- Main article: [[DIC Entertainment]]
| DiC Entertainment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Former Type | LLC |
| Industry | Animation, Production, Children's |
| Fate | Merged into Cookie Jar Group |
| Successor | Cookie Jar Entertainment |
| Founded | 1971 (Paris, France), 1982 (USA) |
| Founder(s) | Jean Chalopin |
| Defunct | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California, USA |
| Key People | Chairman & CEO: Andy Heyward |
| Products | Children's television shows |
DIC Entertainment (which is pronounced as "deek") was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated (and occasionally live-action) television shows such as Ulysses 31 and (1980), Inspector Gadget (1983–1986), DIC produced live-action feature films while under Disney, including 1998's Meet the Deedles and 1999's Inspector Gadget.
It was founded in 1971 as DIC Audiovisuel by Frenchman Jean Chalopin in Paris, as a subsidiary of Radio-Television Luxembourg (RTL). "DIC" was originally an acronym for Diffusion, Information et Communication. The company was also known as The Incredible World of DIC, D.I.C. Audiovisual, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City and DIC Productions. In 2008, DiC merged with Cookie Jar Group and then was absorbed into Cookie Jar Entertainment.
History[]
1980s[]
Its American arm was founded in 1982 as DIC Enterprises. The company's United States headquarters, established in 1982 and headed by Andy Heyward, Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi, in Burbank, California. In 1986, Andy Heyward and other investors bought the company, thus making the US headquarters the main base of operations. Chalopin and Bianchi left around this time, so did formally producer Tetsuo Katayama, in favor of Robby London and Michael Maliani. After the buy out, the company had heavy debt and sold the foreign rights to the DIC library to Saban Productions, who then sold the rights back to Jean Chalopin. At the time Andy Heyward considered Jean Chalopin an enemy, DIC sued Saban for damages and in 1991, DIC and Saban reached a settlement. In 1989, the company's name changed to DiC Animation City.
1990s[]
In 1993, DIC Animation City and Capital Cities/ABC formed a joint venture called DIC Entertainment LP and in 1995 it became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.
2000s[]
In 2000 with an investment by Bain Capital, Heyward re-purchased DIC Enterprises. He purchased Bain Capital's interest in 2004 and took the company public the following year. In 2003 DIC launched a syndicated children's programming block called DiC Kids Network. In early 2006, DIC Entertainment and CBS Corporation signed a multi-year deal to unveil a new 3-hour long programming block for Saturday mornings on CBS. The resulting KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS was launched the following fall On September 15, 2007, a new programming block: KEWLopolis premiered, a joint venture between DIC, CBS, and American Greetings. In April 2007, DIC Entertainment, Corus Entertainment's Nelvana and Sparrowhawk Media Group announced plans to launch KidsCo a new international children's entertainment network. On June 20, 2008, it was announced that DIC Entertainment and Cookie Jar Group were merging. On July 23, 2008, Cookie Jar and DIC completed their merger, and DIC was finally folded into Cookie Jar Entertainment. DiC now remains an in-credit name only.
External links[]
- DIC Entertainment (Archive)
- Streaming Episodes
- DIC Entertainment Cartoons at the Big Cartoon Database
- DIC Entertainment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia