Mainframe Studios

Mainframe Studios, originally known as Mainframe Entertainment Inc., is a Canadian computer animation and design company founded in 1991. They are currently owned by Microsoft Entertainment Group and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company previously operated as Rainmaker Entertainment from 2007 to 2016, after it was acquired by Rainmaker Income Fund (the parent company of Rainmaker Digital Effects); and Rainmaker Studios from 2016 to 2020, with the "Mainframe" name eventually repurposed for Rainmaker's television production division from 2013 to 2020.
Mainframe is best known for producing one of the first CGI-animated TV series, ReBoot; the Transformers spin-off TV series, Beast Wars: Transformers and Beast Machines: Transformers; and for producing Blaze and the Monster Machines the SpongeBob spin-off TV series, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years for Nickelodeon.
==History==
===As Mainframe Entertainment===
Founded in 1991 as Mainframe Entertainment, the studio was started by Christopher Brough, a noted LA-based animation producer and the British animator group known as 'The Hub' - Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson and Phil Mitchell. The group were looking to create ReBoot, the first fully computer-animated television series, after having used the technology to produce music videos like Money for Nothing and Let's Get Rocked. Due to the cost of shipping equipment back home, advantageous tax credits and proximity to Los Angeles, the company set up shop in Vancouver, Canada.
In 1994, ReBoot launched on ABC in the United States and YTV in Canada. The series intermittently ran for four seasons with production ending in 2001. The company's second project was produced for American toy company Hasbro. Beast Wars (known in Canada as Beasties), a relaunch of the Transformers brand, debuted in 1996 and concluded in 1999. A followup, Beast Machines was produced between 1999 and 2000. Both ReBoot and Beast Wars were produced with Alliance Communications, who had taken a 50% ownership of Mainframe. In 1996, Mainframe paid $17 million to reduce Alliance's share to 15%.
Mainframe became a publicly traded company with a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 17, 1997. In conjunction with the public offering, Alliance sold 700,000 shares in the company, lowering their ownership to 7.8%. Christopher Brough served as the Chief Executive Officer, Pearson as President, Blair as Director of Operations and Mitchell as Vice President Operations. In its first year on the stock exchange, Mainframe posted an $11 million loss - despite producing hit multi award winning computer animated series during this period.
On April 17, 1998, the Mainframe USA office opened in Los Angeles. Headed by Dan DiDio, the division was created to oversee development, production and U.S. distribution. DiDio previously worked with Mainframe through his stint as ABC's executive director of children's programming.
After having earlier produced two ReBoot themed rides for the company, the IMAX Corporation made a $16 million investment in Mainframe in 1999. This partnership, which gave IMAX roughly 30% ownership of Mainframe, included the creation of a new joint venture meant to facilitate the creation of animated films based on Gulliver's Travels and Pied Piper, with a third project titled Pandora’s Box. The films were intended to be stereoscopic, 3D feature length releases, though none of the three saw completion.
In fiscal 1999, the company reported a $17 million loss. Thanks to episode deliveries for Beast Machines, Beast Wars, Shadow Raiders and Weird-Oh's the company posted its first profit of $1.4 million in fiscal 2000. Buoyed by Action Man, Mainframe posted another profit of $2.4 million for fiscal 2001. Despite the success, the company faced a major management shakeup that year. Pearson had stepped down as president in June and left the company shortly after, with fellow co-founders Blair and Mitchell also leaving in 2002 and 2005, respectively.
Following financial losses of $18.9 million and $7.5 million in fiscal 2002 and 2003, the American IDT Corporation announced it would purchase 56% of Mainframe for $14 million on September 16, 2003. In 2003, the company moved away from producing television series. While a number of projects were announced they ultimately did not see fruition, including a pre-school oriented ReBoot spinoff called Binomes as well as Mainframe's first live-action production, an adaptation of Harriet the Spy. In 2005, the company acquired the distribution rights to the live-action/CGI-animated television series Zixx. Mainframe also provided animation for the show's second and third seasons in conjunction with Thunderbird Films. The bulk of the company's work now consisted of direct-to-video projects and television specials.
After producing the visuals for the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, Mainframe started a creative services division to produce video game animation, graphic design, motion graphics, titling, show opening sequences and branding in 2005. This branch of the company worked on a number of projects, including cut-scenes for Prototype, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand and Ghostbusters: The Video Game, as well as the 2006 MTV Movie Awards.
===As Rainmaker===
Finding itself under new ownership, IDT sold its 62% stake in Mainframe to Vancouver-based post-production firm Rainmaker Income Fund on July 20, 2006 for $13.8 million. The next month Rainmaker announced it would acquire the remaining 38% of Mainframe. On January 30, 2007 Mainframe was renamed to Rainmaker Animation. Later that year, Rainmaker sold its visual effects and post production divisions to Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, leaving only the animation business.
In June 2012, Chinese animation studio Xing Xing Digital announced its intent to purchase Rainmaker, with the company willing to pay off Rainmaker's $7 million debt. The purchase was called off after Rainmaker and Xing Xing were unable to finalize the sale by September 14, 2012.
In 2013, Rainmaker completed its first theatrical feature film, Escape from Planet Earth. Directed by Cal Brunker, it received mixed reviews from critics but was a success at the box office, grossing around $75 million worldwide. In October, the Mainframe Entertainment brand was revived as the name of the company's television division, starting with Blaze and the Monster Machines.
