Mike Young (producer)

Last updated

Mike Young
Born
Michael Emlyn Young

(1945-10-16) 16 October 1945 (age 77)
Nationality Welsh
Occupation(s)Animation Producer, Animation Writer and founder of Mike Young Productions
Years active1980–present
Known for SuperTed
SpouseLiz Young

Michael Emlyn Young (born October 16, 1945) is a Welsh Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning producer. He is the founder of two animation companies in both the UK and the US. His company in 2015 changed its name from Mike Young Productions to Splash Entertainment, which also is a majority owner of Popular AVOD network Kabillion.

Contents

Biography

Young was born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Gwent. In the flat above a fish and chip shop owned by the family of actor Victor Spinetti, who would later go on to provide the voice of Mike's character, Texas Pete. He trained as a television producer, and while working as an advertising copywriter he met his wife Liz Young. After the pair married in the 1970s, Young's stepson Richard Finn (later head of post-production at MYP), was having trouble falling asleep. Young invented stories about a teddy bear and Finn told his school friends the stories, which resulted in the SuperTed books, co-produced with Young. [1]

In 1981, Young, along with his wife, animator Dave Edwards and producer Robin Lyons, founded Siriol Productions. They approached the newly formed Welsh TV channel S4C and secured a commission to produce an animated series of SuperTed. Due to the success of the initial series, it was re-dubbed in English. A special edition was made for the Welsh Office which instructed children on the "dos" and "don'ts" of road safety. [2] The series sold well in the UK, and was followed by the more ambitious Fantastic Max (with Hanna-Barbera) and Little Dracula (with Steven Hahn Productions). [3]

Young found it difficult to sell his series to Hollywood executives without a local presence there so in 1989 the family moved to Los Angeles, selling their rights to SuperTed and shares owned in Siriol Animation to finance the move and to set up Mike Young Productions, now called Splash Entertainment. The company's first production was P. J. Sparkles , after which it was involved in many other animated series, including The Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats (co-produced with the Dave Edwards Studio), The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus , He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (the 2002 series), Pet Alien , Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (which won seven Emmys and a BAFTA Award), Growing Up Creepie , a Bratz TV series and five full-length Bratz DVD movies, Dive Olly Dive, Chloe's Closet , Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot , Strawberry Shortcake , and Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch . [3]

Young's company has also created a series of caricatures at Cardiff City Stadium. [4]

Personal life

Young is married to partner, president and the other co-founder of Mike Young Productions, Liz Young. A football fanatic, he is a lifelong supporter of Cardiff City F.C., and runs a junior soccer league in California. [5] Young was awarded the Chancellor's Medal at the 2007 graduation ceremony of the University of Glamorgan. [6]

Filmography

Mike Young has worked on the following series:

In partnership with Siriol Animation

He left UK to work in partnership with other companies

Mike Young Productions/Splash Entertainment

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanna-Barbera</span> American animation studio

Hanna-Barbera was an American animation studio and production company that was active from 1957 until it was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to close its in-house cartoon studio, and was formerly headquartered on Cahuenga Boulevard from 1960 until 1998 and at the Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, both in Los Angeles, California.

Animation in the United States in the television era was a period in the history of American animation that slowly set in with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and the popularization of television animation during the late 1950s to 1960s, peaked in the 1970s, and ended in the mid-late 1980s. This era is characterized by low budgets, limited animation, an emphasis on television over the theater, and the general perception of cartoons being primarily for children. Due to the perceived cheap production values, poor animation, and mixed critical and commercial reception, this era is sometimes referred to as the Dark Ageof American animation by critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby-Spears</span> Entertainment production company

Ruby-Spears Productions was an American entertainment production company that specialized in animation based in Burbank, California, with another branch in Rome, Italy. The company was founded in 1977 by veteran writers and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Animation</span> American animation studio owned by Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1933 to 1969, the studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. Warner Bros. re-established its animation division in 1980 to produce Looney Tunes–related works, and Turner Broadcasting System merged with WBD predecessor Time Warner in 1996. In March 2001, Hanna-Barbera was absorbed into the studio, and in 1996, Ruby-Spears did the same.

