# Film Roman

Film Roman, LLC, is an American animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and currently by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of producer Steve Waterman.
Founded by veteran animator and director Phil Roman on October 26, 1984, it is best known for providing animation for the Garfield primetime specials, based on Jim Davis' comic strip of the same name. The studio also produced the animated series The Simpsons, The Critic, King of the Hill, Family Guy, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, The Goode Family, and Dan Vs..

## History
### Background

Phil Roman, veteran alumnus of MGM Animation/Visual Arts and Bill Melendez Productions, founded Film Roman on October 26, 1984 as a means to continue the production of the Garfield television specials, since Melendez's own studio was unable to work on both the Peanuts and Garfield specials. Peanuts executive producers Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez and their aforementioned studio had produced the first two Garfield specials, but due to both Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz' and Garfield creator Jim Davis' concerns about conflicting interests in allocating production priority at Melendez's boutique studio, the production had to be moved. While he was leaving him and Melendez for his already-established studio, Roman was offered the opportunity to produce the next Garfield prime time special, Garfield in the Rough (1984), for CBS by Mendelson, which he accepted and went on to produce and direct all by himself, winning an Emmy in the process.

### Formation

In 1985, CBS' head of children's programming Judy Price had commissioned an animated television series based on the Garfield prime time special series, later ultimately titled Garfield and Friends, which took three years for Roman to decide developing and producing the program before it eventually aired on the network's Saturday morning time slot, premiering on September 17, 1988. The aforementioned show was Film Roman's first regular series. In 1986, in an effort to expand and diversify the studio, Roman hired Marvel Productions VP of Business Affairs and his own personal attorney, Michael Wahl, as President and Bill Schultz, Marvel's Director of Development, to join in the company as the fledgling studio's VP of Production and Development. Garfield and Friends was expanded to an hour on CBS' number one rated Saturday Morning block and the studio grew to increase its capacity.
In 1988, the new management team developed, sold and produced a new series, Bobby's World, to the brand new Fox Kids Network, headed up by former Marvel Productions president Margaret Loesch. In 1992 to 2016, Film Roman took over the source production of 20th Century Fox's The Simpsons from Klasky-Csupo who had produced the one-minute teaser cartoon shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show as well as the animation for the first three seasons and the first two episodes of the fourth season (in total 61 episodes). The studio went on to grow and produce many popular animated series now seen all around the world.
In 1999, Film Roman's founder Phil Roman left and sold the company to form Phil Roman Entertainment, the studio that produced Christmas television specials including Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (2000), but he remained a shareholder of the company and then subsequently rejoined in 2001 as a member of the company's board of directors
At the same time, it attempted to get into the syndication market with the launch of Max Degree TV, which would have consisted of three shows, Mission Extreme from Steve Tisch, Skins from the Deep from SFX artist Steve Wang, and a new Wes Archer cartoon Victor, but it never got off the ground.
In April 2000, The Harvey Entertainment Company became Film Roman's international sales representative and distributor in an effort for the former to branch out of its existing properties. Within the same year, India-based software firm Pentamedia Graphics attempted to acquire 51% stake in the studio for $15 million, but the deal later terminated in 2001.

### IDT Entertainment and Starz ownership

In May 2003, the Digital Production Solutions division of IDT Corporation (formed in 2002) announced that it would acquire a 51% controlling interest and stake in Film Roman, which would temporarily renamed as DPS Film Roman, and the studio later became part of the newly-formed IDT Entertainment division in November that year.
In May 2006, IDT sold the IDT Entertainment division, which includes Film Roman, to Liberty Media for $186 million, the sale was completed on August 31, 2006, which resulted in IDT Entertainment becoming part of Starz Entertainment Group and renamed as Starz Media.

### Waterman Entertainment ownership

In 2015, Film Roman was acquired from its parent company Starz Distribution by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of executive producer Steve Waterman. As such, it now does business with Starz, which owns the company's catalogue.
On November 22, 2016, the company formed a joint venture based in Tijuana, called Film Roman Baja J.V. (also known as Film Roman Baja Productions), with Boxel Studios, a Baja California-based animation facility.

### Location

The original studio was located on Riverside Drive in Toluca Lake, California, where Roman was also joined by Melendez producer Lee Mendelson. Years later, the studio moved to a new location on Chandler Blvd. in Studio City, before settling into another location at Starz Plaza on Hollywood Way in Burbank, which it shared with the former Hub Network and Hasbro Studios/Allspark, and finally settling into its present location in Woodland Hills.

## Notable former members

* Jess Espanola (King of the Hill, The Simpsons, Futurama)
* Matt Groening
* Rich Moore (The Simpsons, The Critic, Futurama)
* Bill Schultz

## Television series

| Show | Creator(s) | Year(s) | Co-production(s) | Notes |
| Garfield and Friends | Jim Davis | 1988–1994 | United Media Productions (seasons 1–6) Lee Mendelson Film Productions (seasons 2–7) Paws, Inc. | Currently distributed by 9 Story Media Group |
| Bobby's World | Howie Mandel | 1990–1998 | Alevy Productions Fox Children's Productions | Currently distributed by Splash Entertainment |
| Zazoo U | Shane DeRolf | 1990–1991 | Fox Children's Productions | Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| Mother Goose and Grimm | Mike Peters | 1991–1993 | Tribune Media Services Grimmy, Inc. Lee Mendelson Film Productions MGM/UA Television Production Group | |
| The Simpsons | Matt Groening | 1992–2016 | Gracie Films 20th Television | Production seasons 4–27 only Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| Animated Classic Showcase | | 1993–1994 | Soyuzmultfilm | |
| Cro | Mark Zaslove | 1993–1994 | Children's Television Workshop | |
| Mighty Max | Mark Zaslove Rob Hudnut | 1993–1994 | Bluebird Toys Canal+ D.A. Bohbot Entertainment | |
| The Critic | Al Jean Mike Reiss | 1994–1995 | Gracie Films Columbia Pictures Television | Currently distributed by Sony Pictures Television |
| The Baby Huey Show | Bob Jaques | 1995 | Carbunkle Cartoons (season 1) Harveytoons Claster Television | Season 2 only Currently distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios |
| The Mask: Animated Series | Duane Capizzi | 1995–1997 | Dark Horse Entertainment Sunbow Entertainment New Line Television | Currently distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution |
| Klutter! | David Silverman Savage Steve Holland | 1995–1996 | Savage Studios Fox Children's Productions | As part of Eek! Stravaganza Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat | Pat Sullivan Otto Messmer Joseph Oriolo | 1995–1997 | Felix the Cat Productions | Currently distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios |
| C Bear and Jamal | Earl Richey Jones Todd R. Jones | 1996–1997 | TaurusFilm | |
| Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm | Sean Catherine Derek | 1996 | Threshold Entertainment New Line Television USA Studios | Currently distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution |
| Richie Rich | Timothy Williams | 1996 | Harveytoons Claster Television | Currently distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios |
| Bruno the Kid | Joel Madison | 1996–1997 | Camelot Entertainment Sales Active Entertainment | |
| King of the Hill | Mike Judge Greg Daniels | 1997–2010 | Deedle-Dee Productions Judgemental Films 3 Arts Entertainment 20th Television (1997-2010) | Originally cancelled in 2010, a revival is currently in production on Hulu Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| The Mr. Potato Head Show | Dan Clark Doug Langdale | 1998–1999 | Hasbro | |
| Family Guy | Seth MacFarlane | 1999–2000 | Fuzzy Door Productions 20th Television | Production season 1 only Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| Mission Hill | Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein | 1999–2002 | Bill Oakley/Josh Weinstein Productions Castle Rock Entertainment | Currently distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution |
| The Man Show | Adam Carolla Jimmy Kimmel Daniel Kellison | 1999–2002 | Jackhole Industries (seasons 1-5) Stone Stanley Entertainment Comedy Partners | Animation Currently distributed by Eagle Rock Entertainment |
| X-Men: Evolution | Marty Isenberg Robert N. Skir David Wise | 2000–2003 | Marvel Studios | Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| The Oblongs | Angus Oblong Jace Richdale | 2001–2002 | Jobsite Productions Mohawk Productions Warner Bros. Television | Currently distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution |
| Free For All | Brett Merhar | 2003 | Showtime Networks | |
| Charlie's Angels: Animated Adventures | Ivan Goff Ben Roberts | 2003 | Sony Pictures Digital Hilltop New Media, Inc. | Web series Based on Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle |
| Tripping the Rift | Chris Moeller Chuck Austen | 2004–2007 | Space Teletoon (season 3) CinéGroupe | |
| Eloise: The Animated Series | Kay Thompson Hilary Knight | 2006 | HandMade Films | |
| Law & Order | Dick Wolf | 2006 | Wolf Films NBC Universal Television Studio | Visual effects |
| Eon Kid | Designstorm | 2006–2007 | Manga Entertainment BRB Internacional Daiwon Designstorm Screen 21 TVE | English dub |
| Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! | Bob Boyle | 2006–2010 | Bolder Media | |
| Slacker Cats | Andy Riley Kevin Cecil | 2007–2009 | Laika ABC Family | |
| The Goode Family | Mike Judge John Altschuler Dave Krinsky | 2009 | Ternion Pictures 3 Arts Entertainment Judgemental Films Media Rights Capital | Currently distributed by Shout! Factory |
| The Super Hero Squad Show | Stan Lee | 2009–2011 | Ingenious Media (season 1) Marvel Animation | Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes | Ciro Nieli Joshua Fine Christopher Yost | 2010–2012 | Ingenious Media (season 1) Marvel Animation | Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| Dan Vs. | Dan Mendel Chris Pearson | 2011–2013 | The Hatchery | |
| Beavis and Butt-Head | Mike Judge | 2011 | Ternion Pictures 3 Arts Entertainment Judgemental Films MTV Production Development | Season 8 only |
| Ultimate Spider-Man | Marvel Animation | 2012–2017 | Marvel Animation | Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | Paul Dini Henry Gilroy Marvel Animation | 2013–2015 | Marvel Animation | Currently distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution |
| Camp WWE | Seth Green | 2016–2018 | Stoopid Buddy Stoodios WWE Studios | |
| Heathcliff | George Gately | TBA | Creators Syndicate | |
| This Modern World | Tom Tomorrow | TBA | | |
| The Untamed | | TBA | | |

