137-464: Crunchyroll, LLC , formerly known as Funimation , is an American entertainment company based in Dallas , Texas . It operates an eponymous over-the-top subscription video on-demand service, which showcases acquired content and original programming from other Japanese animation studios and companies or focusing on the distribution and licensing of anime , films and television series. The company
274-411: A Northern Texas judge, having already indicated that the court would appoint attorneys for the defendants, ruled that the defendants were not "acting in concert" and thus could not be sued as a group; each would have to be sued separately. The One Piece film at issue was a fansub, an unauthorized copy distributed with fan-produced, translated subtitles. Soon after the lawsuit was abandoned, Funimation
411-920: A class-action lawsuit against Funimation, claiming that their online store failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act . The suit was settled out of court. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Funimation Funimation was an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime and other foreign entertainment properties in North America . It streamed popular series, such as Dragon Ball , One Piece , YuYu Hakusho , My Hero Academia , Attack on Titan , Fairy Tail , Black Clover , Fruits Basket , Assassination Classroom and Tokyo Ghoul among many others. The service and its parent company were acquired by Sony , who ran
548-465: A television series . In the area of science fiction, Nelvana produced Droids and Ewoks , two Saturday-morning series based on Star Wars . At one point, there was talk of an animated CBS show from the studio, based on the BBC 's Doctor Who ; the plan never came to fruition, but concept art was created by Ted Bastien . For Orion Pictures ' 1986 live-action western comedy , Three Amigos ,
685-500: A 75% increase in earnings in 1998, credited to increased original production and sales of its library programming, the deal with CBS, and the addition of a publishing business with the acquisition of Kids Can Press. In August 1999, Nelvana announced a US$ 40 million deal to produce six new series based on popular children's books for a planned PBS block. The six series— Corduroy , Elliot Moose , Timothy Goes to School , Seven Little Monsters , George Shrinks , and Marvin
822-413: A C$ 200 million writedown for the company; by next August, it planned to reduce the staff down to 200. Hirsh has also taken an advisory role in the studio. The following September, Corus launched their home entertainment division . Texas-based FUNimation , along with British company Maverick , has distributed titles from the studio with this label, including Redwall , Pecola , Tales from
959-484: A Chicago-based distributor. The block was offered internationally on a barter program distribution model with one–two hours of daily sections or three–four hours of the weekend block. In 1998, Nelvana entered into an agreement with U.S. network CBS to program a new Saturday morning animation block for the 1998-99 television season, which would be branded as CBS Kidshow . The block would feature six new series based on children's book properties, and all were to comply with
1096-688: A Dreaming Girl theatrically in the U.S. on October 2, 2019, and in Canada on October 4, 2019. On September 24, 2019, Sony Pictures Television and Aniplex announced that they were consolidating their international anime streaming businesses under a new joint venture, Funimation Global Group, LLC., with Funimation general manager Colin Decker leading the joint venture. The joint venture would operate under Funimation's branding, and allow Funimation to acquire and distribute titles with Aniplex subsidiaries Wakanim , Madman Anime and AnimeLab . The first title under
1233-583: A Dreaming Girl theatrically in the U.S. on October 2, 2019, and in Canada on October 4, 2019. On September 24, 2019, Sony Pictures Television and Aniplex announced that they were consolidating their international anime streaming businesses under a new joint venture, Funimation Global Group, LLC. , with Funimation general manager Colin Decker leading the joint venture. The joint venture would operate under Funimation's branding, and allow Funimation to acquire and distribute titles with Aniplex subsidiaries Wakanim , Madman Anime and AnimeLab . The first title under
1370-492: A chance to revisit the country's past heritage in that field. Meanwhile, Hirsh and Loubert collaborated on a related primer from Peter Martin and Associates, The Great Canadian Comic Books . During this time the new company was named Nelvana after World War II -era Canadian comic book superheroine Nelvana of the Northern Lights . A derelict apartment in downtown Toronto served as the company's first building, and
1507-459: A co-production agreement with Canadian toy maker Spin Master and Japanese partners TMS Entertainment , Sega Toys and Japan Vistec to create the new anime property Bakugan Battle Brawlers . The series debuted in Canada on Teletoon the following summer and became a quick success. In 2008, merchandising rights were sold by Nelvana to Cartoon Network in the U.S., and the series began airing on
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#17327869065271644-597: A deal that was approved by the United States Department of Justice on August 22, 2017. This deal allowed Funimation to have synergies with Sony's Animax and Kids Station divisions and "direct access to the creative pipeline". The deal was closed on October 27, 2017. On February 16, 2018, it was reported that Shout! Factory's Shout! Studios division acquired the U.S./Canadian distribution rights to Big Fish & Begonia and partnered with Funimation Films again for distribution. On July 12, 2018, it
1781-446: A distribution partnership with Viz Media , with Viz Media titles being made available to stream on Funimation's website. The deal was made after select Viz titles such as Part I of Naruto and the first 75 episodes of Hunter × Hunter were previously made available on FunimationNow. On December 2, 2020, Brazilian TV channel Loading announced a content partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Funimation titles being included in
1918-415: A facility for producing television commercials that lasted until 1993. As the decade came to a close, the revived Nelvana had its next big success with a film and an HBO television show based on Jean de Brunhoff 's Babar book series. This franchise, its first international co-production , won many ACE Awards in the U.S. and Geminis in Canada. In September 1989, ABC began to air Beetlejuice ,
2055-615: A feed mill in Decatur, Texas , and convinced Cocanougher's family to sell their business and serve as an investor for his company. The company was founded on May 9, 1994, as Funimation Productions . The company was originally based in Silicon Valley , but eventually relocated to North Richland Hills, Texas . They initially collaborated with other companies on Dragon Ball , such as BLT Productions, Ocean Studios , Pioneer and Saban Entertainment . After two aborted attempts to bring
2192-455: A full migration of its licensed catalog was transferred over to Crunchyroll. New series such as A Couple of Cuckoos and Spy × Family were only released on Crunchyroll, albeit with the dubbing production done in the Dallas studios. On August 4, 2022, Crunchyroll acquired anime eCommerce retailer and distributor Right Stuf . Right Stuf's adult/ hentai sales and distribution were spun off to
2329-1039: A group of investors that included original owner Gen Fukunaga for $ 24 million. It was also announced that Navarre would remain as exclusive distributor of Funimation's titles. On October 14, 2011, Funimation announced a partnership with Niconico, the English language version of Nico Nico Douga , to form the Funico brand for the licensing of anime for streaming and home video release. From this point on, virtually all titles simulcasted by Niconico were acquired by Funimation. On February 18, 2012, Funimation announced that it would launch its video streaming app on April 6, 2012. In 2014, Funimation released Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods to theaters in partnership with Screenvision. Based on its success, Funimation launched its own theatrical division in December 2014. On June 22, 2015, Funimation and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced
