CinéGroupe

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CinéGroupe
IndustryAnimation
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974)
FounderJacques Pettigrew
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec,
Canada
Key people
Jacques Pettigrew (President, CEO)
Michel Lemire (Creative Director)
Christian Garcia (CGI Supervisor)
OwnerJacques Pettigrew
ParentLionsgate (1998–2002, minority stake)

CinéGroupe is a Canadian animation studio based in Montreal, Quebec. The company was founded in 1974.[1] Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries.[1]

Notable franchises from CinéGroupe include: What's with Andy?, The Kids from Room 402, and Pig City (all aired on Fox Family, now known as Freeform); the computer-animated Tripping the Rift (Sci Fi, now known as Syfy); and PBS' Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat. With Sony Wonder, it has produced Mega Babies (also aired on Fox Family), as well as a direct-to-video feature, Lion of Oz (a prequel to both the L. Frank Baum work, and the 1939 movie). 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,[2] 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.[3] Galidor, 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[edit]

In August 1998, it was announced that Fox Family Worldwide would purchase a 20% minority stake in the company although CinéGroupe would still be a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment, which owned 40% of the studio.[4][5]

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%.[6] In July 2001, 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.[7] In September 2001, the company formed a division called CinéGroupe Image to expand to live-action programming.[8]

In October 2002, the company united with the music label Les Disques Star Records Inc. to create a home video distributor called CinéGroupe Star.[9] The partnership ended in January 2004.[citation needed] In November 2002, the company announced that it would produce a Britney Spears cartoon.[10]

By December 2003, Lions Gate Entertainment's stake in the studio was reduced further to 29.4%.[11]

In January 2004, the CinéGroupe Star joint-venture with Star Records was folded. in the month, the studio filed for a protection order from its creditors with the Quebec Superior Court.[12]

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.

CinéGroupe is currently partnered with HG Distribution (Henry Gagnon Distribution) for the distribution of its library.[13] However, 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,[14] as are live-action series, such as Big Wolf on Campus.[15]

Library[edit]

Series[edit]

Title Year(s) Co-production(s) Network Notes
Ultra 7 1985 CINAR Films, Turner Program Services TNT Production services
Ovide and the Gang 1987–89 Odec Kid Cartoons Télévision de Radio-Canada
Sharky & George 1990–92 Label 35, Les Films de la Perrine Canal+ (France)
Canal Famille (Canada)
The Little Flying Bears 1990–91 Zagreb Film Family Channel/Télévision de Radio-Canada (Canada)
HRT (Croatia)
Zoe and Charlie 1993 Tele Images
Spirou 1993–95 Dupuis Family Channel/Canal Famille (Canada)
Canal J/TF1 (France)
Sea Dogs: Adventures on the Seven Seas 1995 Les Films de la Perrine Family Channel (Canada)
France 2 (France)
The Magical Adventures of Quasimodo 1996 Tele Images, Ares Films, Hearst Entertainment Family Channel/Télévision de Radio-Canada (Canada)
France 3 (France)
Princess Sissi 1997–98 Saban International Paris Rai Uno (Italy)
France 3 (France)
Das Erste (Germany)
Télévision de Radio-Canada (Canada)
The Secret World of Santa Claus 1997 Marathon Productions France 3 (France)
Télé-Québec (Canada)
Kit and Kaboodle 1998 Les Productions Raggamuffins, MC Producciones Télévision de Radio-Canada
Team SOS 1998 Les Films de la Perrine Télé-Québec
Bad Dog 1998–2000 Saban Entertainment Teletoon (Canada)
Fox Family (US)
Mega Babies 1999–2000 Landmark Entertainment Group, Sony Wonder Teletoon (Canada)
Fox Family (US)
The Kids from Room 402 1999–2001 Saban Entertainment Teletoon (Canada)
Fox Family (US)
Jim Button 1999–2000 Saban International Paris Télévision de Radio-Canada (Canada)
TF1 (France)
Der Kinderkanal (Germany)
Wunschpunsch 2000–01 Saban International Paris Télévision de Radio-Canada (Canada)
TF1 (France)
Big Wolf on Campus 2001–02 Saban Entertainment YTV/Vrak.TV (Canada)
ABC Family (US)
season 3
What's with Andy? 2001–07 Saban Entertainment (season 1)
SIP Animation (season 2)
Teletoon (Canada)
ABC Family (US; season 1)
Super RTL (Germany; seasons 2–3)
[16][17]
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat 2001–02 Sesame Workshop PBS Kids (US)
TVOKids/Knowledge Network/Télévision de Radio-Canada (Canada)
Edward 2002–03 Teletoon
Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension 2002 Tom Lynch Company YTV (Canada)
Fox Kids (US)
Pig City 2002–04 AnimaKids, Red Rover Studios Teletoon (Canada)
Fox Kids Europe
ProSieben (Germany)
Daft Planet 2002 Teletoon
Seriously Weird 2002 Granada Kids YTV (Canada)
CITV (UK)
Tripping the Rift 2004–07 Film Roman Sci Fi (US)
Space/Teletoon (Canada)
11 Somerset 2004 Télé-Québec
The Tofus 2004–05 SIP Animation Jetix
France 3 (France)
Teletoon (Canada)
Charlie Jade 2005 Space
Tshakapesh 2020 APTN [18]

Films[edit]

Title Release date Co-production with Note
Jean-du-Sud autour du monde 1983
Just a Game May 22, 1983 Astral Films (distributor)
Heavy Metal 2000 July 10, 2000 Columbia Tristar Home Video (distributor)
Lion of Oz September 26, 2000 Sony Wonder (distributor)
Edge of Madness January 1, 2002 Credo Entertainment, Gregorian Films, Lions Gate Films (distributor)
Pinocchio 3000 February 9, 2004 Filmax, AnimaKids, Christal Films (distributor)
Bratz: Starrin' & Stylin' August 3, 2004 MGA Entertainment, Toon City Animation, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (distributor)

TV specials[edit]

Video games[edit]

In 2002 and 2003, CinéGroupe developed three video games for the Game Boy Advance.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Company information for CinéGroupe". Telefilm Canada. 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-04-17.
  2. ^ Nesselson, Lisa (May 30, 2000). "Heavy Metal 2000". Variety.
  3. ^ "sous_section_filmo". 15 October 2007. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Fox into Ciné-Groupe".
  5. ^ Tillson, Tamsen (2000-07-17). "Lions Gate takes bite out of loss". Variety. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ^ Kelly, Brendan (2001-01-31). "Telescene inks with CineGroupe". Variety. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  7. ^ "Quebec grants $9.1m to Lions Gate partner".
  8. ^ "CinéGroupe Image takes on a live-action production mantle".
  9. ^ "CINEGROUP". 12 October 2002. Archived from the original on 12 October 2002.
  10. ^ "Lions Gate snags Britney".
  11. ^ http://www.curran-connors.com/localversions/online-ar/lg2004/LGF_2004_ARPDF.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  12. ^ "CineGroupe files for credit protection".
  13. ^ "Series".
  14. ^ "sous_section_filmo". 10 October 2007. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007.
  15. ^ "sous_section_filmo". 15 October 2007. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007.
  16. ^ "Casablanca Media Publishing - Search Results". Casablancamediapublishing.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  17. ^ "TELETOON: New Shows: Braceface". August 14, 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-08-14.
  18. ^ a b c "MIPCOM 2018 directory of exhibitors" (PDF). SODEC.
  19. ^ "CineGroupe signs on with kids' game developer".