CinéGroupe
CinéGroupe Corporation is a Canadian animation studio and production company based in Montreal, Quebec. The company was founded in 1974. Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries.
Notable franchises from CinéGroupe include: What's with Andy?, The Kids from Room 402, and Pig City ; the animated Tripping the Rift ; and PBS' Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat. With Sony Wonder, it has produced Mega Babies, as well as a direct-to-video feature, Lion of Oz.
In the 2000s, the company produced the animation for a sequel to the 1981 cult classic Heavy Metal for Columbia TriStar Home Video titled Heavy Metal 2000, premiered on Starz in the United States and on Teletoon in Canada from 2001 onwards. In 2004, it made Pinocchio 3000, a sci-fi retelling of the Italian tale. Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension, a live-action fantasy series for teenagers, has also been produced by the company. The company also cooperated with the toy maker MGA Entertainment in the creation of Bratz: Starrin' and Stylin', a 2D-animated direct-to-video film based on MGA's Bratz line of fashion dolls.
History
CinéGroupe was founded in 1974 by Jacques Pettigrew in Montreal, Quebec.In August 1998, Fox Family Worldwide purchased a 20% minority stake in the company although CinéGroupe remained as a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment, which owned 40% of the studio.
In January 2001, the studio formed a production and distribution joint-venture with Telescene, with the first production under it being the third series of Big Wolf on Campus. CinéGroupe would hold an 80% stake while Telescene would hold 20%. That July, Lions Gate's ownership of the studio was confirmed to have been reduced to 30%, with Lions Gate president Andre Link having 50% of its voting stock, leading to the studio being a partner of Lions Gate instead of a subsidiary. In September, the company formed a division called CinéGroupe Image to expand to live-action programming.
In October 2002, the company united with the music label Les Disques Star Records Inc. to create a home video distributor called CinéGroupe Star. The following month, the company announced the production of Britney Spears cartoon, but the project never came to fruition.
Between 2002 and 2003, CinéGroupe developed three video games for the Game Boy Advance: Tom and Jerry in Infurnal Escape, Dora the Explorer: The Search for Pirate Pig's Treasure, and Dora the Explorer: Super Spies. By December 2003, Lions Gate Entertainment's stake in the studio was reduced further to 29.4%.
In January 2004, the CinéGroupe Star joint venture with Star Records was folded. The same month, in the wake of production cuts, the studio filed for a protection order from its creditors with the Quebec Superior Court.
In 2018, CinéGroupe co-produced Tshakapesh, a 2D-animated series based on an Innu legend, which has aired on APTN and Radio-Canada. Two edutainment IPs are currently being developed by CinéGroupe, aiming at raising awareness about water preservation and environmental protection. CinéGroupe is also viewing revivals and revitalization of their old properties.
Library
Distribution
CinéGroupe is currently partnered with HG Distribution for the distribution of its library, but only a portion of CinéGroupe's catalogue is listed for distribution by HG. Several notable titles such as Bad Dog, Daft Planet, and The Tofus are not listed, as are live-action series, such as Big Wolf on Campus.TV specials
David Copperfield- ''Eye of the Wolf''
Video games
Tom and Jerry in Infurnal Escape Dora the Explorer: The Search for Pirate Pig's Treasure- ''Dora the Explorer: Super Spies''