2466-473: A homemade wooden stand mounted over a toilet was among its first camera equipment. "To create zooms," Hirsh recalled of his early experience with this machine, "we would pile up phone books under the art work." During their first year and a half, the trio lived off a superfluous Chargex credit card that Loubert received at university, spending up to C$ 7,500 on it before they reclaimed double that cost as their first ever transaction. Under those conditions, Nelvana
2603-437: A monetary relief of over $ 1 million. On June 12, 2019, Funimation filed a response denying Mignogna's allegations. On July 1, 2019, Funimation filed an anti-SLAPP motion for Mignogna to dismiss his lawsuit. Rial, Marchi, and Toye then filed their anti-SLAPP motions on July 19, 2019. A hearing to consider the defendants's anti-SLAPP motions took place on September 6, 2019, presiding Tarrant County judge John P. Chupp dismissed
2740-554: A multi-year home video distribution deal. The deal allowed UPHE to manage distribution and sales of Funimation's catalog of titles. Universal began distributing Funimation's titles in October of that year. In January 2016, Funimation introduced a new logo and announced the rebranding of their streaming platform as "FunimationNow". In April 2016, they launched their service in the UK and Ireland. On September 8, 2016, Funimation announced
2877-423: A multi-year home video distribution deal. The deal allowed UPHE to manage distribution and sales of Funimation's catalog of titles. Universal began distributing Funimation's titles in October of that year. In January 2016, Funimation introduced a new logo and announced their streaming service, FunimationNow . In April 2016, they launched their service in the UK and Ireland. On September 8, 2016, Funimation announced
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#17327869065273014-502: A partnership to upload select remastered titles on their respective YouTube channels until November 30. These titles were Ragnarok the Animation , Witchblade and Burst Angel . On December 9, 2020, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that it would acquire Ellation and the anime streaming service Crunchyroll from WarnerMedia (later spun out by AT&T and merged with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery ) for
3151-468: A partnership with Crunchyroll . Select Funimation titles would be streamed subtitled on Crunchyroll, while select Crunchyroll titles would be streamed on FunimationNow, including upcoming dubbed content. In addition, Funimation would act as the distributor for Crunchyroll's home video catalog. On May 18, 2017, Shout! Factory acquired the North American distribution rights to In This Corner of
3288-472: A partnership with Crunchyroll . Select Funimation titles would be streamed subtitled on Crunchyroll, while select Crunchyroll titles would be streamed on FunimationNow, including upcoming dubbed content. In addition, Funimation would act as the distributor for Crunchyroll's home video catalog. In May 2017, it was reported that Universal Studios and Sony Pictures Television were interested in purchasing Funimation; however, Universal decided not to proceed with
3425-835: A partnership with Kodansha Comics to host a series of weekly watch parties. On May 4, Funimation announced that they had struck a deal with NIS America to stream select titles on FunimationNow. On July 3, 2020, Funimation announced at FunimationCon that they would expand their streaming service to Latin America , starting with Mexico and Brazil in Q4 2020, with one of the first dubbed titles released being Tokyo Ghoul:re . Funimation later revealed that they would launch their Latin American services in December 2020. However, they launched their service early on November 18, 2020. On September 9, 2020, Funimation announced that they had reached
3562-632: A partnership with Kodansha Comics to host a series of weekly watch parties. On May 4, Funimation announced that they had struck a deal with NIS America to stream select titles on FunimationNow. Funimation would also announce that same day that they would hold a virtual anime convention called "FunimationCon" on July 3–4, 2020. It was one of several virtual events taking the place of that year's Anime Expo , which announced its cancellation on April 17. On July 3, Funimation announced at FunimationCon that they would expand their streaming service to Latin America, starting with Mexico and Brazil in Q4 2020, with one of
3699-436: A result of Sony Pictures Television's acquisition of Funimation. Despite the home video releases being unaffected and still going on as planned, select Funimation content would be removed from Crunchyroll, and subtitled content would return to FunimationNow. Additionally, it was also announced that Funimation would be removed from Otter Media-owned streaming service VRV entirely, being replaced by Hidive . In December 2018, it
3836-427: A separate company as part of the deal. On September 20, 2022, Kyle McCarley 's contract to voice Shigeo Kageyama, the protagonist of Mob Psycho 100 , was not renewed by Crunchyroll. McCarley, who is a member of SAG-AFTRA , had offered to work on a non-union contract for the third season, on the condition that Crunchyroll meet with SAG-AFTRA representatives to discuss potential future contracts. Crunchyroll refused
3973-563: A show produced by Nelvana and based on the film by Tim Burton . Following Babar 's success, the studio acquired the rights to animated series based on Hergé 's The Adventures of Tintin , Maurice Sendak 's Little Bear , Joanna Cole 's The Magic School Bus and the British comic strip Rupert Bear . Nelvana had self-made successes of its own during the 1990s, such as Eek! The Cat , Dog City (with Jim Henson Productions ) and Ned's Newt (with TMO Film GmbH). Less successful
4110-410: A similarly styled special in which a girl tries to be a lead dancer at a Christmas pageant. When Nelvana was founded in 1971, their original goal was to create live-action productions involving animation in them during their early days. Nelvana worked on their first television specials: A Cosmic Christmas (1977), The Devil and Daniel Mouse (1978), Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979), Please Don't Eat
4247-484: A sub-franchise consisting of BeyWheelz , BeyWarriors: BeyRaiderz and BeyWarriors: Cyborg . Their next program Mike the Knight debuted in 2011, a co-production between HIT Entertainment aired on Treehouse TV and CBeebies later in the year. Detentionaire was produced between 2011 and 2015. Created for Teletoon, the show has also been aired internationally, including on ABC3 , and has been released on
Crunchyroll, LLC - Misplaced Pages Continue
4384-470: A sum of $ 8 million, citing " breach of contracts " and other issues. Funimation said that ADV's transfer of assets were made with "the intent to defer, hinder or defraud the creditors of ADV [Films]." Funimation sought ADV's sale of assets as void. The lawsuit was settled in mediation in 2014. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. In early 2019, allegations of sexual misconduct against voice actor Vic Mignogna were brought forward on Twitter with
4521-447: A total of US$ 1.175 billion in cash, placing the company under Funimation once the acquisition was finalized. The acquisition of Crunchyroll was completed on August 9, 2021, with Sony stating in their press release that they would create a unified anime subscription using their anime businesses as soon as possible. On April 12, 2021, it was announced that subsidiary Manga Entertainment would officially be rebranding as Funimation UK in
4658-511: A total of US$ 1.175 billion in cash, placing the company under Funimation once the acquisition was finalized. However, on March 24, 2021, it was reported that the United States Department of Justice had extended its antitrust review of the acquisition. The acquisition of Crunchyroll was completed on August 9, 2021, with Sony stating in their press release that they would create a unified anime subscription using their anime businesses as soon as possible. Crunchyroll confirmed four days later that VRV
