United Productions of America

American animation studio and later distribution company (1941–2000)

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|

United Productions of America

Formerly| Industrial Film and Poster Service (1941–1945)
Industry| Animation
Founded| 1941; 84 years ago (1941)
Founders| Zack Schwartz
David Hilberman
Stephen Bosustow
Defunct| January 1, 2000; 25 years ago (2000-01-01)
Fate| Closed; assets purchased by Classic Media
Successor| DreamWorks Classics (television productions)
Columbia Pictures (theatrical shorts)
Warner Bros. Animation (Private Snafu and Gay Purr-ee)
Headquarters|

Los Angeles, California

United States

Key people

| Robert "Bobe" Cannon
John Hubley
Henry G. Saperstein

United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio and later distribution company founded in 1941 as Industrial Film and Poster Service by former Walt Disney Productions employees. Beginning with industrial and World War II training films, UPA eventually produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures such as the Mr. Magoo series. In 1956, UPA produced a television series for CBS, The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, hosted by Gerald McBoing Boing. In the 1960s, UPA produced syndicated Mr. Magoo and Dick Tracy television series and other series and specials, including Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. UPA also produced two animated features, 1001 Arabian Nights and Gay Purr-ee,[1] and distributed Japanese films from Toho Studios in the 1970s and 1980s.

Universal Pictures currently owns the majority of the UPA library after their acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016. The theatrical shorts, which were released by Columbia Pictures, are still owned by that studio.

## History

[edit]

### Origins

[edit]

UPA was founded in the wake of the Disney animators' strike of 1941, which resulted in the exodus of a number of long-time Walt Disney Animation Studios staff members.[2] Among them was John Hubley, a layout artist who was unhappy with the ultra-realistic style of animation that Disney had been utilizing. Along with a number of his colleagues, Hubley believed that animation did not have to be a painstakingly realistic imitation of real life; they felt that the medium of animation had been constrained by efforts to depict cinematic reality. Chuck Jones' 1942 cartoon The Dover Boys had demonstrated that animation could freely experiment with character design, depth, and perspective to create a stylized artistic vision appropriate to the subject matter. Hubley, Bobe Cannon, and others at UPA, sought to produce animated films with sufficient freedom to express design ideas considered radical by other established studios.

UPA-produced Private Snafu short film A Few Quick Facts About Fear from 1945

In 1941, Zack Schwartz, David Hilberman, and Stephen Bosustow formed a studio called first Industrial Film and Poster Service, where they were free to apply their new techniques in film animation. Finding work (and income) in the then-booming field of wartime work for the government, the small studio produced a cartoon sponsored by the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1944. Hell-Bent for Election was directed by Chuck Jones and was produced for the reelection campaign of FDR. The film was a success, and it led to another assignment from the UAW, Brotherhood of Man (1945). The film, directed by Bobe Cannon, advocated tolerance of all people. The short was innovative not only in its message but in its very flat, stylized design, in complete defiance of the Disney approach. With its new-found status, the studio renamed itself United Productions of America (UPA).

Initially, UPA contracted with the United States government to produce its animation output, but the government contracts began to evaporate as the FBI began investigating Communist activities in Hollywood in the late 1940s. No formal charges were filed against anyone at UPA in the beginnings of McCarthyism, but the government contracts were lost as Washington severed its ties with Hollywood.[3]

### Columbia Pictures and success

[edit]

UPA entered the crowded field of theatrical cartoons to sustain itself and gained a contract with Columbia Pictures. Columbia had historically been an also-ran in the field of animated shorts, and it was not satisfied with the output of its Screen Gems cartoon studio. The UPA animators applied their stylistic concepts and storytelling to Columbia's characters The Fox and the Crow with the shorts Robin Hoodlum (1948) and The Magic Fluke (1949), both directed by Hubley. Both were nominated for Academy Awards, and Columbia granted the studio permission to create its own new characters. UPA responded, not with another "funny animal", but a star that was a human character, a crotchety, nearsighted old man. The Ragtime Bear (1949), the first appearance of Mr. Magoo, was a box-office hit, and UPA's star quickly rose as the 1950s dawned.

