Toonbox

Last updated
Toonbox
FoundedMay 5, 2008;16 years ago (2008-05-05) (Moscow, Russia)
Headquarters
Moscow Russia (2008-2014) Paphos, Cyprus (2014)
Key people
  • Pavel Muntyan (CEO)
  • Vladimir Ponomarev (CCO)
Website www.toonbox.studio

Toonbox is a Cyprus animation studio located in Paphos.

Contents

History

The studio was founded in 2008, by Pavel Muntyan (CEO) and Vladimir Ponomarev (CCO).

Starting from 2011, Toonbox representatives got actively involved in the development of animated cinematograph, including the niche of attracting investments to the industry. [1] [2] [3] [4]

In 2012, Toonbox has openly claimed its involvement in the production of Mr. Freeman animated series on a TV-channel [5] belonging to Sergey Minaev.

Starting from 2013, the studio has been focusing mainly on animated series for kids. [6]

Since 2014, Toonbox leaders have been urging against anti-advertisement policy in animated cinematograph and television for the sake of industry development. [7]

In 2014, a new episode of Mr. Freeman dedicated to a truly acute topic in Russia — bitcoin, has been shown in 130 cities worldwide at a time. [8] [9]

In 2014, the headquarters of the company has moved to Cyprus. The move turned out to be in the spotlight of mass media both in Russia and abroad. [10] [11] [12] [13]

In 2015, the number one street artist Banksy played Mr. Freeman's episode Walking On By [14] at the opening of his weirdo entertainment park Dismaland. [15]

On October 12, 2016 Rovio Entertainment (creator of Angry Birds) has become an official licensing partner of the brand Kit^n^Kate created by Toonbox. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

Up to the present moment (late 2019), Toonbox has produced 357 animated movies with a total time-keeping of 18.5 hours. Toonbox produces English, Russian, and non-dialogue content in Full HD in 2D, CGI, and 360 VR formats. Its flagship series include Kit^n^Kate, Qumi-Qumi, Qumi-Qumi 360 VR, and Mr. Freeman.

Toonbox films and series have dubbings into 27 languages and are being broadcast in 130 countries on both TV-channels and VOD platforms. [23] Toonbox YouTube channels can boast 1,9 billion of views. Its international agents include such major companies as Riki Group, Planet Nemo Animation, Maurizio Distefano Licensing, Dadi Media and Ferly.

Animated Shows

Production yearTitleEpisodesSeasonsDirectorScriptwriter
2008-2009The Real Adventures of Belka and Strelka61 Владимир Пономарёв Comedy Club
2009-2012Russian Short Fairy-Tales362Andrey BakhurinAndrey Bakhurin, Valentin Vinogradov, Inga Kirkizh
2009-2019 Mr. Freeman 322Vladimir PonomarevPavel Muntyan, Anatoly Dobrozhan, Vadim Demchog, Ivan Trofimov
2010The Bump31Arthur MerkulovAnatoly Dobrozhan
2011-2018 Qumi-Qumi 151Владимир ПономарёвВладимир Пономарёв, Павел Мунтян, Станислав Михайлов, Артур Меркулов, Дмитрий Горбунов, Алексей Минченок, Владимир Афанасьев, Алексей Котёночкин, Олег Ужинов, Наталья Румянцева
2017Qumi-Qumi 360 VR41Vladimir PonomarevVladimir Ponomarev, Pavel Muntyan
2010-2013 Shaman's Quest (1st season)121Arthur MerkulovArthur Merkulov
2011-2012 The Fixies (partly in 2D)71Vladimir PonomarevAeroplan studio
2011-2014 Om Nom Stories 283Arthur Merkulov, Dmitry GorbunovStanislav Mikhailov
2014-2015, 2017-2019 Kit^n^Kate 1042Vladimir PonomarevMichael Mennies, [24] Mike de Seve, [25] Jymn Magon, [26] Susan Kim, [27] Anne D. Bernstein [28]
since 2020Bobby and the Bubble BunchTBATBAVladimir PonomarevMichael Mennies [24]
since April 19, 2021Take My Muffin303Basil TailorStas Mikhailov-Norden, Vladimir Ponomarev, Pavel Muntyan

Animated short films

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuzmultfilm</span> Russian animation studio

Soyuzmultfilm is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched on June 10, 1936 as the animated film production unit of the U.S.S.R.'s motion picture monopoly, GUKF, Soyuzmultfilm has produced more than 1,500 cartoons. Soyuzmultfilm specializes in the creation of animated TV series, feature films and short films. The studio has made animated films in a wide variety of genres and art techniques, including stop motion, hand-drawn, 2D and 3D techniques.