<i>SuperTed</i> British TV series or program

SuperTed is a Welsh superhero animated television series about an anthropomorphic teddy bear with superpowers, created by writer and animator Mike Young. Originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear of the dark, SuperTed became a popular series of books and led to an animated series produced from 1982 to 1986. An American-produced series, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, was produced by Hanna Barbera in 1989. The series also aired on The Disney Channel in the United States where it became the first British animated series to air on that channel.

Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese-American animation studios since 1978. The company, based in Xindian, Taipei and Los Angeles, California, has done traditional hand-drawn 2D animation/ink and paint for various TV shows and films for studios across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The Blobs was an animated television series based on the books by DC Thomson, published in 1980. It tells the story of a community of colourful paint-splash characters who live in Paintbox Land. The 26-episode series, narrated originally by Jane Horrocks, was produced in 1996 by Siriol Animation in Wales, in association with DC Thomson & Co., Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) and Scottish Television. The series was purchased by TV Ontario in 1999, and was re-voiced by Julie Zwillich for the North American market.

<i>Fantastic Four</i> (1967 TV series) Animated TV series

Fantastic Four is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The program, featuring character designs by Alex Toth, aired Saturday mornings on ABC from September 9, 1967, to September 21, 1968. It lasted for 20 episodes, with repeat episodes airing on ABC for three years until the network cancelled the program. It was also rerun as part of the continuing series Hanna–Barbera's World of Super Adventure.

<i>The Further Adventures of SuperTed</i> American TV series or program

The Further Adventures of SuperTed is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and Siriol Animation in association with S4C, and continues the adventures of SuperTed. Only 13 episodes were produced and originally broadcast on The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera in the United States starting on 31 January 1989.

Myfanwy Talog Williams, known professionally as Myfanwy Talog, was a Welsh actress and the long-term partner of English actor David Jason.

Pierre DeCelles is a Canadian animator who is recognized for his contributions to the animation industry. He directed the film Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw in 1988, and served as the supervising director for the animated series Spiral Zone. Additionally, he lent his voice to the character Ren Höek's screaming and cackling in the pilot episode of The Ren & Stimpy Show, which aired in the 1990s.

Charles August "Nick" Nichols was an American animator and film director, who worked in animation for over 50 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Hanna-Barbera. At Disney, he worked on various short subjects and films from the 1940s into the 1950s, including the Academy Award-winning short Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953). Nichols co-directed Charlotte's Web (1973) while at Hanna-Barbera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Splash Entertainment</span> American animation studio

Splash Entertainment, LLC. is an American animation studio that produces children's TV series. Splash also controls the streaming service Kabillion.

<i>Fireman Sam</i> British animated childrens television series

Fireman Sam is an animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy. It was broadcast for the first time in November 1987 on Welsh TV channel S4C and is shown in more than 155 countries across the world.

George Gordon was an American film and TV animator and director of animated productions. Starting in film in 1930, he moved to TV in its early days. Gordon is credited with hundreds of cartoons from 1937 through 1983.

Richard Sebast is an American director, story director, animator, and television producer known for working at companies such as Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., Marvel, MGM, and Universal Animation Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calon (TV production company)</span> Welsh animation company

Calon is the trading name of Mount Stuart Media Ltd., a British animation television production company based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, which primarily produced animation series in Welsh for S4C. The company was formerly known as Siriol Animation and Siriol Productions.

Darrell Tyrone "Big D" McNeil was an American animator, writer, editor, publisher, producer, and actor. He started at the age of eight performing as a background actor and bit player in various movies and television series. He entered the animation industry at the age of 18 with Hanna-Barbera Productions. He was most recently developing and producing a number of animated and live action projects through his own company, Gold Medal Productions.

Chris Grace (1946), MBE, is a British broadcaster, film director and founder and former CEO of The Shakespeare Schools Festival. In 2000 he was awarded an MBE and a BAFTA special for services to screen animation.

References

  1. Drawn to new path: independent animation studio takes reverse approach to selling its shows Los Angeles Business Journal - January 27, 2003
  2. Diamond, Frazer. "SuperTed (1982-1986)". Toonhound. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Mike Young". IMDb. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. "Cardiff City Stadium news – When Young Met Young - June 15, 2009". Archived from the original on 21 July 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. Phillips, Terry SuperTed stadium? South Wales Echo - 19 July 2006
  6. "Honorary Awards 2007". University of Glamorgan. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2016.