With a unique, sparse drawing style that contrasted greatly with other cartoons of the day, not to mention the novelty of a human character in a field crowded with talking cats, mice, and rabbits, the Mr. Magoo series won accolades for UPA. Two Magoo cartoons won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons): When Magoo Flew (1954) and Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956).

UPA scored another hit with Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950), based on a record by Dr. Seuss. Gerald McBoing-Boing won UPA the Academy Award in 1950; UPA cartoons would receive a total of fifteen Oscar nominations between 1949 and 1959. In December 1950, UPA announced plans for a feature-length film based on the work of cartoonist and humorist James Thurber.[4] The film was to combine live action and animation and was tentatively titled Men, Women and Dogs, but it was never completed.[5] (Only one of the Thurber pieces intended for this feature, The Unicorn in the Garden, was eventually released as a short subject.)[6] Shorts such as The Tell-Tale Heart and Rooty Toot Toot featured striking, sophisticated designs unlike anything offered by competing studios. The "UPA style" began to influence significant changes at the other major animation studios, including Warner Bros., MGM, Famous Studios, and even Disney, ushering in a new era of experimentation in animation.

### Turning to television

[edit]

In 1955, Steve Bosustow secured a CBS contract for UPA to produce a television series (The Boing-Boing Show aka The Gerald McBoing Boing Show),[7] which premiered in December 1956. Supervised by Bobe Cannon, this production offered an array of styles and brought then-new talent to the studio, such as Ernest Pintoff, Fred Crippen, Jimmy Murakami, Richard Williams, George Dunning, Mel Leven, Aurelius Battaglia, and John Whitney, among others. However, audiences did not embrace UPA's experiment in television entertainment; as a result, the show vanished from the airwaves in 1958. Further, as the major Hollywood studios began cutting back and shutting down their short film divisions in the late-1950s and early-1960s, UPA was in financial straits, and Steve Bosustow sold the studio to a producer named Henry G. Saperstein. Saperstein turned UPA's focus to television to sustain the studio. UPA adapted Mr. Magoo for television and produced another series based on the comic strip Dick Tracy. UPA was forced to churn out cartoons at a far greater quantity than the studio had done for theatrical releases or even the CBS television series. Despite this however, quality was languishing, and UPA's reputation as an artistic innovator faded.

UPA's style of limited animation was adopted by other animation studios, especially by television cartoon studios such as Hanna-Barbera Productions. However, this procedure was generally implemented as a cost-cutting measure rather than an artistic choice that UPA originally intended. A plethora of low-budget, cheaply-made cartoons over the next twenty years effectively reduced television animation to a commodity, partly popularizing the notion of animation as being made only for children rather than a medium for any age group to enjoy (with the exception of shows like The Flintstones), and notoriously going against UPA's original goal to expand the boundaries of animation and create a new style for the medium.

One bright moment in the UPA television era came with Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962), which inspired the format of Magoo's next television endeavor, the 1964 series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. Christmas Carol captures the spirit of Charles Dickens's 1843 book and is considered a holiday classic, ranking alongside A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.[8][9]

UPA produced only two full-length feature films in their tenure: a 1959 feature starring Mr. Magoo entitled 1001 Arabian Nights, directed by ex-Disney animator Jack Kinney; and Gay Purr-ee in 1962, written by Chuck Jones and his wife Dorothy and directed by a friend of Jones, Abe Levitow.

### Abandoning animation and Toho

[edit]

Saperstein kept UPA afloat in the 1960s and beyond by abandoning animation production completely after the animation studio closed permanently in 1970 and sold off UPA's library of cartoons, although the studio retained the licenses and copyrights on Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoing-Boing and the other UPA characters. This led to UPA contracting with DePatie–Freleng Enterprises studio to produce a new animated series called What's New Mr. Magoo? in September 1977.

Columbia Pictures retained ownership of UPA's theatrical cartoons. The studio's TV cartoon library was licensed by Classic Media in New York, and then in 2007 merged into Entertainment Rights in London.

