 The first Filmation logo. Filmation Associates was an American company that produced animated cartoons for television during the later half of the 20th century. It was founded in 1963 and, like other U.S studios, was based in California. During a period lasting from the 1960s through the 1980s, the only real competitors to Hanna-Barbera Productions in the field of TV cartoons were Filmation and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Filmation's founders and principal producers were Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott. (Supposedly, the trademark rotating "Produced by" credit at the beginning of Filmation programs was a clever device to allow them to share equal billing; later Filmation productions credited only Scheimer, in the form of his signature.) The first Filmation logo This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ...
The first Filmation logo This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ...
An animated cartoon is a moving picture generated by photographing drawings frame-by-frame, as opposed to a normal movie, which is produced by shooting 24 frames a second of actual moving persons or objects. ...
(19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...
1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...
Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President • Vice President Federal republic...
Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ...
The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...
The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ...
Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ...
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (sometimes abbreviated to DFE) was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. ...
Lou Scheimer was one of the original founders of Filmation animation-company and also an executive producer of many of its cartoons (though only by name due to standardized crediting in most toons, Hal Sutherland received similar treatment). ...
Norman Prescott, was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Studios. ...
Many of its shows—particularly the productions of the late 1970s and 1980s—are notable for imparting a simple moral or life-lesson (explained by a key character, in a child-friendly manner) in the epilogue.
Animation style
As with other producers of Saturday morning cartoons, Filmation was more concerned with quantity than quality; however, they did make a number of attempts to rise above the standard animated fare and produce reasonably well-written cartoons. The best-known example of this is their animated adaptation of the Star Trek series, which included scripts contributed by well-known science fiction writers and starred most of the original cast. Other favorably remembered Filmation series included a 16-part animated serial of Flash Gordon (originally intended as a movie for theatrical release but shown in its entirety only once on NBC); Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, an animated educational series created by and starring Bill Cosby; and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, based on the popular line of Mattel toys. The animated adapatations of the Archie Comics characters were also noteworthy for the pop music produced for it, particularly the song, "Sugar, Sugar," which was a #1 hit single. Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the 1990s. ...
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ...
Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...
Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ...
Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ...
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated television series conceived of, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including the titular one. ...
Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show William Henry Bill Cosby, Jr. ...
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattels successful toy line Masters of the Universe. ...
Mattel Inc. ...
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle, and Forsythe Jughead Jones. ...
For the 1979 song by M, see Pop Muzik. ...
There were very few original animated characters created by the studio. Two examples were Fraidy Cat, a timid feline who has lost 8 of his 9 lives, which come back to haunt him; and Wacky and Packy, two cavemen who enter the modern age through a time warp. Both of these originally aired as segments of the Uncle Croc's Block show on ABC. (Which was hosted by Charles Nelson Reilly). Apparently, the show did so poorly, that ABC ceased ordering programs from Filmation. So in a period where ideas for cartoons had run dry (comedy was heavily scrutinzed for violence, and everything else seemed to copy the popular Scooby Doo format), Filmation's strong point was its adaptations of popular TV shows. (The studio also reportedly wanted to do a M*A*S*H cartoon, but was turned down; leading them to do the canine M*U*S*H spoof, which was the third animated segment on Uncle Croc's Block). M*A*S*H may refer to: Mobile army surgical hospital M*A*S*H (novels), the original novel that inspired the movie, plus two sequels, written by Richard Hooker M*A*S*H (film), 1970, directed by Robert Altman (starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Sally Kellerman and Robert Duvall...