## Films and specials

| Title | Year | Co-production(s) | Notes |
| Garfield in the Rough | 1984 | United Media | The studio's inaugural production |
| Garfield's Halloween Adventure | 1985 | United Media | |
| Garfield in Paradise | 1986 | United Media | |
| Garfield Goes Hollywood | 1987 | United Media | |
| A Garfield Christmas | 1987 | United Media Paws, Inc. | |
| Happy Birthday, Garfield | 1988 | Paws, Inc. | |
| Garfield: His 9 Lives | 1988 | United Media Paws, Inc. | |
| Garfield's Babes and Bullets | 1989 | United Media Paws, Inc. | |
| The Pink Panther | 1989 | MGM Television | Unreleased live-action/animated pilot |
| Garfield's Thanksgiving | 1989 | United Media Paws, Inc. | |
| Garfield's Feline Fantasies | 1990 | United Media Lee Mendelson Productions Paws, Inc. | |
| Garfield Gets a Life | 1991 | United Media Lee Mendelson Productions Paws, Inc. | |
| Tom and Jerry: The Movie | 1992 | Live Entertainment Turner Entertainment Co. WMG Film Miramax Films | Currently distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Nick & Noel | 1993 | Bohbot Entertainment | |
| A Cool Like That Christmas | 1994 | | |
| The Bears Who Saved Christmas | 1994 | Bohbot Entertainment | |
| Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold | 1995 | International Olympic Committee | |
| The Story of Santa Claus | 1996 | Arnold Shapiro Productions CBS Productions | |
| The Magic Pearl | 1997 | Greengrass Productions | |
| Puss in Boots | 1997 | | |
| Super Bowl XXXIII (The Simpsons short) | 1999 | Gracie Films 20th Television | |
| Johnny Tsunami | 1999 | Disney Channel | Live-action |
| Hairballs | 2000 | | Unsold TV series pilot created by Mr. Lawrence |
| Motocrossed | 2001 | Stu Segall Productions Disney Channel | Live-action |
| My First Mister | 2001 | Total Film Group ApolloMedia Film Management GmbH Paramount Classics | Live-action |
| The Santa Claus Brothers | 2001 | Sitting Ducks Productions Disney Channel Nelvana | |
| Second Time Around | 2002 | Mei Ah Entertainment | Visual effects |
| Hellraiser: Hellseeker | 2002 | Dimension Home Video | Visual effects |
| Daredevil | 2003 | 20th Century Studios Regency Enterprises Marvel Enterprises Horseshoe Bay Productions | Visual effects |
| The Fallen Ones | 2003 | The Fallen Ones Inc. Sci Fi Channel | Visual effects |
| I, Robot | 2004 | 20th Century Studios Davis Entertainment Laurence Mark Productions Overbrook Films Mediastream IV | Visual effects |
| Demon Hunter | 2005 | New Arc Entertainment | Visual effects |
| All Souls Day | 2005 | Anchor Bay Entertainment | Visual effects |
| Weebles: Welcome to Weebleville! | 2005 | Playskool Hasbro | |
| Weebles: Sharing in the Fun! | 2005 | Playskool Hasbro | |
| The Happy Elf | 2005 | HC Productions DKP Studios | |
| Voodoo Moon | 2006 | IDT Entertainment Sci Fi Channel | Visual effects |
| Slayer | 2006 | Anchor Bay Entertainment Sci Fi Channel | Visual effects |
| Jackass Number Two | 2006 | Paramount Pictures MTV Films Dickhouse Productions Lynch Siderow Productions | Visual effects |
| Hellboy: Sword of Storms | 2006 | Revolution Studios | |
| Mosaic | 2007 | POW! Entertainment Manga Entertainment | |
| Hellboy: Blood and Iron | 2007 | Revolution Studios | |