In 1970, Saperstein led UPA into a contract with Toho Co., Ltd. of Japan to distribute its "giant monster" (see kaiju and tokusatsu) movies in America. Theatrical releases, and especially TV syndication, of the Toho monster movies created a new cult movie market for Japanese monster movies, and long-running television movie syndication packages such as Creature Double Feature exposed the Toho movie monsters to young American audiences, who embraced them and helped them maintain their popularity throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

When Toho began producing a new generation of monster movies in the late 1980s, beginning with Godzilla 1985, UPA capitalized on its Toho contract and helped introduce the new kaiju features to the Western world.

Because of its long association with Toho, UPA is better known to cult-movie fans today as Toho's American distributor rather than a pioneer of animated cartoons, but the legacy of UPA is an important chapter in the history of American animation. UPA continued to license the American library of Godzilla movies through to 2017 when the rights were transferred to Janus Films. UPA's contract with Toho also resulted in Saperstein producing Woody Allen's first feature film, What's Up, Tiger Lily?.

Henry Saperstein died in 1998. On January 1, 2000, UPA shuttered its operations, with the assets sold by the Saperstein family, which would later result in the founding of Classic Media by May 2000.[10] On July 23, 2012, DreamWorks Animation purchased Classic Media for $155 million and, as a result, UPA is now owned by DreamWorks Animation, which would be acquired by NBCUniversal in 2016. Although DreamWorks Animation (and later, Universal Studios) now owns the ancillary rights to most of the UPA library, UPA itself (with DreamWorks Animation/Universal) continues to hold the licensing rights to Mr. Magoo, and Saperstein was executive producer to Disney's unsuccessful live-action feature Mr. Magoo in 1997.

Some theatrical feature films are owned by other third-party companies. For example, Warner Bros. Discovery currently owns Gay Purr-ee and The Walt Disney Company owns the 1997 Mr. Magoo film adaptation.

## DVD releases

[edit]

Classic Media/Sony Wonder began issuing the Mr. Magoo TV cartoon series on DVD in 2001, beginning with Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (which received a Collector's Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack in 2010). In 2011, Shout! Factory (with Classic Media) released the Mr. Magoo: The Television Collection set which contained all Mr. Magoo television productions (except for Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, for which the DVD copy from the 2010 Blu-ray release was issued by itself). In 2013, Shout! (with Sony) released the Mr. Magoo Theatrical Collection containing all the Mr. Magoo theatrical shorts and the full-length feature 1001 Arabian Nights (which was also released through Sony's MOD program in December 2011). The set was originally set for release on February 14, 2012 but then delayed to June 19, then December 4, then delayed to sometime in 2013. It was delayed so that the shorts could be restored from high quality sources (plus newly discovered elements added).

The Jolly Frolics Collection was released on March 15, 2012 through Turner Classic Movies' website. Extras included audio commentaries and an introduction by film critic Leonard Maltin.

## Legacy

[edit]

UPA Pictures' legacy in the history of animation has largely been overshadowed by the commercial success and availability of the cartoon libraries of Warner Bros., MGM and Disney. Nonetheless, UPA had a significant impact on animation style, content, and technique, and its innovations were recognized and adopted by the other major animation studios and independent filmmakers all over the world as UPA pioneered the technique of limited animation.[11] Although this style of animation came to be widely used in the 1960s and 1970s as a cost-cutting measure, it was originally intended as a stylistic alternative to the growing trend (particularly at Disney) of recreating cinematic realism in animated films.[12] UPA was also a central influence on the foundation of the Zagreb School of Animated Films in the 1950s. Animators in Yugoslavia were heavily impacted by UPA's work on The Four Poster (1952), a live-action film with animation directed by John Hubley,[13] in his final project at UPA.[14]

Both Gerald McBoing-Boing and The Tell-Tale Heart were inducted into the National Film Registry.[15]

## Filmography

[edit]

Main article: List of UPA cartoons

## See also

[edit]