Filmations's other strong area (and where we see the most original concepts) was its live action shows, including Space Adademy, its spinoff Jason of Star Command, Ark II, Shazam!, and Isis. Filmation also produced a live-action series called The Ghost Busters in 1975; following the release of an unrelated 1984 movie of the same name, Filmation capitalized on the momentum by producing a new cartoon based on their earlier series. Also deserving mention was a special featuring several of Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes stars (paired with Filmation's own Groovie Goolies, a group of classic monsters). This aired in ABC's Saturday Superstar Movies in 1972. While most of the Warner Brothers characters were drawn well (veteran Warners animator Virgil Ross was working there at the time), and voiced by veteran voice actor Mel Blanc, the special is not liked by many fans of classic Warners animation; once again, because of the limited animation, as well as a weak storyline. This was not Filmation's last dalliance with classic cartoon characters; in the late 1970s the company produced new series based on the Tom & Jerry shorts as well as characters from the Terrytoons archive (Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle). In film and video, live action refers to works that are acted out by flesh-and-blood actors, as opposed to animation. ...
Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel. ...
The Ghost Busters was a live-action childrens television series that ran from 1975 to 1976 and was not affiliated with the similarly-titled 1984 movie (it must be noted, however, that this shows producers, Filmation, got paid by Columbia Pictures for the title of the movie). ...
For other uses, see Ghostbusters (disambiguation). ...
The Filmations Ghostbusters Logo Filmations Ghostbusters was an animated cartoon series created by Filmation and launched following the success of the Columbia Pictures live-action Ghostbusters movie. ...
Warner Bros. ...
Looney Tunes opening title For the reggaeton producers Luny Tunes, see Luny Tunes Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ...
Created in 1970, Groovie Goolies was a take off of Filmations wildly popular The Archie Show with a monster bend. ...
1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ...
Melvin Jerome Blanc (born May 30, 1908 in San Francisco, California; died July 10, 1989 in Los Angeles, California), was a famous American voice actor for both classic American radio programs and many animation studios, primarily the Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera studios. ...
The phrase Tom and Jerry has a several meanings: Tom and Jerry was originally a pairing of names from Pierce Egans Life in London, or Days and Nights of Jerry Hawthorne and his elegant friend Corinthian Tom. ...
Mighty Mouse, the signature character of the studio. ...
Mighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio. ...
Heckle and Jeckle in Taming the Cat Heckle and Jeckle was a theatrical cartoon series created by Paul Terry, and released by his own studio, Terrytoons. ...
The Filmation studio was owned by TelePrompTer in the early 1970s, then by Westinghouse (through its Group W Productions division) in 1982, though in 1987 it was purchased by the L'Oreal cosmetics company. L'Oreal promptly closed the studio and ended Filmation's legacy. Animation scholars and fans believe the studio was closed for tax purposes. Filmation's last production was the feature film Happily Ever After (an unofficial sequel to the story of Snow White), released to theaters in 1993. Also, at the time of the closing, two new animated TV shows, one of them called "Bugzburg", were beginning production. It has been suggested that idiot board be merged into this article or section. ...
Westinghouse logo (designed by Paul Rand) The Westinghouse Electric Company, headquartered in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, is an organization founded by George Westinghouse in 1886. ...
Group W was a subdivision of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. ...
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The LOréal Group ( PAR: 120321), headquartered in Clichy, France, is the worlds leading company in cosmetics and beauty. ...
Snow White (or Snow-White, and in German, Schneewittchen) is the title character of a well known fairy tale known from many places in Europe, the most known version being the one collected by the Brothers Grimm. ...
1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...
Since then, most of the Filmation back catalog has come under the ownership of Hallmark Cards, through their Hallmark Entertainment subsidiary; however, since a large amount of Filmation's output was based on characters licensed from other companies, many titles are actually under the control of other studios (notably Paramount and Warner Bros.). Hallmark Cards, a privately owned company based in Kansas City, Missouri, is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. ...
The Paramount Pictures logo used since 2003. ...
The WB Shield used from 2003 to present day Warner Bros. ...
In March 2004, ownership of the Filmation back catalog which was under the ownership of Hallmark was sold to a British company called Entertainment Rights. Entertainment Rights have since made the revelation that when Hallmark converted all of their Filmation shows to digital format in the 1990s, only PAL-format copies were made, with the original film prints apparently discarded. This was due to Hallmark's previously unknown (but long suspected) short-sighted policy of only distributing Filmation shows outside of the U.S., thus potentially leaving all Filmation shows forever running 4% faster than they originally did. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths • 08 Abu Abbas • 20 Queen Juliana • 28 Peter Ustinov • 30 Alistair Cooke More March 2004 deaths Ongoing events EU Enlargement Exploration of Mars: Rovers Haiti Rebellion Israeli-Palestinian conflict Occupation of Iraq Same-sex marriage in...
Entertainment Rights is a global media ccompany, listed on the London Stock Exchange. ...
The original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon is so far the only Filmation production that has seen release in the United States and Canada on DVD. It was distributed by BCI Eclipse in the fall of 2005 as The Best of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (10 Episode Collector's Edition). On January 2006, BCI Eclipse stroke a 2 years deal with Entertainment Rights to eventually bring more episodes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in North America as well as other Filmation titles, most likely She-Ra: Princess of Power, The Original Ghostbusters, The Lone Ranger and The New Adventures of Zorro He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattels successful toy line Masters of the Universe. ...
The official DVD logo. ...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
She-Ra was the heroic lead in a series of toys produced by Mattel called She-Ra: Princess of Power. She also appeared in the tie-in cartoon, which was an attempt to make a version of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series that would...
The Filmations Ghostbusters Logo Filmations Ghostbusters was an animated cartoon series created by Filmation and launched following the success of the Columbia Pictures live-action Ghostbusters movie. ...
The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger was an early, long-running radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle of Detroit, Michigan and developed by writer Fran Striker of Buffalo, New York. ...
Quality issues Filmation has a reputation for exploiting the technique of limited animation to produce a number of animated series with a distinct look. They made heavy use of rotoscoping, and they also re-used the same animated sequences over and over, many times, to the point where the Filmation style was instantly recognizable (and often despised by TV critics and animation scholars). The studio is noteworthy for refusing to rely upon animation studios outside the United States for the bulk of its production. Limited animation is a process of making animated cartoons that does not follow a realistic approach. ...
An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ...
Rotoscoping is a technique where animators trace live action movement, frame by frame, for use in animated cartoons. ...
Characters, as well as plots, seemed formulaic and repetitive. For example, most episodes of Ghostbusters had the same scheme (Bad guys develop an evil plan, the heroes are needed but always absent, Ghost Buggy the talking car complains about their dangerous position, Tracey the Gorilla pulls out of his back sack exactly the miscellaneous item the Ghostbuster need in a moment of despair, Eddie doing a number of clumsy/stupid things etc.) Many of the sounds and explosion effects used in their cartoons are also very familiar. The Filmations Ghostbusters Logo Filmations Ghostbusters was an animated cartoon series created by Filmation and launched following the success of the Columbia Pictures live-action Ghostbusters movie. ...
However it can be argued that episodes of He-Man and Bravestarr, in substance, and often animation, were pioneers of their time and paved the way for broader storytelling (He-Man's "The Problem With Power" dealt with He-Man beleving he had killed an innocent bystander, "Teela's Quest" introducing a now famous mythology on The Sorceress being Teela's mother, whom she is heir to the mantle of safeguarding Greyskull, the versed continuity shared between He-Man and She-Ra etc)
Filmation series Notable TV animated series from Filmation included: An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ...
1960s Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action television series based on the Superman comic books. ...
The DC Comics superhero Batman (originally and still sometimes referred to as the Batman or the Bat-Man) is a fictional character who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ...
Superman is a fictional character and superhero of DC Comics who first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 and is considered one of the three greatest superheroes of the world, the others being Batman, also of DC Comics, and Spider-Man of Marvel Comics. ...
Batman: The Animated Series is the name of an American animated television series adaptation of the comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero, Batman. ...
Journey to the Center of the Earth DVD Journey to the Center of the Earth is an 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne (published in the original French as Voyage au centre de la Terre. ...
The Archie Show was the first in a long line of Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation and based upon Bob Montanas Archie characters. ...
The Hardy Boys is a popular series of detective/adventure books for boys chronicling the fictional adventures of teenage brothers Frank and Joe Hardy. ...
