Allspark (company)

Television shows

Films

**Allspark** (formerly **Hasbro Studios**) is an American production and distribution company located in Burbank, California. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of toy company Hasbro. This company is best known for shows and films such as the 2010 TV series *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*, alongside its spin-off media franchise *My Little Pony: Equestria Girls*, and *Transformers: Prime* TV series. Originally just a TV production division, many of its TV shows, such as *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* and *Littlest Pet Shop*, are based on Hasbro properties and are broadcast on the Discovery Family television network, a joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery, Inc. and on other television networks and multiple media platforms.

**Allspark Pictures** is Allspark's live-action production label while **Allspark Animation** is its animation production label. **Cake Mix Studio** is the company's Rhode Island-based commercials and short content producer.

## Background

In the early 1980s when Hasbro began creating animated series based on their properties, they hired Sunbow Productions, who was already producing commercials for them, to create such series as *G.I. Joe* and *The Transformers* which would by syndicated by Hasbro's Claster Television subsidiary. In May 2008, Hasbro reacquired the animated series based on their properties from Sunbow Productions so that they could create programs in-house.

## History

Hasbro Studios was founded in 2009 for TV development, production and distribution under Stephen J. Davis as president. On October 10, 2010, Hasbro Studios and Discovery Communications relaunched the channel formerly known as Discovery Kids as **The Hub**. On November 9, 2010, Hasbro Studios signed an agreement with Canadian media company Corus Entertainment to broadcast their productions on Canadian television networks such as YTV and Teletoon. On October 6, 2011, Hasbro Studios signed an agreement with seven US and international airlines, such as Continental Airlines and Qantas, to broadcast shows on their planes. In March 2012, the studio started venturing into foreign co-productions starting with *Play-Doh* (DoPei Le Doh), mixed animation and live action series with Toonmax, part of the Shanghai Media Group.

In December 2012, Hasbro transferred all entertainment divisions to Hasbro Studios including their Los Angeles-based film group and Cake Mix Studio, the company's Rhode Island-based commercials and short content producer. On February 28, 2013, the studio laid off three staffers in its Game & Reality Show Production & Development department and moved that department under Vice President Kevin Belinkoff to the animation department's executive plus outside creative consultants.

Hub Network was renamed Discovery Family on October 13, 2014 after Hasbro gave up some of its ownership to their joint-partner Discovery Communications. In August, Josh Feldman was appointed as Head of Development for Hasbro Studios as he will oversee live-action and TV series. On October 20, the studio announced a new film self-finance/co-finance production label Allspark Pictures.

Hasbro Studios with Legacy Recordings released its first non-soundtrack album, *Truly Outrageous: A Tribute to Starlight Records* on August 7, 2015. This promotion album for Jem film consisted of remakes of classic Jem TV series songs.

On December 15, 2015, Hasbro Studios and Paramount Pictures had agreed to a deal creating a five-property movie universe produced by Hasbro's Allspark Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The properties in this movie-verse are *G.I. Joe*, *Micronauts*, *Visionairies*, *M.A.S.K.* and *Rom*.

After two attempted films for Stretch Armstrong, the property was pick up in January 2016 by Netflix for a full 26-episode order as an animated series making it the first deal between the company and the streaming service. By March 2017, Hasbro Studios’s executive staff plus animation and toy prototyping teams moved to Burbank office building. In 2017, Hasbro Studios launched its first franchise in *Hanazuki: Full of Treasures* through YouTube animated series.

On November 3, 2017, Hasbro Studios and Paramount extended their relationship with an exclusive five year production deal for Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation for original and toy-based films. Both Allspark units are newly formed (Allspark Pictures formerly was a financing label) with the film unit head by Greg Mooradian and the animation unit head by Meghan McCarthy. Paramount and Hasbro would also work together on TV series.

With the loss of the *Jurassic Park* license in 2016, Hasbro launched a new dinosaurs based franchise, its second new studio property, with its *Chomp Squad* animated series on January 6, 2018. On May 1, 2018, Hasbro announced that they were acquiring *Power Rangers*, and other Entertainment assets from Saban Capital Group, which was completed on June 12, 2018. At the time, *Power Rangers* was renewed to 2021 (three more seasons), *Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel* was the current season, and the animated series *Treehouse Detectives* had nearly two seasons produced.

Months after Hasbro bought Saban Brands' entertainment assets, including *Power Rangers*, Former Saban Brands members such as Brian Casentini, Melissa Flores and Paul Strickland went to work at Allspark Pictures' Power Ranger franchise team.

### Allspark

On March 26, 2019, Stephen Davis announced Hasbro Studios to be rebranded as "Allspark", named after the fictional artifact featured in the Transformers franchise.

On May 7, 2019, Allspark and Boulder Media announced a new feature animation studio. The companies had bid on an old ferry terminal for the studio, but was turned down by the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in previous attempts.

Allspark will be joined by Entertainment One after Hasbro announced on August 22, 2019 that are buying the company for about $4 billion USD.