* Golden age of American animation
* Googie architecture
* Modernist film

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New American Library. pp. 341–342\. ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
2. ^ Andrae, Thomas (2013). "Animation's Icarus: UPA and the Fate of the Modernist Cartoon". Studies in American Humor (27): 189–200\. ISSN 0095-280X. JSTOR 23823984.
3. ^ "MichaelBarrier.com -- Essays: UPA 1944–1952". www.michaelbarrier.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
4. ^ Archer Winsten, "UPA, Media and James Thurber," New York Post, 6 December 1950.
5. ^ "Priceless Gift of Laughter". Time Archive: 1923 to the Present. Time Inc. July 9, 1951. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
6. ^ "The Unicorn In The Garden". The Big Cartoon Database. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
7. ^ Adam Abraham, When Magoo Flew: The Rise and Fall of Animation Studio UPA (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2012), 178.
8. ^ Hill, Jim (November 28, 2006). "Scrooge U: Part VI -- Magoo's a musical miser". JimHillMedia.com. Retrieved December 25, 2006.
9. ^ Conan, Neil (host) (December 25, 2006). "Choose Your Favorite Scrooge" (audio). Talk of the Nation. National Public Radio. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
10. ^ "Classic Media Acquires Harvey Entertainment". Animation World Network. August 25, 2000. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
11. ^ Oddball Films: Mid-Century Modern Animation – Thur. Jun 26 – 8PM
12. ^ UPA Cartoons – TCM.com
13. ^ Holloway, Ronald (1983). "The Short Film in Eastern Europe: Art and Politics of Cartoons and Puppets". In Paul, David W. (ed.). Politics, Art and Commitment in the East European Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 233–238\. ISBN 9781349067367.
14. ^ Robinson, David (Winter 1961–1962). "In the Picture; Evolution of a Cartoonist". Sight & Sound. 31 (1): 17.
15. ^ 13 Amazing Cartoons from the National Film Registry|Mental Floss

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Abraham, Adam (2012): When Magoo Flew: The Rise and Fall of Animation Studio UPA. Wesleyan University Press.
* Amidi, Amid (2006): Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation. Chronicle Books.
* Barrier, Michael (1999): Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. Oxford University Press.
* Larsen, Darl (2024): Moving Pictures: A History of American Animation from Gertie to Pixar and Beyond. Rowman & Littlefield.
* Maltin, Leonard (1980): Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. McGraw Hill.
* Solomon, Charles (1989): Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation. Alfred A. Knopf.
* Shapiro, Susan P (1980): Detecting Illegalities: A Perspective on the Control of Securities Violations. Yale University

## External links

[edit]

* UPA Cartoons at BCDB.com
* UPA: Mavericks, Magic, and Magoo
* A Brief History of UPA Pictures by Adam Abraham
* The Columbia Crow's Nest
* Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Mr. Magoo
* Interview with Henry G. Saperstein
* A series of posts criticising UPA's artistic style by John Kricfalusi

* v
* t
* e

UPA

Founders|

* Zack Schwartz
* David Hilberman
* Stephen Bosustow

Key people|

* Robert Cannon
* John Hubley
* Pete Burness
* Rudy Larriva
* Henry G. Saperstein

Feature films|

* 1001 Arabian Nights (1959)
* Gay Purr-ee (1962)

Theatrical
shorts|

| Series|

* Jolly Frolics
* Mr. Magoo

|

Shorts|

* Hell-Bent for Election
* Gerald McBoing-Boing
* Rooty Toot Toot
* Madeline
* Man Alive!
* The Unicorn in the Garden
* The Tell-Tale Heart
* When Magoo Flew
* Magoo's Puddle Jumper

Television
series|

* The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show (1956–1957)
* Mister Magoo (1960–1961)
* The Dick Tracy Show (1961–1962)
* The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964–1965)
* What's New Mr. Magoo? (1977–1979)

Television
specials|

* Our Mr. Sun (1956)
* Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)
* Uncle Sam Magoo (1970)

Other|

* A Few Quick Facts
* Gerald McBoing-Boing (TV series)
* The Bell System Science Series
* Joe Jitsu
* Mr. Magoo (film)
* Kung-Fu Magoo

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Animation industry in the United States