4795-532: Is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment since 2000. Founded in July 1971 by Michael Hirsh , Patrick Loubert , and Clive A. Smith , it was named after Nelvana of the Northern Lights , the first Canadian national superhero, who was created by Adrian Dingle . The company's production logo is a polar bear looking at Polaris , the North Star. The company
4932-547: Is based in Toronto , Ontario , Canada in North America and it maintains international offices in France, Ireland and Japan, as well as smaller offices in the top three cities in the U.S. Many of its films, shows and specials are based on licensed properties and literature, but original programming is also part of its roster. Although the company specializes in children's media, Nelvana has also co-produced adult animations like
5069-524: Is the first Crunchyroll film to be distributed in association with Funimation Films. On March 1, 2022, it was announced that the Funimation, Wakanim and VRV SVOD services would be consolidated into Crunchyroll. Additionally, it was announced that Funimation Global Group, LLC had legally changed its name to Crunchyroll, LLC , which occurred on February 24. Fourteen days later, it was announced that Funimation's home video releases would be distributed under
5206-511: The COVID-19 pandemic ; Subtitled simulcasts would continue as scheduled. On April 10, 2020, Funimation announced that an episode of My Hero Academia had been recorded and would be released on April 12. Funimation would later announce the scheduled release dates for SimulDubs that were produced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the corporate name change to Crunchyroll, LLC in 2022,
5343-750: The Columbia Pictures banner; 1997 saw the studio's retelling of Pippi Longstocking from Warner Bros. ; and Babar: King of the Elephants was released in Canada by Alliance Atlantis in 1999. Among them, only Malice would go on to achieve box-office success in North America. Its US$ 46 million gross was the highest ever attained by a Nelvana production, doubling what the first Care Bears Movie received during its original release. In 1993, Nelvana along with Galaxy Films and De Souza Productions produced Cadillacs and Dinosaurs for
5480-461: The Dragon Ball franchise to television via first-run syndication , Cartoon Network began airing Dragon Ball Z as part of its Toonami programming block in 1998, which quickly became the highest-rated show on the block and garnered a large following. The success of Dragon Ball Z is credited for allowing Funimation to acquire other licensed titles. Funimation also produced and distributed
5617-473: The Dragon Ball franchise to television via first-run syndication , Cartoon Network began airing Dragon Ball Z as part of its Toonami programming block in 1998, which quickly became the highest-rated show on the block and garnered a large following. The success of Dragon Ball Z is credited for allowing Funimation to acquire other licensed titles. In 2009, Funimation signed a deal with Toei Animation to stream several of its anime titles online through
Crunchyroll, LLC - Misplaced Pages Continue
5754-527: The MeToo movement . Funimation conducted an internal investigation of the matter and announced on February 11, 2019, that they had ended their relations with Mignogna. Mignogna had already been dismissed from the company in January 2019. On April 19, 2019, Mignogna filed a civil suit against Funimation and voice actors Jamie Marchi , Monica Rial , and Rial's fiancé, Ron Toye. Mignogna and his attorney were seeking
5891-546: The Palo Alto -based children's book publisher Klutz in a US$ 74 million deal—at that time, its largest buyout ever —and integrated it into its Branded Consumer Products division. The company, founded in 1977, was best known for its children's series, Books Plus . Nelvana's separate subsidiary, Kids Can, began taking advantage of the acquisition by making its output available through Klutz merchandise. In September 2000, Corus bought Nelvana for $ 540 million. The company saw
6028-635: The United Kingdom 's Channel 4 began work on Bob and Margaret , the company's first animated franchise for adults since Rock & Rule . It was based on the National Film Board of Canada 's Bob's Birthday , an Academy Award winner for Best Short , which Channel 4 also produced. In December 1997, Nelvana began distributing a syndicated programming block, the Nelvana Kidz Klub, through MediaVentures International,
6165-565: The United States . Fukunaga met with co-worker Daniel Cocanougher, whose family owned a feed mill in Decatur, Texas , and convinced Cocanougher's family to sell their business and serve as an investor for his new company. The company was founded on May 9, 1994, as FUNimation Productions. They initially collaborated with other companies on Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z , such as BLT Productions, Ocean Studios , Pioneer and Saban Entertainment . After two aborted attempts to bring
6302-653: The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in June and December 2014, respectively. The app later launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms in March and July 2015, respectively. A Nintendo Switch app launched in December 2020. In January 2014, English dubbed episodes of Space Dandy premiered on Adult Swim 's Toonami programming block a day before the Japanese broadcast; one of the rare occasions an anime series premiered in
6439-633: The direct-to-video movie Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 , the company's first non-anime product. In May 2002, the company secured its first third-party home video deal when fellow anime dubbing company 4Kids Entertainment appointed Funimation as their exclusive home video distributor in the United States. The deal included a majority of products 4Kids licensed at the time, beginning with Yu-Gi-Oh! , Cubix , Cabbage Patch Kids , Tama and Friends , and Kirby: Right Back at Ya! . The deal
6576-561: The Animation , Witchblade and Burst Angel . On January 25, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that they were going to release Jujutsu Kaisen 0 in theaters on March 18, 2022, in the United States and Canada. The film launched in over 1,500 theaters, as well as some IMAX theatres, in both sub and dub. They also stated that the feature would be coming soon to theaters in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and Latin America among other countries. This
6713-408: The Animation , and other series cease. Since October 2009, Funimation has routinely filed DMCA takedown notices to get unauthorized distributions of its and its partners' properties removed from Google search results. In January 2011, Funimation filed a lawsuit against BitTorrent users in the U.S. for allegedly downloading and uploading One Piece . Funimation dropped the suit in March after
6850-738: The CBS network, based on the comic book of the same name (formally known as Xenozoic Tales ) by Mark Schultz . It only lasted one season. In September 1995, Nelvana produced Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys based on the popular well-known book series. Tracy Ryan portrayed Nancy Drew while Colin Gray and Paul Popowich portrayed Frank and Joe Hardy , respectively. In addition, Jehene Erwin and Joy Tanner portrayed Bess Marvin and George Fayne , respectively, on Nancy Drew , while Fiona Highet played new character Kate Craigen. The series were based on The Nancy Drew Files and The Hardy Boys Casefiles . However,
6987-689: The Crunchyroll banner, with the latter's logo replacing that of the former on the spine and back of the covers for each new release that comes out starting with its June 2022 slate. Following the Russian military invasion of Ukraine , Crunchyroll announced on March 11, 2022, that it would halt services in Russia, thus shutting down operations of Wakanim and Crunchyroll EMEA entirely, in line with global sanctions. Its parent company Sony donated $ 2 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. On April 5, 2022,
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#17327869065277124-723: The Cryptkeeper , Timothy Goes to School and the Disney Channel TV special The Santa Claus Brothers . In July 2004, Funimation expanded its family-friendly offerings by launching a new division entitled Our Time Family Entertainment , which provided high-quality entertainment properties to the burgeoning preschool and children's market. Products released under the division included the film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland , several holiday specials, and select offerings from Nelvana ( Elliot Moose , Marvin
