Ellipsanime
French animation studio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ellipsanime Productions (formerly known as Le Studio Ellipse and Ellipse Programme) is a French animation studio that produces television programs and its part of entertainment production group Ellipse Animation, the animation production subsidiary of media conglomerate and publishing company Média Participations. It was founded in 1987. In February 2000 it merged with Expand SA; Expand sold the company to Dargaud in 2003, and it became Ellipsanime in 2004. In 2014, Ellipsanime bought the assets of Moonscoop SA.[1]
Ellipse Programme (1990–2000)
 Logo used since 2004 | |
| Formerly | Le Studio Ellipse (1987–1990) Ellipse Programme (1990–2000) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Animation |
| Predecessor | MoonScoop (2003–2014) |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Philippe Gildas Robert Réa |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
Key people | Caroline Duvochel (managing director) |
| Products | Animated television series Animated feature films |
| Parent | Canal+ (1987–2000) Expand SA (2000–2003) Dargaud (2003–2022) Ellipse Animation (2022–present) |
| Subsidiaries | MadLab Animations |
| Website | www |
Ellipse has worked with many other animation companies, with the most reputable being Nelvana and Nickelodeon. Ellipse was best known in North America for co-producing seasons 2-4 of Nickelodeon's Doug; it did not return to the series after The Walt Disney Company bought the Doug intellectual property and Jumbo Pictures.
On the occasion of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2022, the Média-Participations group announced the creation of an umbrella brand Ellipse Animation which brings together its production labels in France Ellipsanime Productions, Dargaud Media and Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel.[2]
History
In 1987, the company was founded by Philippe Gildas and Robert Réa under the name Ellipse Programme with Canal+ as their first owner. Three years later in 1990, Ellipse Programme entered the animation production genre by launching their own animation division.
In 1997, Ellipse Programme had merged together their animation production subsidiaries which were Alya Animation, Elma Animation and production facility Studio Ellipse into its main animation production division Ellipse Animation.
In February 2000, Canal+ announced that they've merged their subsidiary Ellipse Programme with French television production outfit Expand Images into one group under the Expand name with Ellipse Programme becoming Expand Group's own division alongside Canal+ holding a 35% stake in the Expand Group.[3][4]
In January 2003, Ellipsanime had announced that they were shutting down their executive production facility Ellipse Studio and had absorbed most of their studio's production activity including their storyboarding and 3-D rendering work under the main animation production company. A month later in February of that same year, Ellipsanime's then parent company Canal+ Group and its film production and distribution company StudioCanal under their subsidiary StudioExpand announced that they were planning to sell their animation studio Ellipsanime along with 19 other production companies that made up StudioExpand with Ellipsanime cutting down their annual series output.[5]
On July 22, 2003, it was announced that French media entertainment conglomerate Média-Participations alongside their French publishing house Dargaud had brought Ellipsanime from its previous parent company Canal+ through their division StudioExpand, the acquisition gave both Dargaud and its parent Média-Participations and another animation production studio with Dargaud assuming all ownership of Ellipsanime's production activities alongside its animated programming portfolio which joined Dargaud's own largest animation and production division Dargaud Marina with its distribution division Dargaud Distribution (now Mediatoon Distribution) taking over Ellipsanime's production library along with their future projects.[6][7]
In January 2011, Ellipsanime was planning to produce a new adaptation of the French/Belgian comic book series Cubitis with Média-Participations' fellow animation production studio Storimages according to Ellipsanime's former website with the titular character being placed onto the background of another show The Garfield Show with him dancing, but since then they had no plans to produce the new adaptation of Cubitis.[8] Four months later in May of that year, Ellipsanime partnered with Vancoucer-based Canadian animation studio Atomic Cartoons to produce the animated series for Teletoon entitled Pirate Express which was originally a French/Canadian co-production.[9] However two years later in July 2013, Ellipsanime depatured the animated series when Pirate Express was greenlighted as Sydney-based Australian animation & production company Sticky Pictures taken over the series and was turned into an Australian/Canadian co-production.[10]
In January 2014, Ellipsanime announced that under the Paris bankruptcy court they've acquired the assets of French animation and production group MoonScoop which went into bankruptcy administration in July 2013 with Ellipsanime retaining two of MoonScoop's then-remaining employees and taken over MoonScoop's production library with Dargaud's international distribution division Mediatoon Distribution taking over MoonScoop's programming catalog except their American division which was split.[11] One year later in October 2015 following Ellipsanime's acquisition of MoonScoop's programming library, they partnered with Indian animation studio DQ Entertainment and German production & distribution unit ZDF Enterprises to produce the third season of The Jungle Book, marking Ellipsanime Productions' only series that was inherited from MoonScoop.[12]
In October 2017, Ellipsanime Productions had partnered with independent game publishing and digital entertainment company Ankama to establish a joint venture 2D animation production studio based in Roubaix, Hauts-de-France named MadLab Animations to handle the two animation studios' own production services alongside Média-Participations' fellow main Paris and Angoulême-based animation production studio Ellipse Studio for the former.[13]
In December 2019, following the departure of Média-Participations' previous CEO and president of its animation production companies and their Paris and Angoulême-based animation production studio Ellipse Studio Maïa Tubiana back in September of that same year, Ellipsanime Productions' parent company Média-Participations announced that they've hired Caroline Duvochel as their new CEO of Média-Participations' animation production activities namely Ellipsanime Productions (along with their Roubaix-based joint venture animation studio MadLab Animations), Dargaud Media and French/Belgian audiovisuel production company Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel along with its Paris and Angoulême-based in-house animation production studio Ellipse Studio. Former Tele Images Productions and Zodiak Kids director of animation productions and former Watch Next Media studio director Jules Garcia became Paris and Angoulême-based animation production studio Ellipse Studio's newly created position of directors[14]
In May 2021, Ellipsanime Productions's parent company Média-Participations announced that they've hired former Cyber Group Studios executive Caroline Audebert as their deputy head of Média-Participations' new division Média-Participations Development and Innovation which was being headed by Julien Papelier with Caroline Audebert overseeing Média-Participations' own animation production subsidiaries including Ellipsanime Productions (including their Roubaix-based joint venture animation studio MadLab Animations), Dargaud Media and French/Belgian audiovisuel production company Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel alongside their in-house Paris and Angoulême-based animation production studio Ellipse Studio.[15]
In June 2022 during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Ellipsanime Productions alongside their parent Media Participations announced that they were bringing their French animation production labels (which were Ellipsanime Productions (including their Roubaix-based joint venture animation studio MadLab Animations), Dargaud Media and French/Belgian audiovisuel production company Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel) alongside their in-house Paris and Angoulême-based animation production studio Ellipse Studio under one umbrella group named Ellipse Animation, returning to the Ellipse Animation name after 24 years with Ellipsanime Productions being placed under Ellipse Animation as their production label.[16]
In January 2024, Ellipsanime Productions's parent company Ellipse Animation announced that they have acquired a majority stake in Milan-based Italian production company Studio Campedelli, expanding Ellipse Animation's production activities for the first time and their first expansion into the Italian animation production services with Studio Campedelli being placed under Ellipse Animation as their own subsidiary with Studio Campedelli CEOs Anne-Sophie Vanhollebeke and Valeria Brambilla continued leading the Italian animation studio under Ellipse giving them an Italian animation production company outside of France.[17] A week later Ellipse Animation announced that they've expanded their operations into webtoons by launching a production division dedicated to animated series based on digital comics and will sit under Ellipse Animation's own animation production studio Ellipse Studio Angoulême.[18]
Filmography
TV series