Companies and studios

| Active|

| Majors|

| Universal Studios|

* DreamWorks Animation
* DreamWorks Animation Television
* DreamWorks Classics
* Big Idea Entertainment
* Harvey Films
* Illumination
* Universal Animation Studios

|

Paramount Pictures|

* CBS Eye Animation Productions
* Late Night Cartoons
* MTV Animation
* Nickelodeon Animation Studio
* Nickelodeon Digital
* Nickelodeon Movies
* Paramount Animation
* Miramax Animation Studios
* Skydance Animation

|

Walt Disney Studios|

* 20th Century Animation
* 20th Television Animation
* Disney Television Animation
* Lucasfilm Animation
* Industrial Light & Magic
* Marvel Animation
* Marvel Studios Animation
* Pixar Animation Studios
* Walt Disney Animation Studios

|

Warner Bros.|

* Cartoon Network Studios
* Warner Bros. Animation
* Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
* Warner Bros. Television Animation
* Williams Street

|

Sony Pictures|

* Aniplex of America
* Crunchyroll
* Sony Pictures Animation
* Sony Pictures Imageworks

|

* 41 Entertainment
* AMC Networks
* Sentai Filmworks
* Section23 Films
* Augenblick Studios
* Awesome Inc
* Fox Corporation
* Bento Box Entertainment
* Bandera Entertainment
* Bang Zoom!
* Billionfold Inc.
* Blur Studio
* Cartuna
* CHRLX
* Cloudco Entertainment
* CMCC Cartoons
* DNEG
* Digital Domain
* Film Roman
* Phil Roman Entertainment
* Floyd County Productions
* Fred Wolf Films
* Fuzzy Door Productions
* Hasbro Entertainment
* Jay Ward Productions
* Joe Murray Productions
* Kanbar Animation
* Kartoon Studios
* Wow Unlimited Media
* Bolder Media
* Frederator Studios
* Kinofilm
* Klasky Csupo
* Kurtz & Friends
* Laika, LLC
* Lee Mendelson Films
* Lionsgate
* Lionsgate Canada
* Melendez Films
* Man of Action Entertainment
* Mattel Television
* Media Blasters
* Mexopolis
* Mondo Media
* 6 Point Harness
* Netflix Animation
* Noble
* NYAV Post
* Parallax Studio
* Powerhouse Animation Studios
* Psyop
* Reel FX Animation
* Renegade Animation
* Rough Draft Studios
* Rovio Animation
* Screen Novelties
* Scholastic
* Weston Woods Studios
* SD Entertainment
* ShadowMachine
* Snee-Oosh, Inc.
* SpindleHorse Toons
* Splash Entertainment
* Sprite Animation Studios
* Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
* Stretch Films
* Studiopolis
* Tau Films
* Threshold Entertainment
* Titmouse, Inc.
* The Kerner Entertainment Company
* The ULULU Company
* Toei Animation Inc.
* United Plankton Pictures
* Vanguard Animation
* Wild Canary Animation
* World Events Productions
* Worker Studio
* WWE Studios
* Walden Media

Former|

* 4Kids Entertainment
* 70/30 Productions
* Adelaide Productions
* Adventure Cartoon Productions
* Allspark
* Amblimation
* Animation Collective
* Animation Lab
* Animation Magic
* Blue Sky Studios
* BVS Entertainment
* Cartoon Pizza
* Chorion
* Circle 7 Animation
* Cookie Jar
* Crest Animation Productions
* Curious Pictures
* DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
* DIC Entertainment
* Disneytoon Studios
* DNA Productions
* Famous Studios
* Filmation
* Fleischer Studios
* Format Films
* Fox Animation Studios
* Frederator Films
* Golden Films
* Hanna-Barbera
* HIT Entertainment
* Jetlag Productions
* Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions!
* Kroyer Films
* Laugh-O-Gram Studio
* Little Airplane Productions
* Marvel Productions
* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation
* MGM Animation/Visual Arts
* MGM Cartoons
* Mirari Films
* MoonScoop
* O Entertainment
* Omation Animation Studio
* Pacific Data Images
* PorchLight Entertainment
* Prana Studios
* Radical Axis
* Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment
* Rhythm and Hues Studios
* Rooster Teeth
* Ruby-Spears
* Screen Gems
* Skellington Productions
* Soup2Nuts
* Spümcø
* Storyboard, Inc./Hubley Studios
* Sullivan Bluth Studios
* Sunbow Entertainment
* Terrytoons
* Total Television
* United Productions of America
* Van Beuren Studios
* Walter Lantz Productions
* Warner Bros. Cartoons
* Wētā FX
* Wildbrain Entertainment
* Will Vinton Studios
* Zodiac Entertainment