Later that year, Rainmaker acquired American-based Frederator Networks and announced that they have consolidated its divisions (including Frederator Studios) under its new holding company WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. (TSX:WOW.A). At that time, the company changed the names of its Vancouver divisions to Rainmaker Studios and Mainframe Studios. Since the reorganization, the company has greatly expanded its television output. In 2018, Mainframe produced ReBoot: The Guardian Code, a live-action/CGI-animated re-imagining of the ReBoot property, alongside Spy Kids: Mission Critical. In 2019, the studio released its first 2D animated production, a pilot based on Knowledge Network mascots made in Harmony.
===As Mainframe Studios===
On March 16, 2020, the studio announced it would be rebranding as Mainframe Studios, consolidating Rainmaker Studios under the "Mainframe" branding and fully returning the studio to their original name. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mainframe Studios initiated remote work measures for its employees.
In June 2021, the company confirmed that it would develop a 2D animation pipeline in support of its first production in the medium, an animated series inspired by YouTube personality Guava Juice. The following August, Mainframe announced that it would open a virtual studio in Toronto, Ontario, building upon the remote work experience it gained earlier.
==Productions==
===Television series===
Title 	Years 	Network 	Co-production with 	Notes
as Mainframe Entertainment 	as Mainframe Entertainment	as Mainframe Entertainment	as Mainframe Entertainment 	as Mainframe Entertainment
ReBoot 	1994–2001 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	Alliance Communications (seasons 1–3)
Shaw Communications (season 3)
BLT Productions
ReBoot Productions
Claster Television
Zondag Productions	
Beast Wars: Transformers 	1996–1999 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	Hasbro
Alliance Communications
Claster Television
BLT Productions	Based on the Hasbro toyline. Sequel to The Transformers.
Shadow Raiders 	1998–1999 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	YTV
Alliance Atlantis 	Based on the War Planets toyline from Hasbro
Weird-Oh's 	1999–2002 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	EM.TV 	
Beast Machines: Transformers 	1999–2000 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	Hasbro 	Based on the Hasbro toyline.
Action Man 	2000–01 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	Hasbro
Saban Entertainment 	Based on the Hasbro toyline.
Zixx 	2005–2009 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	The Nightingale Company
Thunderbird Entertainment	Season 2 and 3 only. Originally produced as Mainframe Entertainment, then Rainmaker in the final season.
as Mainframe Studios 	as Mainframe Studios 	as Mainframe Studios 	as Mainframe Studios 	as Mainframe Studios
Blaze and the Monster Machines 	2014-Present 	Nickelodeon
Treehouse 	Nickelodeon Animation Studios	
ReBoot: The Guardian Code 	2018 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	ReBoot 1 Productions Inc. 	Reimagined series based on ReBoot.
Spy Kids: Mission Critical 	2018 	Nickelodeon
YTV 	Dimension Television 	Based on the Spy Kids franchise.
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years	2021-Present 	Paramount+
Nickelodeon
YTV	Nickelodeon Animation Studio
United Plankton Pictures	
The Guava Juice Show 	2021 	YouTube 	Studio71 	
JumpScare 	TBA 	Nickelodeon 	Scholastic Entertainment
Man of Action Entertainment	
===Feature films===
Theatrical films:
Title 	Release Date 	Note
Escape from Planet Earth	February 15, 2013	
DTV/TV Movies Films:
Title 	Release Date 	Notes
as Mainframe 	as Mainframe 	as Mainframe
Scary Godmother 	October 26, 2003 	
Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy 	November 9, 2004 	
Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy 	October 25, 2005 	
Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage 	September 12, 2006 	The only film under the name of Mainframe Entertainment.
as Rainmaker 	as Rainmaker 	as Rainmaker
The Nutty Professor 	November 25, 2008 	The first film under the name of Rainmaker Animation.
Kre-O Star Wars: The Padawan Menace 	July 7, 2011 	
Kre-O Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out	September 26, 2012 	
Elliot the Littlest Reindeer 	November 30, 2018 	The last film under the name of Rainmaker Entertainment.
as Mainframe Studios 	as Mainframe Studios	as Mainframe Studios
The Kre-O Star Wars Holiday Special 	November 17, 2020 	Released on Paramount+
The first film under the unified Mainframe Studios name.
Kre-O Star Wars: Terrifying Tales 	October 1, 2021 	Released on Paramount+
Kre-O Star Wars: Summer Vacation 	August 5, 2022 	Released on Paramount+
===Other credits===
*50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (video game trailer)
*Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Pre-rendered cut scenes)
*Ghost Hunter Dax[citation needed]
*Good Boy! (CG effects)[citation needed]
*Harriet the Spy[citation needed]
*Legion of 5
*Luna, Chip & Inkie in The Festival of Wishes
*The Outer Limits (1995-2001) (CG effects)[citation needed]
*2003 MTV Movie Awards
*2006 MTV Movie Awards
*Prototype (video game trailer)[citation needed]
*WET (video game trailer)[citation needed]
*Ratchet & Clank: Life of Pie (2021)
*Ready2Robot (web-series)[citation needed]
*Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007) (CG effects)[citation needed]
Category:Companies
Category:Microsoft