Loonland Animation Ltd. RG Prince Films Salsa Entertainment SRE Corporation Sunbow Entertainment Telemagination Metrodome Distribution
TV-Loonland AG was a German branding and management company that specialized in the production of children's programmes. The company's offices were located in Europe (Paris, Munich and London). The company's mascot is a sheep on a blue dome.
History
TMO Film GmbH was founded by Peter Volkle in 1989.[2] The company first began working on animated content within this time, and by 1993 began to produce popular animated content. The company then released its first film - Die Schelme von Schelm, in 1995. In the same year, the company opened up an animation studio in Hungary called Loonland Animation in Hungary which TMO later purchased a stake in. The company then rebranded as TMO-Loonland Film GmbH in 1997. The company later purchased a stake in RG Prince Films in Korea, and increased the number of programmes being produced.[3]
At the start of 2000, the company was rebranded to TV-Loonland AG.[3] In March 2000, the company announced their plans to go public at the end of the month, and signed a first-look distribution deal with Sony Wonder for German-speaking and certain CEE regions.[4] The company also began to search for a UK sales agent for a planned expansion to the United Kingdom.[5] In September 2000, the company purchased British animation studio Telemagination.[6] In April 2000, Alliance Atlantis subsidiary AAC Kids signed a European co-financing and distribution deal with TV-Loonland.[7]
On October 3, 2000, following their initial distribution deal months prior, TV-Loonland announced they had purchased Sony Wonder's television business assets. The deal included full ownership in animation studio Sunbow Entertainment, alongside a programming library that included shows based on Hasbro properties.[8][9] In exchange for the purchase, Sony Wonder retained North American home video rights to their catalogue and worldwide music rights.
On May 15, 2001, the company shuttered Family Harbour.[1]
In November 2001, Loonland purchased a 29.9% stake in UK distributor Metrodome Distribution.[10] This stake was later increased to a 54.4% operational control within the company by August 2002,[11] and then a 75% stake by January 2003.[12] However, by 2007, this stake was reduced to 61.2%.
In August 2005, Loonland was sued by shareholder group Aktieninvestor.com, after the company deliberately excused them from its AGM in August 2005, following violation of Section 21 of the Securities Trading Act when the latter tried to apply a hostile takeover within Loonland. The lawsuit ended in favour of TV-Loonland.[13] On September 27, 2005, the company launched a feature-film division called Loonland Pictures, and signed deals with the local branch of 20th Century Fox and NFP Marketing as marketing and distribution partners for the companies' movies, the first of which being Heidi, which would be released theatrically in the country at the end of the year.[14]
In October 2007, TV-Loonland announced they would sell off their 61.2% stake in Metrodome Distribution.[15] In May 2008, Romanian company MediaPro purchased 50.1% of Loonland's shares in Metrodome for £3.2 Million, leaving them with 11.6% which MediaPro could purchase out in the future.[16]
On May 14, 2008, Hasbro acquired the Sunbow programs based on its properties, which are now part of the Hasbro Entertainment library.[17][18][19][20]
In December 2009, TV-Loonland announced they would file for bankruptcy protection.[21] On April 5, 2011, most of Loonland's catalogue and remaining assets were sold to a fellow German entertainment company called m4e AG.[22]
In February 2017, Studio 100 acquired a majority stake in m4e AG.[23] Currently, Studio 100 owns the rights to most of the Loonland catalogue.
Programmes
Original
Small Stories (1995-1998, as TMO Film, co-production with Les Films de l’Arlequin, in association with ARD, France 3, Canal J and EVA Entertainment)
Tigerenten Club (1996, as TMO Film; "Janosch, Tigerente und Frosch" sequences)
Robin (1996, as TMO Film, co-production with Happy Life)
Ned's Newt (1997, as TMO Film (Series 1) and TMO-Loonland Film (Series 2–3), co-production with Nelvana and Studio B Productions (Series 2). Also held European distribution rights)
Letters From Felix (2001, Series 1 only, co-production with NDF, Caligari Film GmbH and ZDF. Series 2 produced by Mondo TV)
The Fantastic Flying Journey (2001, co-production with Two Sides TV. Also held French-speaking, German-speaking, Eastern European, Scandinavian and Beneluxian distribution rights)[24]