7261-555: The Cryptkeeper , Timothy Goes to School and the holiday special The Santa Claus Brothers . Nelvana's newer titles have been distributed by MGM, Lionsgate and ADV Films , which have no involvement with the label. In 2007, home video distribution rights for the company's catalogue were transferred to Shout! Factory . In 2004, the studio produced an animation anthology , which included 10 recurring shorts. Titled Funpak , it aired on YTV for 13 weeks starting in February 2005, with
7398-651: The Elf , based on Mattel 's toy line ; Strawberry Shortcake: Housewarming Surprise ; Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name ; and Strawberry Shortcake Meets the Berrykins , the last three of which featured the eponymous doll . There were two shows from Nelvana based on the AmToy properties, Madballs and My Pet Monster . Despite the successes of their earlier works, perhaps its greatest success at
7535-513: The Funimation company before the merger until it was shut down in April 2024. In the early 1990s, Japanese-born businessman Gen Fukunaga was approached by his uncle, Nagafumi Hori, who was working as a producer for Toei Company . Hori proposed that if Fukunaga could start a production company and raise enough money, Toei Animation would license the rights to the Dragon Ball franchise to
7672-722: The Funimation website. On October 14, 2011, Funimation announced a partnership with Niconico, the English language version of Nico Nico Douga , to form the Funico brand for the licensing of anime for streaming and home video release. From this point on, virtually all titles simulcasted by Niconico were acquired by Funimation. On February 18, 2012, Funimation announced that it would launch its video streaming app on April 6, 2012. In 2014, Funimation released Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods to theaters in partnership with Screenvision. Based on its success, Funimation launched its own theatrical division in December 2014. On June 22, 2015, Funimation and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced
7809-552: The Lakeside Business District with a ten-year lease. According to an interview in February 2008 with Navarre Corporation CEO Cary Deacon, Funimation was in early stage negotiations to acquire some of the titles licensed through Geneon 's USA division, which ceased operations in December 2007. In July 2008, Funimation confirmed that they had acquired distribution rights to several Geneon titles, including some that Geneon had left unfinished when they withdrew from
7946-601: The Planet (better known by its subtitle, Intergalactic Thanksgiving ) (1979), Easter Fever (1980) and Take Me Up to the Ball Game (1980). During that time, George Lucas , who was impressed with A Cosmic Christmas , commissioned the company to work on a 10-minute sequence for the CBS and CTV TV film Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978. This short scene, officially entitled "The Faithful Wookiee", would not only feature
8083-526: The Tap-Dancing Horse , Timothy Goes to School ), WGBH ( Arthur and the co-production Time Warp Trio ), and Alliance Atlantis ( Connie the Cow ). Funimation continued into licensing non-anime material when the company was appointed as the North American license holder for the British series Make Way for Noddy by franchise owners Chorion in January 2005. On May 11, 2005, Funimation
8220-700: The Tap-Dancing Horse —were launched the following September as part of the PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch line-up. That same month, it acquired the North American rights to its first anime property, Clamp 's Cardcaptor Sakura (which was renamed Cardcaptors for its English dub). In April 2000, Nelvana announced that it had filed for two category 2 television licences from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to launch digital cable channels. The first, titled "The Nelvana Channel", would've presented
8357-496: The U.S. and was a financial failure. The company survived by working full-time on children's television series. These included its first three live-action franchises ( The Edison Twins , 20 Minute Workout and Mr. Microchip ), the first season of Inspector Gadget with DIC Entertainment , and the pilot episode of The Get Along Gang . Early in the decade, the company worked on four television specials based on American Greetings properties. They were The Magic of Herself
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#17327869065278494-864: The U.S. government's educational programming guidelines . In April 1998, Nelvana entered into an agreement with ITV franchise Scottish Television to co-produce these new series, and hold distribution rights to them in the United Kingdom. In August 1998, Nelvana acquired Kids Can Press , publishers of the Franklin and Elliot Moose children's books upon which the Franklin and Elliot Moose were based. This turned them into an "integrated company" in which Kids Can's subsequent publications would begin with Nelvana's franchising of those works. The company's first two computer-animated shows, Donkey Kong Country and Rolie Polie Olie (with Paris-based Sparx* and distributed by Disney Channel ), premiered on U.S. television in 1998. In March 1999, Nelvana reported
8631-464: The U.S. market. At Anime Expo 2008, Funimation announced that it had acquired over 30 titles from the Sojitz catalog that had previously been licensed by ADV Films . In 2009, Funimation signed a deal with Toei Animation to stream several of its anime titles online through the Funimation website. On May 27, 2010, Navarre Corporation announced that it began negotiating a potential sale of Funimation. It
8768-599: The UK and Ireland, starting on April 19, 2021. On June 10, 2021, it was announced AnimeLab would begin the process of rebranding and transitioning its services to Funimation in Australia and New Zealand, on June 17, 2021. On June 16, 2021, Funimation launched in Colombia, Chile, and Peru. On September 1, 2021, Funimation and Gonzo announced a partnership to upload select remastered titles on their respective YouTube channels until November 30. These titles were Ragnarok
8905-613: The UK branch of Manga Entertainment and Anime Limited in the United Kingdom. In 2016, Funimation began directly releasing some of its titles in the United Kingdom and Ireland with Funimation branding, with Funimation handling licensing and localization, and Anime Limited handling distribution and classification. Funimation later distributed My Hero Academia in the region through Universal Pictures UK in 2017, and later through Sony Pictures UK , along with other select titles, in 2018. Funimation later began sub-licensing titles to Manga Entertainment's UK branch in late 2018, before acquiring
9042-493: The United Kingdom). In the early 1990s, Japanese-born businessman Gen Fukunaga was approached by his uncle, Nagafumi Hori, who was working as a producer for Toei Company . Hori proposed that if Fukunaga could start a production company and raise enough money, Toei Animation would license the rights to the Dragon Ball franchise to the United States. Fukunaga met with co-worker Daniel Cocanougher, whose family owned
9179-612: The United States and Canada, only around a month after its national premiere in Japan. On August 7, AT&T fully acquired Otter Media , owner of Crunchyroll. On October 18, 2018, Funimation and Crunchyroll announced that their partnership with would end on November 9, 2018, as a result of Sony Pictures Television's acquisition of Funimation. Despite the home video releases being unaffected and still going on as planned, select Funimation content would be removed from Crunchyroll, and subtitled content would return to FunimationNow. Additionally, it
9316-571: The United States before Japan. Funimation would later introduce a new "SimulDub" program in October 2014, in which English dubs of their simulcast titles would premiere within weeks after their subtitled airing. This practice began with SimulDub versions of Psycho-Pass 2 and Laughing Under the Clouds , episodes of which were streamed roughly three weeks to one month following their original Japanese broadcast. On March 18, 2020, Funimation announced that production of SimulDubs would be delayed due to