1970s Dick Tracy USPS stamp Dick Tracy is a comic strip detective and a popular character in American pop culture. ...
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is a fictional comic book character, and more recently, a US sitcom. ...
In 1972, Filmation Associates and executive producer Sherwood Schwartz adapted the popular live action TV show The Brady Bunch to animation, resulting in this Saturday morning show. ...
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ...
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated television series conceived of, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including the titular one. ...
My Favorite Martian was an American television sitcom aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. ...
The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty took the concept of James Thurbers popular book (and later movie), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and parodied it with anthromorphised dogs and cats. ...
Created in 1970, Groovie Goolies was a take off of Filmations wildly popular The Archie Show with a monster bend. ...
Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel. ...
Isis is a DC Comics superhero, the main character of The Secrets of Isis, a live-action American Saturday Morning television program that served as the second half of The Shazam!/Isis Hour. ...
The Ghost Busters was a live-action childrens television series that ran from 1975 to 1976 and was not affiliated with the similarly-titled 1984 movie (it must be noted, however, that this shows producers, Filmation, got paid by Columbia Pictures for the title of the movie). ...
Bat-Mite, Batman, and Robin from The New Adventures of Batman. ...
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle was an animated series created by the Filmation studio for CBS. There were a total of 36 episodes produced over the first four seasons. ...
Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please sit down was an animated showcase for various caricatured Jerry Lewis characters, all based on characters from the Lewis film, The Family Jewels. ...
Ark II was a live-action science fiction series aimed at children that aired on CBS beginning in 1976 as part of its Saturday morning line-up. ...
Space Academy was a live-action sci-fi childrens television program, produced by Filmation and airing on CBS television on Saturday mornings from 1977 to 1979. ...
Super 7, originally called Tarzan and the Super 7, was a Saturday morning cartoon program, produced by Filmation and originally airing from 1978 to 1980 on CBS. It consisted of separate installments featuring seven groups of adventurers. ...
Jason of Star Command was a live action television show by Filmation which ran between 1978 and 1980. ...
Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ...
Space Sentinels Space Sentinels was a 1977 Filmation animated cartoon series about 3 young super heroes aided by their sentient spaceship, Sentinel 1. ...
Mighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio. ...
The Brown Hornet was a spinoff of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. ...
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated television series conceived of and produced by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to the title character, Fat Albert. ...
1980s Premiering in 1981, Blackstar was a sword and sorcery epic, probably inspired at least in part, by the immense popularity of the 1980s Thundarr, the Barbarian. ...
The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger was an early, long-running radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle of Detroit, Michigan and developed by writer Fran Striker of Buffalo, New York. ...
BraveStarr was an animated space western made for children. ...
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattels successful toy line Masters of the Universe. ...
The Kid Superpower Hour with Shazam! was a NBC Saturday morning cartoon produced by Filmation Studios in 1981. ...
She-Ra was the heroic lead in a series of toys produced by Mattel called She-Ra: Princess of Power. She also appeared in the tie-in cartoon, which was an attempt to make a version of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series that would...
This article needs to be wikified. ...
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated television series conceived of, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including the titular one. ...
The Filmations Ghostbusters Logo Filmations Ghostbusters was an animated cartoon series created by Filmation and launched following the success of the Columbia Pictures live-action Ghostbusters movie. ...
the Tarzan / Lone Ranger adventure hour was a Filmation series that aired on CBS during the 1980–1981 television season. ...
the Tarzan / Lone Ranger adventure hour was a Filmation series that aired on CBS during the 1980–1981 television season. ...
Tom & Jerry title card from the 1940s Tom and Jerry were an animated cat (Tom) and mouse (Jerry) team who formed the basis of a massively successful series of theatrical short cartoons created, written and directed by animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (later of Hanna-Barbera fame). ...
External links - Lou Scheimer Productions Website of Lou Scheimer
- Entertainment Rights Official website
- List of Filmation titles at the Internet Movie Database
- Filmation Nation (DVD Toons)
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