Weston Woods Studios

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Weston Woods Studios
Company typeShort film production company
Industry Film
Founded1953;71 years ago (1953)
Weston, Connecticut, U.S.
Founder Morton Schindel
Headquarters
Norwalk, Connecticut
,
U.S.
Key people
Richard Robinson (CEO)
Parent Scholastic Corporation
Website www.scholastic.com/site/Weston_Woods_Plus.html

Weston Woods Studios (or simply Weston Woods) is a production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children. [1] It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded area near his home. Weston Woods Studios' first project was Andy and the Lion in 1954; its first animated film was The Snowy Day in 1964. [2] In 1968, Weston Woods began a long collaboration with animator Gene Deitch. Later, they opened international offices in Henley-on-Thames, England, UK (1972), as well as in Canada (1975) and Australia (1977). In addition to making the films, Weston Woods also conducted interviews with the writers, illustrators, and makers of the films. The films have appeared on children's television programs such as Captain Kangaroo , Eureeka's Castle , and Sammy's Story Shop. [3] In the mid-1980s, the films were released on VHS under the Children's Circle titles, and Wood Knapp Video distributed these releases from 1988 to 1995.

Contents

Beginning in 1968, Weston Woods also made filmstrips and audio recordings synchronized to them, which became known as the Picture Book Parade. Many of these recordings were narrated by actor Owen Jordan and were often different or expanded recordings from the films.

In 1996, Weston Woods was acquired by Scholastic Corporation. [4]

Selected filmography

DVD releases

In 2002, a DVD collection of Weston Woods films entitled Scholastic Video Collection was released. [17] Many compilations of Weston Woods films have been released under the title Scholastic Storybook Treasures.

HBO Max

In 2021, the company's Mo Willems book adaptations were released on Warner Bros. Discovery's SVOD service HBO Max. Mo Willems' Storytime Shorts! include all 14 of the company's Mo Willems book cartoons. [18]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Turning Picture Books into Art House Films: The Story of Weston Woods|WIRED
  2. ↑ Obituary: Morton Schindel-Publishers Weekly
  3. ↑ "Hand-to-hand Comedy" (7 September 1990). Retrieved on 25 October 2008
  4. ↑ "Scholastic—About Us", Retrieved on 25 October 2008
  5. ↑ "DVD Movie Reviews: Robert McCloskey". Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  6. ↑ WorldCat.org
  7. ↑ RiffTrax: A Guide to Christmas and Holiday Episodes - Den of Geek
  8. ↑ Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award-1975-Cartoon Research
  9. ↑ Internet Archive
  10. ↑ Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award-1979-Cartoon Research
  11. ↑ Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award-1983-Cartoon Research
  12. ↑ Short Film Oscar® Winners in 1985-Oscars on YouTube
  13. ↑ 1985|Oscars.org
  14. ↑ "Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1984 -". cartoonresearch.com.
  15. ↑ Weston Woods Studios Directory, Page 3-BCDB [ dead link ]
  16. ↑ "Weston Woods 2024 Catalog" (PDF). Scholastic Library Publishing.
  17. ↑ Villa, Joan (July 3, 2002). "Retailers Will Get Scholastic to Reissue Popular Children's Titles Under New Distribution Deal". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  18. ↑ 'Mo Willems Storytime Shorts' Acquired by HBO Max (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety
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