Hyperion Pictures
American film production and distribution company
title: "Hyperion Pictures" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hyperion-pictures", "1984-establishments-in-california", "american-companies-established-in-1984", "mass-media-companies-established-in-1984", "american-independent-film-studios", "film-production-companies-based-in-california", "entertainment-companies-established-in-1984", "privately-held-companies-based-in-los-angeles", "television-production-companies-based-in-california"] description: "American film production and distribution company" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Pictures" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American film production and distribution company ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Hyperion Pictures |
| foundation | |
| location | Los Angeles, California |
| key_people | Thomas L. Wilhite |
| Willard Carroll | |
| Chris Young | |
| industry | Filmmaking |
| subsid | Hyperion Animation |
| Jambalaya Studios | |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Hyperion Pictures | foundation = | defunct = | location = Los Angeles, California | key_people = Thomas L. Wilhite Willard Carroll Chris Young | industry = Filmmaking | parent = | owner = | subsid = Hyperion Animation Jambalaya Studios | website = Hyperion Pictures (also known as Hyperion Films or Hyperion Studios or Hyperion Animation) is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Thomas L. Wilhite, who had previously been the head of motion picture and television production for The Walt Disney Company, and writer/director Willard Carroll. The company produces both live-action and animated productions such as The Brave Little Toaster and The Runestone.
History
A subsidiary of the company is its animation division, Hyperion Animation Company, Inc. which has produced animated feature films and television series, including its most successful media franchises: The Brave Little Toaster, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue, The Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Oz Kids. In 1998, the company produced the live-action film Playing by Heart for Miramax. Also, on December 9, 1998, it signed a deal with Showtime in order to develop a telefilm based on the hit book series Bad News Ballet.
On October 5, 1999, Hyperion, along with Disney's animation designer Bruce W. Smith, launched a joint venture Jambalaya Studio to produce shows aimed at a black audience. On September 22, 2002, Hyperion Pictures decided to expand into a memoir and a series of pulp novels into feature film production.
The studio has been dormant since 2007, but their website was updated in 2019, stating that it was under construction. It then returned a year later. However, the company is not involved with The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
Accolades
The first Brave Little Toaster received an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program nomination and a Special Jury recognition from the Sundance Film Festival.
List of notable Hyperion features and television productions
Feature films
- Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986, with The Kushner-Locke Company)
- The Runestone (1990)
- Playing by Heart (1998, with Miramax)
- Tom's Midnight Garden (1999)
- My Louisiana Sky (2001)
- Three Way (2004, with Brainstorm Media)
- Marigold (2007)
Short films
- Chunks of Life (1994, with MTV)
- The Need (2006)
Television series
- Amazing Stories (1985–1987) - Season 2, Episode 16: "Family Dog" (1987, with NBC, Universal Television, Amblin Entertainment and The Kushner-Locke Company)
- Bone Chillers (1996, with ABC)
- ARK, the Adventures of Animal Rescue Kids (1997–1998, with Discovery Kids)
List of Hyperion Animation productions
Television series
::data[format=table]
| Title | Year(s) | Network | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Itsy Bitsy Spider | 1993–1996 | USA Network | Paramount Television | |
| Life with Louie | 1994–1998 | Fox Kids | Fox Children's Productions | |
| The Anderson/Hassan Company | ||||
| The Adventures of Hyperman | 1995–1996 | CBS | Columbia TriStar Television | |
| Illumination Studios | ||||
| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | 1995–2000 | HBO | Two Oceans Entertainment Group | |
| Confetti Entertainment Company | ||||
| The Oz Kids | 1996–1997 | Direct-to-video | Meldac | |
| Canal + D.A. | ||||
| Wang Film Productions | ||||
| The Proud Family | 2001–2005 | Disney Channel | ||
| ABC Kids | Walt Disney Television Animation | |||
| Jambalaya Studios | ||||
| Da Boom Crew | 2004 | Kids' WB | Berliner Film Company | |
| Jambalaya Studios | ||||
| :: |
Television specials
::data[format=table]
| Title | Release date | Network | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sissy Duckling | 1999 | HBO | ||
| :: |
Television films
::data[format=table]
| Title | Release date | Network | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Proud Family Movie | 2005 | Disney Channel | Walt Disney Television Animation | |
| Jambalaya Studios | ||||
| :: |
Direct-to-video films
::data[format=table]
| Title | Release date | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue | 1997 | Walt Disney Home Video | |
| The Kushner-Locke Company | |||
| The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars | 1998 | ||
| We Wish You a Merry Christmas | 1999 | Family Home Entertainment | |
| Jingle Bells | 1999 | ||
| O' Christmas Tree | 1999 | ||
| The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas! | 1999 | Artisan Entertainment | |
| The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina | 2002 | Miramax Films | |
| :: |
Theatrical films
::data[format=table]
| Title | Release date | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Brave Little Toaster | 1987 | The Kushner-Locke Company | |
| Rover Dangerfield | 1991 | Warner Bros. Pictures | |
| The Kushner-Locke Company | |||
| Robin Harris' Bebe's Kids | 1992 | Paramount Pictures | |
| Jambalaya Studios | |||
| :: |
Short films
::data[format=table]
| Title | Release date | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Itsy Bitsy Spider | 1992 | Paramount Pictures | |
| 1001 Nights: An Animation Symphony | 1998 | Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra | |
| :: |
References
References
- [https://www.awn.com/blog/brave-little-toaster-1987 THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER (1987) (***). Animation World Network]
- Carver, Benedict. (1998-05-07). "Edwards into 'Dancing'".
- Madigan, Nick. (1998-12-10). "Showtime on toes for 'Ballet' telepic".
- Adalian, Josef. (1999-10-05). "Jambalaya cooks up multi-ethnic toons".
- Dunkley, Cathy. (2002-09-22). "Hyperion to pound pulp into pix".
- [https://www.emmys.com/shows/brave-little-toaster The Brave Little Toaster. Television Academy]
- [https://history.sundance.org/films/938/the_brave_little_toaster The Brave Little Toaster. Sundance Institute]
- (May 11, 2020). "Happily Ever After Hours".
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