| Title | Year(s) | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Pet Monster | 1987 | ABC Global Television Network (Canada) | co-production with Nelvana, Golden Books and Hi-Tops Video |
| Zorro | 1990–1993 | The Family Channel | co-production with New World Television, Zorro Productions and Goodman/Rosen Productions |
| Doug | 1991–1994 | Nickelodeon |
|
| Rupert | 1991–1997 |
| |
| The Adventures of Tintin | 1991–1992 | France 3 Global Television Network (Canada) | co-production with Nelvana |
| Quarxs | 1993 | Canal+ and France 3 | co-production with Z.A Production |
| Orson and Olivia | 1994 |
| |
| Tom & Pippo[19] | 1994–1997 | France 3 | under Ellipse License and Elma Animation with Les Cartooneurs Associés, Canal+ D.A and TAL Productions |
| The Neverending Story | 1995 |
| co-production with Nelvana and CineVox |
| Mot | 1996 | France 3 & Canal+ | co-production with UFA |
| Blazing Dragons | 1996–1998 | Canal+/France 3/M6 Teletoon (Canada) CITV (United Kingdom) | co-production with Nelvana and Carlton Television |
| Blake and Mortimer | 1997 | Canal+ | co-production with Dargaud Films and Cactus Animation |
| Nanook's Great Hunt | 1997–1998 | TF1 Teletoon | co-production with Medver International and Mediatoon |
| Fennec | 1997–1998 | France 3 | co-production with Cactus Animation and Motion International |
| Bob Morane[20] | 1998 | Canal+ Super Écran (Canada) | co-production with Cactus Animation |
| Trouble with Sophie | 1998–1999 | France 3 & Canal J | under Ellipse Story and Alya Animation co-production with Medialab |
| Fracasse | 1999–2000 | France 2 | co-production with D'Ocon Films |
| Pirate Family | 1999–2004 | France 3 Radio-Canada (Canada) | |
| Kong: The Animated Series | 2000–2001 | M6 | co-production with BKN International |
| Nick & Perry | M6 Kika (Germany) | co-production with EM.TV & Merchandising AG and Victory Media Group Owned by Studio 100 | |
| Babar[21] | 2001 | France 3 TVOntario (Canada) | co-production with Nelvana and Kodansha |
| The Funny Little Bugs[22] | 2001 | France 3 | |
| Xcalibur | 2001–2002 | Canal+ & France 2 YTV (Canada) | co-production with TVA International (episodes 1–25) and Tooncan Productions (episodes 26–40) |
| Agrilppine | 2001 | Canal+ Arte France | |
| Corto Maltese | 2003–2004 | Canal+/France 2 Rai 3 (Italy) | co-production with Rai Fiction and Pomalux |
| The Frog Show | 2003–2005 | M6 | co-production with D'Ocon Films and Agogo |
| Miss BG[23][24] | 2005–2006 | France 5 Tiji TVOntario (Canada) | co-production with Breakthrough Films & Television and Def2shoot |
| Yakari | 2005–2017 | France 3|La Deux/La Une|WDR (Germany) |
|
| Potlach | 2006 | France 3 Rai 3 (Italy) | co-production with Rai Fiction |
| The Magic Roundabout[25][26][27] | 2007–2009 | M6 & Playhouse Disney France Nick Jr. (United Kingdom) | co-production with Films Action and Play Production |
| Inami[28] | 2007–2008 | TF1 | co-production with Seahorse Animation |
| Bird Squad[29] | 2008–2009 | Rai 2 (Italy) | co-production with Toposodo, Araneo and Rai Fiction |
| Taratabong[30][31] | 2009 | Rai 3 | co-production with Toposodo and Rai Fiction |
| Chumballs[32] | France 5 | co-production with Les Films de la Perrine | |
| Contraptus[33] | 2009–2010 | Canal J & Gulli | co-production with Le Lombard |
| The Jungle Book[34] | 2010–2020 | TF1/Piwi+ Nickelodeon India (India) ZDF (Germany) | inherited from MoonScoop co-production with Les Cartooneurs Associés, DQ Entertainment and ZDF Enterprises |
| Chicken Town[35][36] | 2011 | Canal+ Family & OCS | co-production with 1st Day Studios and Araneo Based on the short of the same name by Klasky Csupo |
| Kinky and Cosy | 2014 | OCS | co-production with Belvision |
| Boule et Bill | 2016–2018 | France 3/Piwi+ RTBF (Belgium) | co-production with Dargaud Media and Belvision |
| The Fox/Badger Family | 2018–2022 | France 5 | co-production with Dargaud Media and Philm CGI |
| Kid Lucky[37] | 2020 | M6 Rai Gulp (Italy) | co-production with Dargaud Media, Belvision and Rai Ragazzi |
| The Smurfs[38] | 2021–present | TF1 La Trois & Ketnet (Belgium) Kika (Germany) Nickelodeon (International) | continued from Dargaud Media and Les Cartooneurs Associés from season 3 onwards co-production with Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel and Peyo Productions |
| Living with Dad[39] | 2022–present | M6, Canal J & Gulli La Trois (Belgium) | co-production with Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel and Belvision Based on the comic book series Dad by Nob |
| Belfort & Lupin[40] | 2025–present |
| co-production with Dargaud Media, Belvision and Mediatoon Distribution |
Films
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babar: The Movie | July 28, 1989 | Fourm Distribution Astral Films (Canada) | co-production with Nelvana and The Clifford Ross Company |
| Becassine and the Viking Treasure | December 12, 2001 | Gebaka Films | co-production with Home Made Movies and Image Film |