| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment, Animation |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, New York, U.S. |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | television series, special, television commercials, licensed merchandise |
| Owner(s) | DHX Media |
| Divisions | animation, Kidrobot collectables, Mondo Mini Shows, Ghostbot, Six Point Harness |
| Website | Wildbrain |
Wild Brain (stylized as W!LDBRAIN) is an award-winning entertainment company that develops and produces television programming, motion pictures, commercial content and licensed merchandise. Originally known as BIG Pictures until 1995, they have offices in Los Angeles and New York.
Film productions include the Annie Award-winning CGI short Hubert's Brain, while television work includes Nick Jr. series Yo Gabba Gabba! and highly rated Disney Channel series Higglytown Heroes. and the popular award-winning Monster High for Nickelodeon.
They have produced national commercials for clients like Esurance,[1] Chiclets, Target, Nike, Honda, Kraft, the Wall Street Journal and Lamisil, (featuring Digger the Dermatophyte). Their ad work has won Clio Awards, Addy Awards, BDA Awards, and Annie Awards.
A subsidiary, Kidrobot, creates limited edition toys, clothing, artwork, and books. It has stores in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami.
Contents |
In 1976, two men named Drew Takahashi and Gary Gutierrez created a company named (Colossal) Pictures. It became well known in the 1980s and 1990s for its innovative design work. Many of it's clients included MTV, Nickelodeon, Disney, and Coca-Cola.
In 1991, (Colossal) Pictures created a subsidiary called BIG Pictures so they could produce a television show called Back to the Future: The Animated Series for CBS. Also created at the studio was Liquid Television for MTV and BBC Two.
In 1994, John Hays, Phil Robinson & Jeff Fino came to the studio and renamed it to WildBrain. Five years later, Wildbrain's owner, (Colossal) Pictures shut down in 1999. WildBrain continued to work as an independent company until 2009, when DHX Media purchased Wildbrain.
The same year, WildBrain's San Francisco studio became Special Agent Productions.
Wild Brain's first venture into television was 13 I Am Weasel shorts for the Hanna Barbera-produced Cartoon Network series Cow and Chicken, in 1997. I Am Weasel later spun off to become a separate show. In 2000, Wild Brain launched Mr. Baby and Poochini's Yard; the second series aired globally, but did not appear in the United States until 2002, airing as Poochini. Wild Brain produced two animated series for Disney Channel's preschool-friendly programming block Disney Junior (formerly Playhouse Disney), Higgytown Heroes and the forthcoming Oki's Oasis, and is currently producing The Aquabats Super Show! for Hub. The studio has also done commercials and promos for companies like MTV, Noggin, Locomotion, Coca-Cola and Cartoon Network.
YO GABBA GABBA! apparel, accessories, books, electronics, games, home décor and toys are available at retail through top licensees, including Kidrobot, Spin Master, Ltd., Simon & Schuster, Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment, Nickelodeon/Sony BMG and others.
Kidrobot (Wildbrain subsidiary) was the first to hit shelves with apparel and collectible merchandise.
The studio was one of the pioneers of web-based flash animation series, which were offered to the public from their website in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The studio was also the animation provider of Happy Tree Friends Season 1-2.