Gullane Entertainment
Gullane Entertainment PLC was a British independent production company which produced children's programming, including Thomas & Friends, Shining Time Station, The Magic Adventures of Mumfie, Fireman Sam, Captain Pugwash, Sooty and Art Attack as well as the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. The company today is an in-name only subsidiary of HIT Entertainment and an IP holder for Thomas & Friends.
Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment, Children's Programming |
| Fate | Acquired by and Folded into HiT Entertainment |
| Founded | 1983 [2] |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Products | Thomas & Friends Art Attack Sooty Fireman Sam Guinness World Records Captain Pugwash Magic Adventures of Mumfie |
| Revenue | N.A. |
Original programming
- Thomas (the Tank Engine) & Friends (1984–present) - TV series created by Britt Allcroft and based on a series of books known as The Railway Series by The Rev. Wilbert Awdry. The storytellers are Ringo Starr, Michael Angelis, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, Michael Brandon, Pierce Brosnan, and Mark Moraghan. Formerly known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. Now owned by HiT Entertainment.
- Shining Time Station (1989–93, 1995) - created by Britt Allcroft and Rick Siggelkow. A live-action situation comedy series about life in a train station called Shining Time and featuring a cast of characters such as Stacy Jones the Manager (Didi Conn), Schemer the Arcade Owner (Brian O'Connor), the Jukebox Band and the magical Mr. Conductor (Ringo Starr, George Carlin) who tells the stories taken from Thomas & Friends. Now owned by Britt Allcroft Productions in Santa Monica, California.
- Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie (1994–98) - Based on the works of artist Katharine Tozer. Featuring the voice of storyteller Patrick Breen and a score of 26 original songs. Now owned by Britt Allcroft Productions.
Acquired programming
- James the Cat (1998 series only) - James is a black and white cat who lives in an old house, known as the "Cornerhouse", with his friends. Now owned by HiT Entertainment.
- Fireman Sam (1987–present) - The adventures of Pontypandy's friendly fireman who is always there to save the day. Acquired by Gullane in 2001 from Bumper Films, which closed down a year later. Now owned by HiT Entertainment.
- Art Attack (1990-2007) - An art and crafts show hosted by Neil Buchanan. Acquired by Gullane in 2000.
- Sooty Heights (1999–2000) - Presented by Richard Cadell and Liana Bridges, Sooty Heights is a comedy puppet show featuring Sooty and his pals Sweep, Soo and Little Cousin Scampi, running a hotel. This was the replacement for Sooty & Co, which ended in 1998 due to former Sooty host, Matthew Corbett, retiring.
- Sooty (2001–2004) - Presented by Richard Cadell and Vicki Lee Taylor, Sooty was similar to Sooty Heights, but with some minor changes.
- Captain Pugwash (1998) - Captain Pugwash and his mates search for treasure on the Black Pig against the evil Cut Throat Jake. This is based on the original characters by John Ryan.
- Eckhart (2000–2001, UK only) - A Canadian animated series about a little mouse and his friends who have a lot of adventures travelling around the world, based on the character created by David Weale.
- Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! (2003–2005) - An animated series about Yoko the bird, Jakamoko the armadillo and Toto the mischievous monkey living in the African country who sing and only communicate by using each other's names. Co-produced with Collingwood O'Hare. Was only acquired by Gullane whilst the series was in production until 2002 when the company was bought by HiT.
Other
- Guinness World Records - sold to them by Diageo in 2001; sold to Ripley Entertainment in 2008 after Apax Partners acquired HiT (the company that acquired Gullane) in 2005.
Films
- Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). Gullane's only feature-length film. This film features Thomas and his friends protecting a lost engine from the evil Diesel 10 and finding some magic. The film stars Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor, Peter Fonda as Burnett Stone, Mara Wilson as Lily, Russell Means as Billy Twofeathers, Didi Conn as Stacy Jones, and Edward Glen as the voice of Thomas.
Trivia
- In 2002, HIT Entertainment purchased Gullane, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel.
- In 2007, HiT Entertainment put the rights to Sooty up for sale, with his current presenter Richard Cadell purchasing the rights in 2008.
- In 2008, Britt Allcroft re-acquired the whole of the Mumfie production library from HiT Entertainment.
- Thomas products still refer to the Gullane subsidiary "Gullane (Thomas) Limited."
Key People
- Britt Allcroft - Co Founder
- Angus Wright - Co Founder
- Adam Mills - Chairman of the Board
- William Harris - Chief Executive Officer, Director
- Charles Falzon - President, Director
- Tim Hilton - Finance Director, Director
- Helen Byme - Secretary
References
External links
- Mills to join Britt Allcroft [Productions] The Guardian – 1 December 2000
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