| The Thirst | 2007 | Anchor Bay Entertainment | Visual effects |
| The Simpsons Movie | 2007 | 20th Century Studios 20th Century Animation Gracie Films Rough Draft Studios AKOM | Pre-production split between Film Roman and Rough Draft Studios |
| Sands of Oblivion | 2007 | Starz Productions Sci Fi Channel | Visual effects |
| Rush Hour 3 | 2007 | New Line Cinema Roger Birnbaum Productions Arthur Sarkissian Productions Unlike Film Productions | Visual effects Trailer only |
| Illegal Tender | 2007 | Universal Pictures | Visual effects |
| Hairspray | 2007 | New Line Cinema Ingenious Media Zadan/Meron Productions Storyline Entertainment Offspring Entertainment | Visual effects Trailer only |
| The Great Buck Howard | 2008 | Magnolia Pictures Playtone Walden Media Bristol Bay Productions | Visual effects |
| Turok: Son of Stone | 2008 | Classic Media | |
| Speed Racer | 2008 | Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Silver Pictures Anarchos Productions | Visual effects |
| Sex and the City | 2008 | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema HBO Films | Visual effects Trailer only |
| Tripping The Rift: The Movie | 2008 | CinéGroupe | |
| Wubbzy's Big Movie! | 2008 | Bolder Media | |
| Dead Space: Downfall | 2008 | Electronic Arts | |
| Secrets of the Furious Five | 2008 | DreamWorks Animation Reel FX Creative Studios | 2-D sequences |
| Cranberry Christmas | 2008 | Ocean Spray Productions | |
| Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Wubb Idol | 2009 | Bolder Media | |
| The Haunted World of El Superbeasto | 2009 | Carbunkle Cartoons | Planned for theatrical release |
| Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic | 2010 | Electronic Arts | "Prologue", "The Arrival", "Entry to Hell" only |
| Dead Space: Aftermath | 2011 | Electronic Arts Visceral Games | |
| Max Steel: Turbo-Charged | 2017 | Mattel Creations | |
| Max Steel: Turbo-Warriors | 2017 | Mattel Creations | |

## Miscellaneous

* Get in Line (Barenaked Ladies music video)
* Frijolero (Molotov music video)
* The Simpsons Game (2007, produced by Electronic Arts) (cutscenes only)
* The Simpsons Ride (2008, amusement simulator ride film produced for the attraction of the same name at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood)
* The Simpsons: Tapped Out (2012, freemium mobile game produced for Fox Digital Entertainment and Electronic Arts) (cutscenes only)

### Commercials

* Alpo
* Ask Jeeves (2000) (five-minute branding reel)
* Burger King (2001–2003)
* Butterfinger (1992–1994, 1998–2001, 2007)
* CC's (1998)
* C.C. Lemon (2000–2002)
* Embassy Suites Hotel
* Expedia (2003)
* Garfield Fruit Snacks
* General Foods
* Honey Nut Cheerios (1993) (Garfield ad only)
* Intel (1998)
* Matchbox (2002) (CGI sales presentation animated by Forum Visual Effects)
* Microsoft (2003)
* Mirinda (2005–2006, 2008)
* Partnership for a Drug-Free America (2002)
* RC Cola (1999)
* SeaWorld (1998)
* SHO Too (2002)
* Toyota (1992–1993)
* Trix (1991)

### Unreleased projects

* Blues Brothers: The Animated Series (Canceled due to irreplaceable casting of the original actors)
* Max Degree TV (Cancelled due to lack of international backers)
* Big Bug Man (Canceled after actor Marlon Brando died during production)