<i>The Captains Daughter</i> Novel by Aleksandr Pushkin

The Captain's Daughter is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal Sovremennik and is his only completed novel. The novel is a romanticized account of Pugachev's Rebellion in 1773–1774. The title "The Captain's Daughter" has also been used to refer to a collection of stories, one of which was the actual novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melnitsa Animation Studio</span> Russian animation studio

Melnitsa Animation Studio is one of the largest animation studios in Russia. Deutsche Welle called the studio the Walt Disney of Saint Petersburg. Alongside its animation projects, Melnitsa has an effort devoted to creating digital special effects for both animation projects and live-action films.

<i>Hoffmaniada</i> 2018 Russian film

Hoffmaniada is a 2018 Russian stop motion-animated feature film from Soyuzmultfilm. The film is one of the first full-length puppet animated film in the recent history of the animation studio. The concept and the art design was done by Mikhail Shemyakin and is directed by Stanislav Sokolov.

The Open Russian Festival of Animated Films is an annual animation film festival held in Suzdal, Russia. It is devoted to professional appraisal of domestic Russian animation. The festival takes place in late winter or early spring and accepts only animated films from the Russian Federation and from Belarus made in the last three years.

<i>My Love</i> (2006 film) 2006 Russian film

My Love is a 2006 paint-on-glass-animated short film directed by Aleksandr Petrov, based on A Love Story (1927) by Ivan Shmelyov. Work on the film took place in Yaroslavl, Russia over a period of three years at the studio DAGO Co. It was funded by Russia's Channel One and Dentsu Tec in Japan.

<i>Angry Birds Toons</i> Finnish animated TV series

Angry Birds Toons is a Finnish short-form animated television series based on Rovio's Angry Birds. This animated series follows the adventures of the young birds as they guard their eggs against the piggies who want to steal them for their king to eat, as well as adventures from within each group, with episodes having been released weekly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voronezh Animation Studio</span> Russian animation studio

Voronezh Animation Studio is a Russian animation film, short film and television studio based in Voronezh. The studio specializes in the production of animated feature films, television shows and their distribution and promotion in the domestic and international markets. The studio was formed in 2007 from a company specializing in software development, multimedia and software localization. Originally founded under the name InlayFilm, it rebranded as Wizart Animation in 2012. In August 2022, the company changed its name to Voronezh Animation Studio.

<i>The Angry Birds Movie</i> 2016 film by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly

The Angry Birds Movie is a 2016 animated comedy film based on Rovio Entertainment's video game series of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly from a screenplay written by Jon Vitti and a story by Mikael Hed, Mikko Pöllä, and co-producer John Cohen. It stars the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Sean Penn, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Bill Hader, and Peter Dinklage. The film follows Red (Sudeikis), an outcast in an island of anthropomorphic flightless birds, as he suspects a newly arrived crew of pigs led by Leonard (Hader) of plotting an evil plan, and attempts to put a stop to them with the help of his newfound friends Chuck (Gad) and Bomb (McBride).

"The Law of Life" is a short story by the American naturalist writer Jack London. It was first published in McClure's Magazine, Vol.16, March, 1901. In 1902, it was published in a collection of Jack London's stories, The Children of Frost, by Macmillan Publishers.

<i>Piggy Tales</i> Finnish animated television series

Piggy Tales is a Finnish animated television series based on Bad Piggies, a spin-off of Angry Birds. Animated in a style resembling clay animation before transitioning into computer-generated imagery after the release of The Angry Birds Movie, the series focuses on the life of the minion pigs and it has no dialogue. It was produced by Rovio Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Television, with the French studio Cube Creative providing some of the animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitry Geller</span> Russian animator and film director (born 1970)

Dmitry Alexandrovich Geller is a Russian animator and film director.

Qumi-Qumi is an animated series created by Toonbox, best known for the Cut the Rope cartoons. From November 2012, it premiered on Multilandia (Multimania) and Carousel. On October 14, 2013, it began broadcasting on the channel STS. The series was developed with the financial support of the Government of Moscow, and since 2011 with the support of Film Foundation. It is based around a small comic book from 2005 that eventually made it into a small music video in 2007, and eventually into a full-fledged cartoon in 2011, Qumi-Qumi tells of three different tribes: the magic-based tribal Jumi-Qumi, the science-based capitalist Yumi-Qumi, and the militaristic and communistic Shumi-Qumi. Three young outcasts of each tribe, Juga, Yusi, and Shumadan, manage to break out of their social norms and become close friends. The speech of the characters is a gibberish language known as Tarabar peppered with Russian phrases. Many plots relate around Juga and Shumadan's crushes on Yusi and trying to interact with their respective tribes despite their own faults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center</span> Building in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia.

Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center, also known simply as the Yeltsin Center, is a social, cultural and educational center, which opened in Yekaterinburg in 2015. The architect of the project is Boris Bernaskoni, the founder of BERNASKONI interdisciplinary bureau that works on intersection of architecture, communication, art and industrial design.