9453-613: The United States were Brazil , France , Germany and Mexico , and over 800 million people were interested in anime worldwide. To facilite the entry to the Southeast Asian market, Crunchyroll announced on August 15, 2024 that it began to rolling out the campaign to launch its streaming service in Indonesia, complete with local subs and dubs in most of the newly-added titles for the Southeast Asian regions including Indonesia. In July 2008, Funimation and Red Planet Media announced
9590-1030: The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and by Wakanim they were also available in select parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Via Crunchyroll, they also have over 5 million subscribers and 120 million registered users worldwide with over 1,200 anime titles, 200 dorama, and 80 manga currently available from a wide array of distributors such as Sentai Filmworks and Discotek Media . On September 19, 2006, Funimation created an official channel on YouTube where they upload advertisements for box sets, as well as clips and preview episodes of their licensed series. In September 2008, they began distributing full episodes of series on Hulu. In April 2009, Funimation began distributing full episodes of series at Veoh . In February 2012, Crackle began streaming select titles from Funimation, joining titles previously acquired from Funimation for their localized Animax hub. A dedicated Funimation streaming app launched for
9727-473: The United States. In 2009, they licensed Buso Renkin , Honey and Clover , Hunter × Hunter , Nana and Monster from Viz Media (their fellow rival) for the channel. They also licensed Ninja Nonsense and Boogiepop Phantom from Right Stuf Inc. 's Nozomi Entertainment division for it as well. The only title licensed for Funimation Channel which was not licensed by Funimation, neither Viz Media, nor Nozomi Entertainment or Central Park Media
9864-480: The World , with a U.S. theatrical release to take place on August 11, 2017, co-released by Funimation Films. In May 2017, it was reported that Universal Studios and Sony Pictures Television were interested in purchasing Funimation; however, Universal decided not to proceed with the bidding. On July 31, 2017, Sony Pictures Television announced that it would buy a controlling 95% stake in Funimation for $ 143 million,
10001-445: The bidding. On July 31, 2017, Sony Pictures Television announced that it would buy a controlling 95% stake in Funimation for $ 143 million, a deal that was approved by the United States Department of Justice on August 22, 2017. This deal allowed Funimation to have synergies with Sony's Animax and Kids Station divisions and "direct access to the creative pipeline". The deal was closed on October 27, 2017. On February 16, 2018, it
10138-472: The channel in February 2008. The initial incarnation of the franchise ran for four seasons, spanning 189 episodes and stimulated billions in merchandise sales. Following Bakugan , Nelvana entered into another anime co-production, this time reviving the Beyblade property with d-rights , Takara Tomy and Hasbro . Beyblade: Metal Fusion debuted globally in 2010, running for 167 episodes before inspiring
10275-716: The channel, starting with Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World on April 9, 2022. Three days later, another announcement was made in that the Funimation Shop would be moved to the Crunchyroll Store. Two weeks later, CEO Colin Decker stepped down from his position. He was replaced by COO Rahul Purini. As a result of the merger in March 2022, pre-existing titles such as My Hero Academia , Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! , and others that were streaming on Funimation remained along with newer seasons until
10412-668: The channel. The television channel was replaced by Toku , while Funimation announced plans to relaunch Funimation Channel in 2016. Back in 2007, Funimation licensed Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie , the Record of Lodoss War series, the Project A-ko series, Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer and Grave of the Fireflies from Central Park Media and played them on the Funimation Channel on television in
10549-432: The civil suit against Marchi. On October 4, 2019, the civil suit against Funimation, Rial, and Toye was dismissed. On October 24, 2019, Mignogna filed an appeal against the dismissal. On October 30, 2019, Rial, Toye, Marchi, and Funimation filed a motion to have Mignogna's appeal dismissed, which was subsequently denied. On November 5, 2019, Funimation filed a motion to recover attorney's fees, costs, and sanctions related to
10686-407: The company announced that Funimation's YouTube channel was rebranded as "Crunchyroll Dubs", and that it would serve as Crunchyroll's channel for English-dubbed content; while English-subtitled content would still be uploaded to their "Crunchyroll Collection" channel. The company also stated that they would release an English-dubbed first episode of an anime series every Saturday at 3:00 pm. ET on
10823-420: The company handling distribution and classification within the region. Madman Anime was later consolidated into Funimation in 2019. In 2005, Funimation's legal department began to pursue a more aggressive approach toward protecting the company's licensed properties. They started sending "cease and desist" (C&D) letters to sites offering links to fansubs of their titles. This move was similar to that taken by
10960-625: The company made use of lip-sync animation for a musical sequence in which the main characters sing a song at a campfire, with their horses singing along. In 1987, Michael Hirsh produced Nelvana's first self-made film of this calibre, the comedy feature Burglar , which was the first live-action feature film the company had ever produced. Also in 1987, the company, along with independent filmmaker Pierre David , film, video, and television production company Malofilm Group , and home video distributor New Star Entertainment, formed Image Organization, an independent production company that mainly specialized in
11097-549: The company on May 29, 2019, and releasing titles directly. On September 24, 2019, Sony Pictures Television and Aniplex consolidated their international anime streaming businesses, with Funimation becoming the leading company for the group. Funimation also began directly distributing its titles in Australia and New Zealand in 2017. Similar to the UK and Ireland, select titles were released through Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment from 2017 to 2018. From September 2018, Funimation transferred distribution to Madman Anime , with
11234-485: The company would work with customers to provide "appropriate value" for their digital copies. Funimation Entertainment, along with OlympuSAT, launched the Funimation Channel on September 29, 2005, the second 24-hour anime digital cable network in North America (the first being A.D. Vision 's Anime Network ). OlympuSAT was the exclusive distributor of the channel. On March 23, 2006, a syndicated block
11371-512: The company's business card ; on the front was a suited businessman, and inside was the businessman with the pants down. The company was dissolved after an ad agency advised them that the company's name was unprofessional. Nelvana was founded by Hirsh, Loubert, and Smith in 1971. Hirsh recalls: At the time, there was no production industry per se in Canada, either in animation or in television production. There were stations making local shows, but you didn't have people making programs for sale around
11508-471: The company's library of material alongside related information in a picture-in-picture format. The second, "Booknet", was to be focused on adaptations of adult and children's literature, and would have been a 60/40 joint venture between Corus Entertainment and Nelvana. The channels were approved that following November. Both licences expired as neither launched by the required date of November 24, 2004. On April 14, 2000, Nelvana announced its purchase of
11645-449: The company, with Colin Decker assuming the role of general manager in May 2019. On March 23, 2019, at AnimeJapan 2019, Funimation announced that they had partnered with Chinese streaming service Bilibili to jointly license anime titles for both the U.S. and Chinese markets. On May 29, Funimation announced that they had acquired Manga Entertainment 's UK branch , and immediately consolidated