Industry associations

* The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839
* ASIFA-Hollywood

Other topics

| Awards|

* Academy Awards
* Best Animated Feature
* Annie Awards
* Emmy Awards
* Children's and Family
* Primetime
* Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
* Favorite Cartoon
* Animated Movie
* NAACP Image Awards
* Motion Picture
* Series
* GLAAD Media Awards
* Kids and Family Programming (Animated)
* Writers Guild of America Awards
* Television Animation

|

History|

* Silent era
* Golden age
* World War II
* Television era
* Modern era

Related|

* Animated sitcom
* American comics
* History of American comics
* Tijuana bible
* Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
* Flash animation
* Labor strikes
* Fleischer Studios (1937)
* Disney (1941)
* Multiple studios (1982)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

NBCUniversal

A division of Comcast

Predecessors|

* MCA Inc.
* PolyGram
* RCA
* Seagram Company Ltd.
* Vivendi Universal

Executives|

* Dick Ebersol
* Bonnie Hammer
* Donna Langley
* Steve Burke
* Pearlena Igbokwe
* Noah Oppenheim
* Cesar Conde

Studio Group|

| Universal Filmed
Entertainment Group|

* Universal Pictures
* Back Lot Music
* DreamWorks Animation
* Focus Features
* Illumination
* Illumination Studios Paris
* NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
* United International Pictures*
* Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
* Universal Animation Studios
* Working Title Films
* Amblin Partners
* Amblin Entertainment
* DreamWorks Pictures

|

Universal
Studio Group|

* Universal Television
* Universal Content Productions
* Universal International Studios
* Carnival Films
* Matchbox Pictures
* DreamWorks Animation Television
* DreamWorks Classics
* Big Idea Entertainment
* Bullwinkle Studios*
* Harvey Entertainment

Destinations
& Experiences Group|

| United States|

* Universal Studios Hollywood
* CityWalk
* Universal Orlando
* Universal Studios Florida
* Islands of Adventure
* CityWalk
* Epic Universe
* Universal Kids Resort
* Universal Horror Unleashed

|

International|

* Universal Studios Japan
* Universal Studios Singapore
* Universal Beijing Resort
* Universal Studios Beijing
* Universal Studios Delhi (planned)
* Universal Studios Great Britain (planned)

Media Group|

| Television networks|

* NBC
* Bravo
* E!
* Syfy
* USA Network
* Oxygen

|

Streaming|

* Hayu
* Peacock
* PictureBox Films
* Fandango Media (70%)
* Fandango at Home

NBC
Sports Group|

* NBC Olympics
* NBC Sports Ventures
* Alli
* Golf Channel
* NBC Sports Digital
* GolfNow
* NBC Sports
* part owner
* MLB Network
* NHL Network
* Regional Networks
* Bay Area (45%)
* Boston
* California
* Philadelphia
* SNY (8%)

International
Networks|

* v
* t
* e

NBCUniversal International Networks

A division of NBCUniversal

Asia|

* DreamWorks Channel
* Golf Channel (Indonesia)
* Studio Universal (Philippines)

Australia & New Zealand|

* Bravo
* New Zealand
* Australia
* Universal TV
* Australia
* New Zealand

Europe, Middle East
and Africa|

* 13th Street
* France
* Germany
* Spain
* Poland
* DreamWorks
* Diva
* E!
* Golf Channel
* Movies 24
* Syfy
* France
* Germany
* Poland
* Balkans
* Portugal
* Spain
* Studio Universal
* Telemundo Africa
* Universal TV Germany

Latin America & Brazil|

* Universal TV
* E!
* Golf Channel
* Studio Universal
* USA Network
* Telemundo Internacional
* DreamWorks Channel
* Universal+ (outside of Brazil)