<i>Kit and Kate</i> Russian preschool childrens cartoon series

Kit and Kate is a Russian preschool children's educational series of educational animated shorts for children aged 0-7, produced by Russian company Toonbox, in conjunction with a team of American, French and Russian artists. It has a Friulian dub called "Tui e Tuie".

<i>The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks</i> 2020 Russian film

The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks is a 2020 Russian animated film. The film is created by the animation studio School-Studio "Shar". People's Artist of Russia animator, Andrei Khrzhanovsky directed the film. The film is based on the Russian classic, The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. The script writers Yuri Arabov and Andrei Khrzhanovsky adapted the 19th-century prose of Gogol as well as the verses of the opera of the same name by Dmitri Shostakovich into an animated film featuring a mixture of drawings, cut-outs, live-action, and documentary style filming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lego The Angry Birds Movie</span> Lego theme

Lego The Angry Birds Movie was a Lego theme based on Rovio Entertainment's video game series of the same name and the same of the film. It was licensed from Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation. The theme was first introduced in April 2016. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2017.

<i>The Tales of Wonder Keepers</i> (TV series) Chinese TV series or program

The Tales of Wonder Keepers is a 3D animated fantasy children's television series. The first season was co-produced by IQIYI and Wizart Animation and the later seasons were produced by the Chinese streaming platform, IQIYI. It was adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Snow Queen. The serial explores the adventures of the character Icy, the Snow Queen’s five-year-old daughter, who comes to the human world to live and explore the adventure with her new friends, Gerda and Kai. They experience amazing adventures in an enchanting new world full of mysteries, pirates, magicians, and even walking plants! In the face of difficulties, they turn into little superheroes, the Wonder Keepers, and overcome crises with the help of magic and science. They are fearless in protecting the town and fighting for justice. The series is currently streaming on iQIYI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavel Muntyan</span>

Pavel Muntyan is an animation producer, screenwriter, public figure, and futurologist. He is the co-founder of the Toonbox Animation Studio and the creator of the idea behind Mr. Freeman. He is also the co-founder and evangelist of the Virtual State of Freeland and the MFCoin cryptocurrency.

References

  1. "Развитие рынка анимации тормозит нехватка кадров и инвестиций".
  2. "YouTube".
  3. Телеканал Дождь (16 August 2011). "Павел Мунтян - Анимация это сложно" via YouTube.
  4. Oboz. TV (6 July 2016). "Феномен персонажа "Mr.Freeman"" via YouTube.
  5. KontrTelevision (12 March 2013). "Newsroom - Mr. Freeman 21/02/12" via YouTube.
  6. Гладильщикова, Анастасия. "Все любят котиков".
  7. "Эксперты: реклама во время мультиков развивает анимационный жанр". 22 April 2014.
  8. "Mr. Freeman возвращается".
  9. "Карта презентаций Mr. Freeman 31 мая 2014 - VK".
  10. "Russia Brain Drain Saps Talent as Sanctions Hit Financing". 27 October 2014 via www.bloomberg.com.
  11. ""Здесь всё проще": Павел Мунтян — о переезде на Кипр всей компанией".
  12. "Bloomberg: санкции привели к утечке мозгов из России".
  13. "Работа за границей. Часть 5: Азия".
  14. "MF-walking on by".
  15. "Watch: Banksy Dismaland Preview & Short Film Program". 26 August 2015.
  16. "Rovio takes on first new IP for CP business".
  17. "BLE: Rovio to Create 'Kit^n^Kate' Program - License! Global".
  18. "Rovio to create licensing program for Toonbox Animation's Kit^n^Kate". 12 October 2016. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  19. "Rovio Entertainment: Rovio to Create Licensing Program for Toonbox Animation's Kit^n^Kate - Business Wire". 13 October 2016.
  20. "Rovio teams with Toonbox Animation to launch consumer products push for Kit^n^Kate". Archived from the original on 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  21. Rovio Entertainment: Rovio to Create Licensing Program for Toonbox Animation’s Kit^n^Kate
  22. "Rovio to create licensing program for Toon box Animation's Kit^n^Kate".
  23. "Павел Мунтян, Toonbox: "Сейчас в России нет сериалов, которые "порвут" мировой рынок"".
  24. 1 2 "Michael Mennies".
  25. "Mike de Seve".
  26. "Jymn Magon".
  27. "Susan Kim".
  28. "Anne D. Bernstein".
  29. "IІ Между Народный ВИННИЦианский фестиваль комедийного и пародийного кино. - Ха-Ха-Ха".
  30. Team, RFA. "RFA Crisis: Russian Flash Awards".
  31. "Открытый Российский фестиваль анимационного кино - Архив - Архивный фестиваль - Итоги". Archived from the original on 2016-04-11.
  32. "В число лучших блогов в мире вошли три русскоязычных дневника".
  33. "Мультиматограф VI: Победители и призы".
  34. "Открытый Российский фестиваль анимационного кино - Архив - Архивный фестиваль - Итоги". Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  35. "Московская премьера". 8 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)