11782-411: The first dubbed titles released being Tokyo Ghoul :re . Funimation later revealed that they would launch their Latin American services in December 2020. However, they launched their service early on November 18, 2020. On September 9, Funimation announced that they had reached a distribution partnership with Viz Media , with Viz Media titles being made available to stream on Funimation's website. The deal
11919-551: The first season of Clone High , John Callahan's Quads! , Bob & Margaret , and Committed . Nelvana International distributes three Nickelodeon shows: Taina , the first five seasons of The Fairly OddParents , and The Backyardigans (a co-production with Nick Jr. ). As of 2001 , its library comprised more than 1,650 cumulative half-hours of original programming. Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert first met as friends and partners at York University , Canada in 1967. They made films with other students. This
12056-428: The former's UK business into the latter's. On July 5, 2019, Funimation announced at Anime Expo that they had reached a streaming partnership with Right Stuf Inc. , with select titles from Nozomi Entertainment being made available on FunimationNow later in the year. On August 31, 2019, Aniplex of America announced on Twitter that they would be partnering with Funimation Films to co-release Rascal Does Not Dream of
12193-419: The former's UK business into the latter's. On July 5, 2019, Funimation announced at Anime Expo that they had reached a streaming partnership with Right Stuf , with select titles from Nozomi Entertainment being made available on FunimationNow later in the year. On August 31, 2019, Aniplex of America announced on Twitter that they would be partnering with Funimation Films to co-release Rascal Does Not Dream of
12330-461: The industry, we have agreed to do so." Sites which distribute fansubs or separate fan-created subtitles remain a frequent target of civil actions by Funimation and other anime companies, as well as criminal prosecution in at least one case. Two months after failing to sue BitTorrent users in the North Texas district, Funimation engaged in forum shopping and proceeded to sue 1,427 defendants in
12467-638: The joint venture, Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia , would receive a 30-day exclusivity on FunimationNow, AnimeLab and Wakanim, and provide Funimation exclusive rights to the English dub for one year. In December 2019, Funimation launched a "Decade of Anime" poll in which fans voted for their favorite anime across multiple categories. On January 24, 2020, Funimation announced it would be merging its online catalog into AnimeLab for Australian and New Zealand audiences, and would shut down FunimationNow for Australia and New Zealand on March 30. On May 1, 2020, Funimation announced that they formed
12604-619: The joint venture, Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia , would receive a 30-day exclusivity on FunimationNow, AnimeLab and Wakanim, and provide Funimation exclusive rights to the English dub for one year. In December, Funimation launched a "Decade of Anime" poll in which fans voted for their favorite anime across multiple categories. On January 24, 2020, Funimation announced it would be merging its online catalog into AnimeLab for Australian and New Zealand audiences, and would shut down FunimationNow for Australia and New Zealand on March 30. On May 1, Funimation announced that they formed
12741-461: The launch of a mobile video on demand service for AT&T Mobility and Sprint mobile phone subscribers. Three titles were part of the launch, Gunslinger Girl , Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase , and The Galaxy Railways , with entire seasons of each made available. Until 2016, Funimation did not directly release its properties in non-North American (English language speaking) markets, and instead sub-licensed its properties to other companies such as
12878-406: The lawsuit. On November 27, 2019, Tarrant County judge John P. Chupp ruled that Mignogna had to pay a total of $ 238,042.42 in attorney's fees and sanctions to Rial, Toye, Marchi, and Funimation. On April 24, 2019, Kojicast filed a lawsuit against Funimation claiming that the company's FunimationNow streaming service was an infringement on Kojicast's patent. On January 13, 2021, Jenisa Angeles filed
13015-465: The neighboring East Texas district for acting "in concert" to infringe copyright on The Legend Is Born: Ip Man . This case was allowed to proceed. However, the court dismissed the case against all remaining defendants with prejudice , on October 17, 2013. In November 2011, Funimation sued A.D. Vision, AEsir Holdings, Section23 Films , Valkyrie Media Partners, Seraphim Studios , Sentai Filmworks and its CEO, John Ledford and Switchblade Pictures for
13152-512: The now-defunct ADV Films several years before with several major torrent sites. Funimation's legal department served C&D letters for series that had not yet been advertised or announced as licensed, including Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle , Black Cat , and SoltyRei , with a few known series also mentioned in the letter. Funimation revealed more licenses on October 6, 2006, when it sent letters to torrent sites demanding that distribution of xxxHolic ' s TV series, Mushishi , Ragnarok
13289-411: The offer, sparking criticism from anime fans and media outlets. In February 2023, Crunchyroll laid off 85 staff as part of employee redundancy between the 12 offices including its main Dallas headquarters and Culver City offices. According to Senior Vice President of global creative marketing Markus Gerdemann on October 6, 2023, Gerdemann stated that some of Crunchyroll's fastest-growing markets outside
13426-424: The original character's voices including Harrison Ford , Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , Anthony Daniels and James Earl Jones , but also introduce audiences to the villainous bounty hunter Boba Fett , who would not make his first theatrical appearance until two years later in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back . This first animated appearance created a great buzz around the new character. Nelvana also started to use
13563-761: The partnership was hinted at, but not confirmed. Five days later, it was officially confirmed that Funimation titles would be included in the partnership. On November 24, 2020, Funimation announced they had partnered with Sunrise to stream select Gundam titles such as Mobile Suit Gundam , Mobile Suit Gundam SEED , and later Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam . Some Gundam titles already streamed on Funimation prior to said partnership like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans . On December 9, 2020, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that it would acquire Crunchyroll from AT&T 's WarnerMedia (later spun out by AT&T and merged with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery ) for
13700-406: The partnership. On November 24, Funimation announced they had partnered with Sunrise to stream select Gundam titles such as Mobile Suit Gundam , Mobile Suit Gundam SEED , and later Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam . Some Gundam titles already streamed on Funimation prior to said partnership like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans . In November 2020, it
13837-428: The polar bear as its mascot. At the beginning of the 1980s, Nelvana chose to produce its first feature film, Rock & Rule , over working on Heavy Metal , internationally-produced animated science fiction anthology. Rock & Rule was inspired by The Devil and Daniel Mouse and cost five years and $ 8 million using all of the studio's resources. The film was released by MGM/UA in 1983 with little promotion in
13974-493: The practice of SimulDubs officially continued with series such as Spy × Family , the second season of Classroom of the Elite , and Tomo-chan Is a Girl! . The streaming service was available through Funimation's official website in the United States , the United Kingdom , Canada , Ireland , Australia , New Zealand , Mexico , Chile , Colombia , Peru and Brazil . In select parts of Europe , Africa , and Asia , it