Canada (licensed)|

* Bravo
* E!
* Oxygen
* USA Network

Defunct|

* 13th Street Netherlands and Flanders
* 13th Street Australia
* Diva TV
* Diva Universal Italy
* Diva Asia
* E! Asia
* E! Australia and New Zealand
* Hallmark Channel International
* Hallmark Channel Benelux & Scandinavia
* KidsCo
* Sci Fi Romania
* Steel
* Style Network Australia
* Syfy Netherlands and Flanders
* Syfy Russia
* Syfy Asia
* Syfy Australia
* Syfy Latin America
* Universal Channel Greece
* Universal Channel Poland
* Universal Channel Turkey
* Universal Channel Japan
* Universal Channel Asia
* Universal TV UK & Ireland

Other assets|

* Distribution
* Domestic
* International

Telemundo Enterprises|

* Telemundo
* Puerto Rico Studios
* Telemundo Studios
* Universo
* Telemundo Deportesw/NBC Sports Group
* Noticias Telemundo

Local Group
O&Os|

| NBC Owned
TV Stations|

* KNBC
* KNSD
* KNTV
* KXAS-TV
* WBTS-CD
* WCAU
* WMAQ-TV
* WNBC
* WRC-TV
* WTVJ
* WVIT
* K15CU-D
* KTEL-TV
* Other properties
* Cozi TV
* NBC LX
* NBC LX Home
* NECN

|

Telemundo
Station Group|

* KASA-TV/KTEL-CD/KUPT
* KBLR
* KCSO
* KDEN-TV
* KHRR
* KNSO
* KSTS
* KTAZ
* KTDO
* KTLM
* KTMD
* KTMW
* KUAN
* KVDA
* KVEA
* KXTX-TV
* WKAQ-TV
* WNEU
* WNJU
* WRDM-CD/WDMR-LP
* WRIW-CD
* WRMD-CD
* WRTD-CD
* WSCV
* WSNS-TV
* WTMO-CD
* WWSI
* WWDT-CD
* WYCN-LD
* WZTD-LD
* WZDC-CD
* Other properties: TeleXitos

Other units|

* Affiliate relations
* NBC
* Telemundo
* EMKA, Ltd.
* International Media Distribution

News Group|

| Main divisions|

* NBC News
* NBCNews.com
* NBC Out
* MSNBC

|

CNBC global channels|

* CNBC
* Africa (licensee)
* Asia
* Brazil (licensee)
* Europe
* World

CNBC Europe branches|

* Class CNBC (20%)
* CNBC-e
* Africa (licensee)
* Arabia

CNBC Asia branches|

* CNBC TV18
* CNBC Awaaz
* CNBC Indonesia
* JKN-CNBC
* Nikkei CNBC

Former/defunct
properties|

* 13th Street (Australia)
* A&E Networks (A&E)*
* Canal+ Group
* Castle Films
* Chapman Entertainment
* Chiller
* Chiller Films
* CIC Video
* Cloo
* Comcast Network
* Craftsy
* Diva
* Diva Universal (Italy)
* E! (Asia)
* Entertainment Rights
* Esquire Network
* Fearnet
* Filmation
* FilmDistrict
* G4
* Good Machine
* Gramercy Pictures
* Hallmark Channel (international)
* ITC Entertainment
* Interscope Communications
* Miss Universe*
* Multimedia Entertainment
* NBBC
* NBCSN
* NBC Sports (Chicago (25%)
* Northwest)
* NBC Weather Plus
* October Films
* Olympic Channel
* Pacific Data Images
* Peacock Productions
* PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
* Propaganda Films
* Savoy Pictures
* SBS CNBC
* Shift
* Seeso
* Spencer Gifts
* Style Network (Australia)
* Syfy (Asia)
* Syfy (Australia)
* Tell-Tale Productions
* The Entertainment Channel*
* Total Television
* UPA
* Universal Channel (Asia)
* Universal Channel (Greece)
* Universal Channel (Japan)
* Universal Channel (Poland)
* Universal Kids
* Universal TV (UK and Ireland)
* Universal Interactive
* Universal Music Group
* Universal Channel (Turkey)
* Vivendi Universal Games
* Walter Lantz Productions
* Western Publishing
* Gold Key Comics
* Whitman Publishing
* Golden Books Family Entertainment
* Golden Book Video
* Woodland Animations
* ZGS Communications