## Allspark (company)

### Key people

Greg Mooradian(President, Allspark Pictures)

### Divisions

Allspark Pictures
Allspark Animation

**Allspark Pictures**, formerly **Hasbro Films**, or **Hasbro Film Group**, is a film production within Allspark, a subsidiary of Hasbro tasked with developing movies for Hasbro properties.

### Background

In 1986, *The Transformers: The Movie* and *My Little Pony: The Movie*, animated theatrical films based on Hasbro properties, were released. Waddingtons, later purchased by Hasbro in 1994, Clue's US licensee, licensed a *Clue* film, released in 1985. Hasbro had previously licensed *Transformers* to DreamWorks for a live action film released in 2007. The *Transformers* franchise continued solely with Paramount Pictures, the distribution of and acquirer of DreamWorks, with the addition of the *G.I. Joe* property.

### Pictures history

Hasbro and Universal Pictures signed an agreement in February 2008 to derive and produce four films from seven Hasbro properties: *Battleship*, *Candy Land*, *Clue*, *Magic: The Gathering*, *Monopoly*, *Ouija*, and *Stretch Armstrong*. Hasbro was to pay for all development costs for the films and Universal was supposed to pay $5 million per property not made into films. In May, Bennett Schneir was hired to lead its film division while Hasbro also reacquired animated series based on their properties from Sunbow Productions.

By January 2012, all Hasbro properties at Universal — except for *Battleship* and *Ouija* — were halted in development. While Hasbro's film division continued to have an office on the Universal lot, Hasbro was able to take the Universal agreement properties to any studio. Universal paid a multimillion-dollar fee instead of the $5 million per property to depart from the agreement.

On 31 January 2012, it was announced that Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison, and Adam Sandler were in final negotiations to develop the *Candy Land* film. In February, *Stretch Armstrong* was set up with Relativity Media. In October, Hasbro signed a three picture co-production two-year deal which includes a first look provision with Emmett/Furla for *Monopoly*, *Action Man*, and *Hungry Hungry Hippos*, with Envision Entertainment's partners Stepan Martisoyan and Remington Chase as co-financiers. In December, Hasbro transferred the feature films division into Hasbro Studios along with its other short film division. By October 10, 2013, Relativity and Hasbro had removed the *Stretch Armstrong*movie from their schedules.

In January 2014, Hasbro announced a franchise film deal with 20th Century Fox for *Magic: The Gathering* by its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast. In October 2014, the studio announced its film self-finance/co-finance label Allspark Pictures with its first existing project *Jem and the Holograms*, along with *Pound Puppies 2* and *My Little Pony: The Movie*.

Hasbro's first original film project, *Hacker Camp*, was assigned to writer Tripper Clancy in February 2015. By July 2015, the Monopoly satire film with Emmett/Furla was set aside with Hasbro announcing that Lionsgate will distribute a Monopoly film with Andrew Niccol writing the film as a family-friendly action adventure film co-financed and produced by Lionsgate and Hasbro's Allspark Pictures.

Films' parent unit, Hasbro Studios, on December 15, 2015 agreed with Paramount Pictures to a deal creating a five-property movie universe by financing unit Allspark Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The properties in this movie-verse are *G.I. Joe*, *Micronauts*, *Visionaries*, *M.A.S.K.* and *Rom*. A writers’ room was organized to develop a "creative roadmap". On April 21, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Michael Chabon, Brian K. Vaughan, Nicole Perlman, Lindsey Beer, Cheo Coker, John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein, Joe Robert Cole, Jeff Pinkner, Nicole Riegel and Geneva Robertson has joined the writers room.

On November 4, 2016, The Weinstein Company has announced that a *Furby* movie is in development as a live action/CG-animated movie produced under the TWC-Dimension label. TWC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 19, 2018. On May 1, 2018, Lantern Capital emerged as the winner of the studio's bankruptcy auction. On July 16, 2018, it was announced that The Weinstein Company has shut down and its assets were sold to the newly created Lantern Entertainment. It's unclear whether Lantern Entertainment will take over producing the project.

After two attempts to purchase or merge with a filmed entertainment company, DreamWorks Animation and Lionsgate, fell apart due to pricing differences, Hasbro Studios moved to create a full-fledged movie studio. Thus in October 2017, the company hired Greg Mooradian, currently working at Fox 2000, as president of Allspark Pictures starting January 2018. Variety's sources also indicated that the company was looking for financing for a while in the hundred million dollars range. By November 2017, a five-year exclusive distribution and production pact was signed between Hasbro and Paramount Pictures for Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation films. Plus Meghan McCarthy was promoted to head up Allspark Animation.

## Filmography

### Live-action television

 *Hubworld* | Natural 9 Entertainment
 *Clue* | Metzner Films
Slow Genius
 *Power Rangers Beast Morphers* | Toei Company, Ltd.
Power Rangers Productions, Ltd.
Allspark Pictures

## Discography

Non-sound track albums

 *A Pony Kind of Christmas* | October 2016

## Feature-length films

#### Upcoming films

 *Snake Eyes* | Allspark Pictures
Paramount Pictures
 Untitled *Dungeons & Dragons* reboot
Sweetpea Entertainment
Paramount Pictures