Wang Film Productions

Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd.
Native name
 宏廣
Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd.
Formerly
 Cuckoo's Nest Studio (1978-1986)
Industry Animation
Founded July 10, 1978
Headquarters Xindian, Taipei, Taiwan
Los Angeles, California, United States
Products Feature films, television series
Services Animation outsourcing
Owner Governments of Taiwan
Hanna–Barbera (50%)

Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. (also known as Hong Guang Animation (宏廣) and Cuckoo's Nest Studio) is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese-American animation studios. The company, based in Xindian, Taipei and Los Angeles, California,[1] has done animation/ink and paint for various TV shows and films for studios in North America, Europe and Asia.

History

Wang Film/Cuckoo's Nest, the studio's original name, was founded by James C.Y. Wang (王中元)/Wang Zhongyuan, Hsu Chih-wei and Lu Kuang-chi started the studio in 1978 as an overseas facility for the U.S. animation outlet Hanna–Barbera.[2] Hanna-Barbera send Jerry Smith to help set up the company and eventual owned half the company.[3] Many employees from Chunghwa Cartoon came to work at Cuckoo's Nest Studio along with employees from Ying Ren Cartoon and Shang Shang. Don Patterson was brought on board as a trainer. The company started with about 50 employees but soon had 300.[2]

In the company's first year, 17 episodes were produced for Hanna–Barbera. Quickly, they had contracts with Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, and Universal.[4]

With increased wages and foreign exchange rates, Cuckoo's was being priced out of the outsourcing market. Thus the CNS began restructuring. A Chinese subsidiary was opened in 1990 in Zhuhai, southern Guangdong province. In 1991, Cuckoo's Nest had to lay off 200 employees in Taipei. The company began computerization to reduced cost, while training some that would have been laid off to operate the computers. By 1993, the company had capacity to produce 200 half hour episodes each year. In 1993, a Shanghai unit, possibly a joint venture, was under consideration with Bangkok as an alternative. Also, internal developed and produced material was expected to start hitting the market in Mid-1994.[4]

Artists there work on such popular shows as CBS' "Garfield," "Care Bears" and "Winnie the Pooh," Hanna-Barbera's "The Jetsons," Fox's "Bobby's World" and Warner Bros.' "Tiny Toons."

The company is also famous for their work on the overseas production for Nelvana's Care Bears franchise, Film Roman's Garfield and Friends and Bobby's World, Klasky Csupo's Rugrats pilot and first season, Disney's DuckTales and Stretch Films' Courage the Cowardly Dog. They also helped produce effects for the 1982 film Tron[2] and some Peanuts television specials, production ink & paint matting, and animation assistance.

Thai Wang Film Productions

Thai Wang Film Productions
Industry entertainment
Headquarters Bangkok, Thailand
Products Feature films, television series
Production output
 Animation
Services Animation outsourcing
Owner Governments of Thailand

Thai Wang Film Productions was a division of Wang Film Productions located in Bangkok, Thailand.

Productions

Hong Guang Animation

Hong Guang Animation
Industry entertainment
Founded 1990
Headquarters Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Products Feature films, television series
Production output
 Animation
Services Animation outsourcing
Owner Wang Film Productions

Hong Guang Animation is a division of Wang Film Productions located in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.

Productions

Feature films

Films produced by Wang Film Productions Company

  • Uncle Niou's Great Adventure (1982)
  • Doraemon Robot Wars (1983)
  • Funky Space Monkey
  • Fire Ball (2005)
  • Lin Wang (2018) (currently in production)
Productions

TV shows

Outsourced from Disney Television Animation

Outsourced from Hanna-Barbera

Outsourced from Warner Bros. Animation

  • Animaniacs (1993–1998)
  • Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005)
  • Detention
  • Histeria! (1998–2000)
  • ¡Mucha Lucha!
  • Ozzy & Drix
  • Pinky and the Brain (1995–1998)
  • Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain (1998)
  • Taz-Mania
  • Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1992) - 30 half-hour episodes: The Looney Beginning (animated by Kennedy Cartoons with a few scenes by Wang Film Productions), You Asked for It, Rock 'n' Roar, Career Oppor-Toon-ities, Dating, Acme Acres Style, Hare Raising Night, Citizen Max, Prom-ise Her Anything, The Acme Acres Zone, Starting from Scratch, Looking Out for the Little Guy, Spring in Acme Acres, Ask Mr. Popular, Europe in 30 Minutes, Fairy Tales for the 90's, Here's Hamton, No Toon Is An Island, Return to the Acme Acres Zone, Mr. Popular's Rules of Cool!, Viewer Mail Day, K-ACME TV, High Toon (animated by Kennedy Cartoons with a few scenes by Wang Film Productions), Going Places, Best of Buster Day, Toon TV, New Class Day, Flea for Your Life, Weekday Afternoon Live, Buster's Directorial Debut and The Horror of Slumber Party Mountain.
  • What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002–2003) - 4 half-hour episodes: It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine, Roller Ghoster Ride, A Scooby-Doo Christmas and Pompeii and Circumstance.

Outsourced from other studios

Television films and specials

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chang, Violet (1 May 1998). "Wang's World". Taiwan Review. Government Information Office, United States of America (USA) and Republic of China (Taiwan). Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  2. 1 2 3 Lee, Daw-Ming (2012). Historical Dictionary of Taiwan Cinema. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. pp. 48–51. ISBN 9780810879225. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ Drogin, Bob (March 30, 1993). "Doing Business : Cartoon Stars Take Around-the-World Cruise". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Animated Industry". Taiwan Today. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China. 1 November 1993. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  • Official website, October 2007 (accessed at the Wayback Machine)
  • "Wang Film Productions". TV Tropes.
  • Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. on IMDbPro (subscription required)
  • Thai Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. on IMDbPro (subscription required)
  • Cuckoo's Nest Studios on IMDbPro (subscription required)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.