CinéGroupe Corporation (or simply CinéGroupe and formerly known as Ciné-Groupe, stylized in all caps) is a Canadian animation studio and production company based in Montreal, Quebec. The company was founded in 1974.[1] Its shows and films have been seen in over 125 countries.[1]
CinéGroupe was founded in 1974 by Jacques Pettigrew.
In August 1998, Fox Family Worldwide purchased a 20% minority stake in the company although CinéGroupe remained as a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment, which owned 40% of the studio.[4][5]
In January 2001, the studio formed a production and distribution joint-venture with Telescene, with the first production under it being the third series of Big Wolf on Campus. CinéGroupe would hold an 80% stake while Telescene would hold 20%.[6] That July, Lions Gate's ownership of the studio was confirmed to have been reduced to 30%, with Lions Gate president Andre Link having 50% of its voting stock, leading to the studio being a partner of Lions Gate instead of a subsidiary.[7] In September, the company formed a division called CinéGroupe Image to expand to live-action programming.[8]
In October 2002, the company united with the music label Les Disques Star Records Inc. to create a home video distributor called CinéGroupe Star.[9] The following month, the company announced the production of Britney Spears cartoon,[10] but the project never came to fruition.
Between 2002 and 2003, CinéGroupe developed three video games for the Game Boy Advance: Tom and Jerry in Infurnal Escape, Dora the Explorer: The Search for Pirate Pig's Treasure (both 2002 and published by NewKidCo), and Dora the Explorer: Super Spies (2003; published by Gotham Games).[11]
By December 2003, Lions Gate Entertainment's stake in the studio was reduced further to 29.4%.[12]
In January 2004, the CinéGroupe Star joint venture with Star Records was folded.[citation needed] The same month, in the wake of production cuts, the studio filed for a protection order from its creditors with the Quebec Superior Court.[13]
In 2018, CinéGroupe co-produced Tshakapesh, a 2D-animated series based on an Innu legend, which has aired on APTN and Radio-Canada. Two edutainment IPs are currently being developed by CinéGroupe, aiming at raising awareness about water preservation and environmental protection. CinéGroupe is also viewing revivals and revitalization of their old properties.[14]
Library
Distribution
CinéGroupe is currently partnered with HG Distribution (Henry Gagnon Distribution) for the distribution of its library,[15] but only a portion of CinéGroupe's catalogue is listed for distribution by HG. Several notable titles such as Bad Dog, Daft Planet, and The Tofus are not listed,[16] as are live-action series, such as Big Wolf on Campus.[17]