14111-584: The projects were based on books by E. B. White ( The Trumpet of the Swan ), Clive Barker ( The Thief of Always ) and Graeme Base ( The Sign of the Seahorse ); an original production called Mask Vision was also in the works. However, none of those films ever made it past the finishing stage. During the 1990s, another set of features from Nelvana was distributed by various companies. A 1993 live-action psychological thriller called Malice came out under
14248-499: The proposition. But Hirsh went up against it, arguing with then COO Eleanor Olmsted about its possible effects on his institution. Two months later Golden Books withdrew from the deal stating that they would concentrate more on children's entertainment. In November 1996, Virgin Interactive released Toonstruck , a PC -based adventure game featuring animation and artwork produced by Nelvana and Rainbow Animation. The game
14385-548: The purchase as being a complement to its children's television networks, including YTV and Treehouse . A year after Corus' purchase, co-founders and co- CEOs Loubert and Smith left the studio. Loubert voluntarily left in November after Corus eliminated 50 positions from the staff, saying "The time has come that Corus will stop acquiring for a while and start operating. John Cassaday has made that clear, but this makes my job less rather than more". In 2001, Nelvana acquired
14522-509: The rights to the English-language version of yet another anime series, Medabots . The following January, Beyblade (in association with Hasbro and Mitsubishi ) became its third such property. In October 2002, Corus announced Hirsh's resignation; the following month, Paul Robertson , former president of Corus Television and head of YTV , became leader of the studio's senior management. With Hirsh's departure, Corus announced
14659-457: The series was not distributed well, mostly due to it being in first-run syndication, and both series were cancelled in December. In September 1996, Golden Books Family Entertainment was in talks to acquire the company for US$ 102 million, just after having purchased the family video library of Broadway Video Entertainment, a subsidiary of Broadway Video . Many of the company's staff members, including Smith and Loubert, expressed interest in
14796-514: The service through Sony Pictures Entertainment from 2017 to 2019 and then through SPE and Sony Music Entertainment Japan 's Aniplex from 2019 to its closure in 2024. In 2021, Sony acquired Crunchyroll . In March 2022, Funimation Global Group, the service's parent company, was rebranded as Crunchyroll, LLC and a large majority of its catalog was moved to Crunchyroll; despite this, the Funimation streaming service remained active and continued to distribute titles that were originally licensed by
14933-598: The thriller genre and tied itself to over 100 films in the international market by 1996. Nelvana and New Star would sell their shares in the company to David and Malofilm in 1989. In 1988, Nelvana and Scholastic Corporation produced a video series of The Video Adventures of Clifford the Big Red Dog based on the 1962 book. It was also distributed by Family Home Entertainment on the video releases. The company's fourth live-action series, T. and T. , premiered in 1988 on Canada's Global network. The show's titular duo
15070-569: The time came in the form of the Care Bears , thanks to its acquisition of the character rights from American Greetings, the franchise owners. In early 1985, the first film based on the toy line turned the company's assets around, grossing US$ 23 million in the U.S., and another $ 1.5 million in its native Canada. Its tremendous success gave way to two more feature films, A New Generation and Adventure in Wonderland , as well as
15207-472: The winning short announced to be greenlit in May of that year. One of the shorts, Sidekick , was the one adapted into a successful cartoon series from 2010–2013 . In May 2006, NBCUniversal announced a joint venture with Nelvana, Ion Media Networks , Scholastic , and Classic Media , known as Qubo , which aimed to operate a multi-platform children's educational television brand in the U.S. featuring programming from its partners. In September 2006, Nelvana
15344-660: The world. So, blissfully unaware of all it would involve, we decided to start a company in Toronto. They bought ownership rights to a collection of local comic books from the 1940s and then produced a half-hour television documentary focused on Canadian comics for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Their two-year travelling tour of the art from the National Gallery of Canada , "Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941–45", gave locals
15481-739: Was Haré+Guu , which was licensed for North American distribution by AN Entertainment and Bang Zoom! Entertainment and had its North American DVD release published by Funimation, while its licensors were the producers. The only Enoki USA titles Funimation licensed for Funimation Channel were Revolutionary Girl Utena and His and Her Circumstances . Funimation's catalog of series and films, as well as official Japanese simulcasts, were available for streaming on their website and dedicated apps. They streamed over 800 titles from their catalog, Aniplex of America , Viz Media , Nozomi Entertainment , NIS America , and TMS Entertainment among other distributors. Their titles were available for streaming in
15618-438: Was Mr. T of A-Team fame, playing a former boxer named T.S. Turner, and Canadian actress Kristina Nicoll as an East Coast lawyer by the name of Terri Taler. Nelvana faced bankruptcy for the second time when the show's original U.S. distributor, Qintex Entertainment (formerly Hal Roach Studios) was going out of business; in six weeks, they were saved when they found a replacement. Also that year, Nelvana established BearSpots,
15755-480: Was Loubert's first experience with filming; he recalled: I had been hitchhiking in Europe during the previous summer, and I got a ride with an Italian film director visiting locations. I hadn't heard of him. When I got home I looked up his films – it was Gillo Pontecorvo , a brilliant political filmmaker who had directed The Battle of Algiers . That was the beginning for me. The Canadian television and film industry
15892-425: Was acquired by Navarre Corporation for US$ 100.4 million in cash and 1.8 million shares of Navarre stock. As part of the acquisition, Gen Fukunaga was retained as head of the company, transitioning to the position of CEO, and the company's name was changed from Funimation Productions to Funimation Entertainment . In 2007, Funimation moved from North Richland Hills, Texas to Flower Mound. Funimation moved into
16029-526: Was acquired by Sony Pictures Television in 2017 and rebranded to Crunchyroll, LLC in March 2022 after acquiring the streaming service of the same name and its parent Ellation in August 2021. The company also releases titles on home video either directly or by having select anime titles released through its distribution partners ( Sentai Filmworks , Viz Media , Discotek Media , and its corporate sibling, Aniplex of America in North America; Anime Limited in
16166-495: Was also announced that Funimation would be removed from Otter Media-owned streaming service VRV entirely, being replaced by Hidive . In December 2018, it was reported that another reason the partnership ended was due to a dispute concerning international expansion. On December 4, 2018, Funimation inked an exclusive multi-year first-look SVOD deal with Hulu . On February 1, 2019, Gen Fukunaga announced that he would be stepping down as general manager, and transitioning to chairman of
16303-436: Was also announced that if the sale took place, Funimation would be reclassified as a "discounted operation" starting in the first quarter of 2011. On September 16, 2010, Navarre announced that six potential buyers were interested in acquiring Funimation. In the first quarter of 2011, Navarre reclassified Funimation as "discounted operations". On April 4, 2011, Navarre released a statement announcing that Funimation had been sold to
