman on The Spectacular Spider-Man, Aquaman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, King Zøg on Disenchantment, Jocktopus on Fish Hooks, Wakka and Kimahri in Final Fantasy X, Rath in the Ben 10 franchise, Crosshairs, Leadfoot, Nitro Zeus, Transit and Stratosphere in the Transformers film franchise, and Gonza in the English version of Princess Mononoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Bartlett</span> American animator

Craig Michael Bartlett is an American animator. He wrote, directed, created, and produced the Nickelodeon television series Hey Arnold! and the PBS Kids television series Ready Jet Go! and Dinosaur Train.

<i>Futurama</i> season 1 1st season of Futurama

The first season of Futurama began airing on March 28, 1999 and concluded on November 14, 1999, after 13 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cel shading</span> Computer graphics rendering technique used to mimic the look of 2D animation

Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon and/or give the render a characteristic paper-like texture. There are similar techniques that can make an image look like a sketch, an oil painting or an ink painting. The name comes from cels, clear sheets of acetate which are painted on for use in traditional 2D animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film Roman</span> American animation studio

Film Roman, LLC, is an American animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and currently by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of producer Steve Waterman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough Draft Studios</span> Korean-American animation production studios

Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American animation production studio based in Glendale, California, with a second studio in Glendale and its sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in Seoul, South Korea. The studio was founded in Van Nuys, Los Angeles by Gregg Vanzo in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult animation</span> Animation aimed at adults

Adult animation, also known as mature animation, and infrequently as adult-oriented animation, is any type of animated motion media that is catered specifically to adult interests and is mainly targeted and marketed towards adults and adolescents, as opposed to children or all-ages audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Moore</span> American film director

Richard L. Moore is an American film and television animation director, screenwriter and voice actor. He is best known for serving as a director on primetime animated television series such as The Simpsons, The Critic and Futurama as well as directing the films Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Zootopia (2016) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) for Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner, a three-time Annie Award winner and an Academy Award winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Pilot 3000</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Futurama

"Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 28, 1999. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing of the series protagonist, Philip J. Fry, and the events when he awakens 1,000 years in the future and is the first episode to be set in the 30th century. Series regulars are introduced and the futuristic setting, inspired by a variety of classic science fiction series from The Jetsons to Star Trek, is revealed. It also sets the stage for many of the events to follow in the series, foreshadowing plot points from the third and fourth seasons.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 14 Season of television series

The fourteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between November 3, 2002, and May 18, 2003, and was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. The show runner for the fourteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive produced 21 of 22 episodes. The other episode, "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", was run by Mike Scully. The season was the first to use digital ink-and-paint for most of its episodes, though four episodes were hold-overs from season 13's production run and used traditional ink-and-paint. A fifth season 13 holdover episode, which was the first episode of season 14, used digital ink-and paint like the rest of the season. The fourteenth season has met with mostly positive reviews and won two Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program, four Annie Awards and a Writers Guild of America Award. This season contains the show's 300th episode, "Barting Over".

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 13 Season of television series

The thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001, and May 22, 2002, and consists of 22 episodes. The showrunner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive-produced 17 episodes. Mike Scully executive-produced the remaining five, which were all hold-overs that were produced for the previous season. The Simpsons is an animated series about an American family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional city of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition.

Toonz is a 2D animation software program. The base application is currently managed by Dwango as open-source software under the name OpenToonz. An extended commercial variant for professional individuals and studios, Toonz Premium, is being developed and marketed by Digital Video S.p.A. Toonz has been used by studios such as Studio Ghibli and Rough Draft Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th Television Animation</span> American television animation production and distribution company

20th Television Animation is an American television animation studio that creates, develops, produces, publishes, and distributes primarily adult animated television series and specials. It is a unit of Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment, which is a division of The Walt Disney Company.

<i>Disenchantment</i> (TV series) American animated fantasy sitcom

Disenchantment is an American animated fantasy sitcom created by Matt Groening for Netflix. The series is Groening's first production to appear exclusively on a streaming service; he previously created The Simpsons and Futurama for Fox. The story takes place in the fictitious medieval fantasy kingdom of Dreamland, a fictionalized take on the Middle Ages. The series centers on Bean, a rebellious alcoholic princess, as well as her naïve elf companion Elfo and her destructive "personal demon" Luci. Disenchantment stars the voices of Abbi Jacobson, Eric André, Nat Faxon, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Matt Berry, David Herman, Maurice LaMarche, Lucy Montgomery, and Billy West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyber Group Studios</span> French animation studio

Cyber Group Studios is a French developer, producer and distributor of animated television series and movies for children in France and internationally. The company was founded by Pierre Sissmann, Dominique Bourse, Billy "Frédéric" Richard, Olivier Lelardoux and Cécilia Bosselin in 2003 and produces 3D and 2D animation products for television series and movies, web series, and news and documentaries. It also licenses its own and third-party characters.

References

  1. "Toonz 2D animation software becomes OpenToonz". BlenderNation. March 26, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  2. Amidi, Amid (March 27, 2016). "Here's Where To Download OpenToonz, Studio Ghibli's Free Animation Software". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  3. Otterson, Joe (November 2, 2023). "'Futurama' Renewed for Two More Seasons at Hulu". Variety. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  4. "'Disenchantment' to End with Season 5 on Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter . August 2023.