Related|

* History of NBC
* History of NBC Sports
* Report on Chain Broadcasting (1941)
* National Broadcasting Co. v. United States (1943)

* Denotes joint ventures

* v
* t
* e

Adelaide Productions

1990s|

* Jumanji (1996–1999)
* Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1996)
* Extreme Ghostbusters (1997)
* Men in Black: The Series (1997–2001)
* Channel Umptee-3 (1997–1998)
* Godzilla: The Series (1998–2000)
* Dilbert (1999–2000)
* Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles (1999–2000)
* Dragon Tales (1999–2005)
* Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (1999–2001)

2000s|

* Max Steel (2000–2002)
* Sammy (2000)
* Jackie Chan Adventures (2000–2005)
* Heavy Gear (2001–2002)
* Harold and the Purple Crayon (2001–2002)
* Phantom Investigators (2002)
* Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl (2002)
* Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003)
* Stuart Little (2003)
* Astro Boy (2003–2004)
* The Boondocks (2005–2014)
* The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008–2009)
* Sit Down, Shut Up (2009)

See also|

* Sony Pictures Television
* Sony Pictures Animation
* Sony Pictures Imageworks
* Silvergate Media
* Screen Gems Cartoons
* United Productions of America

* v
* t
* e

Sony Pictures Animation

Part of Sony Pictures (Sony)

Feature films|

* Open Season (2006)
* Surf's Up (2007)
* Open Season 2 (2008)
* Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
* Open Season 3 (2010)
* The Smurfs (2011) LA
* Arthur Christmas (2011)
* The Pirates: Band of Misfits (2012)
* Hotel Transylvania (2012)
* The Smurfs 2 (2013) LA
* Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
* Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
* Goosebumps (2015) LA
* Open Season: Scared Silly (2015)
* Surf's Up 2: WaveMania (2017)
* Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017)
* The Emoji Movie (2017)
* The Star (2017)
* Peter Rabbit (2018) LA
* Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
* Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018) LA
* Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
* The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019)
* The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
* Wish Dragon (2021)
* Vivo (2021)
* Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)
* Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
* KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

| Upcoming|

* Fixed (2025)
* Goat (2026)
* Buds (2027)
* Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2027)

|

Television series|

| 2010s debuts|

* Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2017–18)
* Hotel Transylvania: The Series (2017–20)
* GO! Cartoons (2017–18)

|

2020s debuts|

* Agent Elvis (2023)
* Young Love (2023)
* Open Season: Call of Nature (2023–24)

Upcoming|

* Motel Transylvania (2025)
* Untitled Ghostbusters series (TBA)
* Superbago! (TBA)

Short films|

* Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run (2007)
* The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas (2007)
* The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011)
* So You Want to Be a Pirate! (2012)
* Goodnight Mr. Foot (2012)
* The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow (2013)
* Super Manny (2013)
* Earl Scouts (2013)
* Steve's First Bath (2014)
* Attack of the 50-Foot Gummi Bear (2014)
* Puppy! (2017)
* Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham (2019)
* Hair Love (2019)
* Live Stream (2019)
* Monster Pets (2021)
* Dog Cop 7: The Final Chapter (2021)
* The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story (2023)

Franchises|

* Open Season (since 2006)
* Surf's Up (2007–2017)
* Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009–2018)
* The Smurfs (2011–2017)
* Hotel Transylvania (since 2012)
* Goosebumps (2015–2018)
* Spider-Verse (since 2018)

Associated productions|

* The ChubbChubbs! (2002)
* Eight Crazy Nights (2002)
* Early Bloomer (2003)
* Monster House (2006)
* Planet 51 (2009)
* The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
* The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
* Sausage Party (2016)
* Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)
* Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)
* The Garfield Movie (2024)
* Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
* Paddington in Peru (2025)

See also|

* Sony Pictures Imageworks
* Unproduced projects
* Sony Pictures Television Kids
* Adelaide Productions
* Screen Gems Cartoons
* United Productions of America
* List of Sony theatrical animated feature films

* Category

* LA Produced in live-action

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* 2
* Israel

Artists|

* Museum of Modern Art

Other|

* Yale LUX

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