16440-438: Was announced for Colours TV. A few months later, it was announced that the channel was launched in a few cities via VHF and UHF digital signals. Both services were discontinued in favor for a more successful expansion on digital cable, fiber optics and DBS systems. The channel launched its HD feed on September 27, 2010. On December 31, 2015, Funimation and OlympuSAT ended their deal and no longer broadcasts Funimation titles on
16577-494: Was announced that Funimation Films had picked up licensing rights for Dragon Ball Super: Broly in North America and that its English dub would premiere in theaters sometime in January 2019 in the United States and Canada , only around a month after its national premiere in Japan. On August 7, 2018, AT&T fully acquired Otter Media , owner of Crunchyroll. On October 18, 2018, Funimation and Crunchyroll announced that their partnership with would end on November 9, 2018, as
16714-418: Was announced that the Funimation app and website would shut down on April 2, 2024, and that all Funimation subscribers could choose to migrate their account data to Crunchyroll until then. As part of the merger of services, legacy Funimation subscribers would see a price increase and users would lose access to their digital library. Following complaints from users, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini stated that
16851-577: Was available via Wakanim . The Funimation app was also available on digital media players ( Apple TV , Amazon Fire TV , and Roku ), smart TVs ( Android TV , Chromecast , Samsung , and LG Electronics ), video game consoles ( PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , and Nintendo Switch ) and smartphones ( iOS , Android , and Amazon Kindle ). Nelvana Nelvana Limited ( / n ɛ l ˈ v ɑː n ə / ; sometimes known as Nelvana Enterprises or Nelvana Digital and commonly known as Nelvana ; stylized as nelvana )
16988-426: Was founded in May 1994 by Gen Fukunaga and his wife Cindy in Silicon Valley , with funding by Daniel Cocanougher and his family, who became investors in the company, which then relocated to North Richland Hills and later Flower Mound, Texas . Funimation was acquired by Navarre Corporation in May 2005; in April 2011, Navarre sold Funimation to a group of investors that included Fukunaga for $ 24 million. The company
17125-476: Was included in the acquisition. On January 25, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that they were going to release Jujutsu Kaisen 0 in theaters on March 18, 2022, in the United States and Canada. The film launched in over 1,500 theaters, as well as some IMAX theatres, in both sub and dub. They also stated that the feature would be coming soon to theaters in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and Latin America among other countries. This
17262-442: Was integrated into Corus's children's television division, headed by executive vice-president and general manager Scott Dyer who, in addition to Nelvana, oversaw YTV , Treehouse TV , and Discovery Kids Canada . A spin-off unit, Nelvana Enterprises, was created in the process, to focus on international distribution of the company's shows. Doug Murphy became president of the new distribution unit. In October 2006, Nelvana announced
17399-530: Was involved in the production of documentaries and live-action films during the early 1970s. In the area of part-time animation work, they made ten C$ 1,500 fillers for the CBC. Among the studio's first productions was a low-budget CBC short subject series, Small Star Cinema , which combined live-action and animation to tell stories of ordinary life from a child's point of view. It was followed by Nelvana's first ever television special Christmas Two Step in 1975,
17536-523: Was its animated series for children, Roseanne Barr 's Little Rosey , for the American Broadcasting Company , which was cancelled in 1991, after its first season. In Autumn 1993, Nelvana signed a multi-year project to produce five feature films for Paramount Pictures , with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall producing; the first two began production the following summer, at a cost of over US$ 20 million each. Three of
17673-550: Was later expanded to include Sonic X , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ultraman Tiga . Following the success of the 4Kids deal, Funimation entered into a strategic partnership with the Canadian-based Nelvana on September 26, 2003. The deal allowed the two companies to work on the production of prospective new anime, and for Funimation to distribute over forty-four titles from Nelvana's library on home video; including Redwall , Pecola , Tales from
17810-452: Was made after select Viz titles such as Part I of Naruto and the first 75 episodes of Hunter × Hunter were previously made available on FunimationNow. On December 2, 2020, Brazilian TV channel Loading announced a content partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Funimation titles being included in the partnership was hinted at, but not confirmed. Five days later, it was officially confirmed that Funimation titles would be included in
17947-651: Was reported that Funimation began the process of relocating to a new office building in the Cypress Waters development complex in Dallas , which opened in 2021. To unify the company's image abroad, Manga Entertainment was rebranded as Funimation UK in the UK and Ireland, on April 19, 2021, with AnimeLab relaunched under the Funimation brand in Australia and New Zealand, from June 17, 2021. Afterwards, Funimation launched their streaming services to three South American countries of Colombia, Chile, and Peru on June 16, 2021. On September 1, Funimation and Gonzo announced
18084-413: Was reported that Shout! Factory's Shout! Studios division acquired the U.S./Canadian distribution rights to Big Fish & Begonia and partnered with Funimation Films again for distribution. On July 12, 2018, it was announced that Funimation Films had picked up licensing rights for Dragon Ball Super: Broly in North America and that its English dub would premiere in theaters sometime in January 2019 in
18221-540: Was reported that another reason the partnership ended was due to a dispute concerning international expansion. On December 4, 2018, Funimation inked an exclusive multi-year first-look SVOD deal with Hulu . On March 23, 2019, at AnimeJapan 2019, Funimation announced that they had partnered with Chinese streaming service Bilibili to jointly license anime titles for both the U.S. and Chinese markets. On May 29, 2019, Funimation announced that they had acquired Manga Entertainment 's UK branch , and immediately consolidated
18358-416: Was reported to have long been deriving dubs from fansubs. Nevertheless, Funimation continues to hold their stance that fansubbing is harmful to the anime industry, stating "The practices of illegal downloads and 'fansubbing' are very harmful to our Japanese partners and [...] we have been asked to monitor and take action against unauthorized distribution of these titles. Because we believe that this will benefit
18495-556: Was set in an animated world using traditional 2D animation, but also featured the digitized likeness of actor Christopher Lloyd as a live-action character trapped in the animated world interacting with the cartoon characters around him. A sequel to the game was planned, but was cancelled due to poor sales. In 1997, a small computer animation company called Windlight Studios was absorbed into Nelvana's assets. Its co-founder, Scott Dyer, became Nelvana's senior vice-president in charge of production in late 2001. In late 1997, Nelvana and
18632-537: Was small at the time. Loubert, Hirsh, and York University friends Jack Christie and Peter Dewdney founded a small company named Laff Arts that produced small experimental films. They were joined by Vitaphone animator-designer Clive A. Smith in Toronto, Ontario ; Smith's interest was in rock n' roll music, and helped produce the Beatles ' animated series and 1968 film Yellow Submarine before moving to Canada to work on short films and commercials. Smith designed
18769-413: Was the first and only Crunchyroll film to be distributed in association with Funimation Films. On March 1, 2022, it was announced that the Funimation, Wakanim and VRV SVOD services would be consolidated into Crunchyroll. Despite this, the Funimation streaming service remained in operation, and continued to simulcast newer titles acquired by Crunchyroll, LLC after the merger. On February 7, 2024, it
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