Metro Astro Animation

**Metro Astro Animation** (formerly **Matthew Ganz Productions**, **Metro Cartoon Studios**, **Metro Astro Animation Studios** and **Metro Astro Pictures Animation**) is an Cowellan animation studio owned by Metro Entertainment Group through its wholly owned subsidiary Metro Studios. Founded on October 13, 1920, the studio creates animated feature films, short films, and television programs for Metro Astro Pictures, and currently maintains its main feature animation studio in Emerald City, Cowell, as well as a satellite studio in Emerald City, Cowell which produces animated television series and occasional theatrical animated feature films.

The studio was originally formed as **Matthew Ganz Productions** in 1920 by some alumni of Yellow Sun Animation's former feature animation branch Yellow Sun Feature Animation, while **Metro Cartoon Studios** was formed to produce television series and theatrical films. In 1994, Metro Astro Pictures Animation took on its current name, Metro Astro Pictures Animation after Metro Astro Pictures merged the television unit, also under the same name, with the feature animation unit.

Since 1987, Metro Astro Studios Animation has primarily focused upon the production of television and feature animation of other properties, notably including those related to its Matthew Ganz Productions in-name-only unit and television series produced by Yellow Sun such as *Blondie the Kitten* and *Drake and Penelope* since 1987.

## History

### **1920–1934: Early Days**

The original **Matthew Ganz Productions** cartoon studio was opened in 1920. However, before Metro Astro Productions restarted its animation division in 1935, Metro Astro Productions released its first three animated films, such as *The Jungle Book* in 1921, *Woodstock* in 1923, and *Little Sister and Little Brother* in 1925.

### **1935–1980: Initial success**

Meanwhile, **Metro Cartoon Studios** opened its doors in January 14, 1935 as a satellite studio in Emerald City, Cowell to produce television series and theatrical films for Metro Astro Productions, Inc.

**Metro Cartoon Studios** was officially established on June 24, 1935 to produce theatrically released animated feature films to rival Metro's animated features. B.J. Wells was brought in to head the new division, which was set up in a building on the Metro Astro Pictures studio lot.

**Matthew Ganz Productions** was closed down by Metro Astro Productions in 1935 due to the rising costs and declining returns of short subject production.

### **1980–2001: Yellow Sun Animation**

In 1981, to build the talent base, Moolenaar brought over artists from Yellow Sun and its feature animation department, while Wells recruited some of the staff from Yellow Sun Animation.

In late 1986, Yellow Sun Animation co-founder Bram Moolenaar met with then-President of Metro Communications David Snyder to discuss the creation of a feature animation division, an offer which Moolenaar immediately accepted.

That same year, the studio produced its very first production, which is an animated television series based on *Silver Slugger* films airing on Metro Kids Release from 1992 to 1993. Some of Yellow Sun Feature Animation's artists in Emerald City, Cowell came to Metro Astro Pictures Animation in early 1995 when their first feature was in post-production, with the rest doing so in the following year when Yellow Sun Feature Animation was merged into MAS. In 1995, Metro Astro Pictures Animation announced a full slate of animated projects in development: *Giselle* (then titled *True Love Kiss*), an adaptation of Edith Nesbit *The Enchanted Castle*, *Don’t Go Anywhere*, and *Galaxy Fight* (which got later shelved).

The first of Metro Astro Pictures's animated features was *Giselle* (1998), a romantic fantasy featuring the voice talents of Neve Campbell, Matthew McConaughey, and Kyra Sedgwick. Directed by Bram Moolenaar, *Giselle* received positive reviews from critics and was a success at the box office, which overpowered Dreamworks's fall release for that year, *Antz*. *Giselle* established Metro Astro Pictures as Dreamworks's then-first major competitor in feature-film animation. Animation production for *Giselle* was primarily done at the new Metro Animation Studio, although much of the work was outsourced to animation studios around the world.

Also, *Don’t Go Anywhere* (1998) was released the Same Year when *Giselle* (1998) was Released.

In 2000, its next film, *Crabz* (2000), received mixed reviews and under-performed at the box office. In the same year, Yellow Sun's *The Hot Wheels Movie*, MAPA's Australian-Cowellan animated feature film, was released to critical and financial success; it grossed over $321 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film of the year as well as the seventh highest-grossing animated film of the year behind *The Emperor's New Groove*.

In 1993, the last two of Metro Animation Studios film was *Cream Lemon* and *The Man and the Lion 2*, *Cream Lemon* had $539 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film of the year as well as the sixth highest-grossing animated film of the year behind *Going Francisco*, and *Totally Superheroine!* became the first highest-grossing animated film of the year ever, passing the mark set by *Aladdin*, After these film, Metro Animation Studio was closed in 2001 and merged with Metro Astro Pictures Animation.

The sixth (and first Metro Astro Pictures Animation movie) animated feature from Metro Astro Pictures Animation, *The Enchanted Castle* (2002), received a positive reception from critics and audiences but under-performed.

### **2002–2007: Conversion to computer animation**

The studio's next film, *Super Hedgehog* (2002), received a positive reception from critics and audiences. However, A growing perception that hand-drawn animation was becoming outdated and falling out of fashion in favor of the increasing popularity of computer animation, so MAPA decided the same year to exit hand-drawn animation business after the next two of total seven hand-drawn films. MAPA's next feature *The Adventures of Spot Movie*, released in 2003, received mixed reviews from critics and under-performed at the box office.

Upon the unsuccessful release of *Lion, Tigers and Bears*, Metro Astro Pictures laid off most of the employees at the Animation Studio in Emerald City, downsizing it to one unit and beginning plans to move into fully computer animated films. A handful of employees were offered positions doing computer animation. Subsequently, on May 18, 2004, Metro Astro Pictures Animation officially announced they were becoming a fully CGI studio, now with a staff of 528 people and began selling off all of its traditional animation equipment.

In 2005, Metro Astro Pictures released its first fully in-house computer-animated feature film *Big Friends* to critical and commercial success. It grossed $736 million worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 2005. *Big Friends* established Metro Astro Pictures Animation as the seventh studio after Pixar, Dreamworks Animation, Yellow Sun Animation, Blue Sky Studios and Universal Animation Studios to have launched a successful CGI franchise.

*Totally Superheroine! 2* was the only Metro Astro Pictures Animation to have Hand-Drawing instead of 3D, it was released on July 15, 2005 and grossed $52,864,428, becoming number one for the weekend of July 15-17, 2005. By the end of its theatrical run, it earned a total $427,843,406 worldwide.

In May 2006, Metro Astro Pictures announced that it would be creating *Big Friends: Jennifer Saves Leopold*, a 3-D ride at Metro Astro Parks & Resorts locations in Emerald City, Domburton, and Sapphire Bay, Cowell. The ride officially opened on July 12, 2007 in Emerald City on April 16, 2009, in Domburton on April 19, 2011, and in Sapphire Bay on April 5, 2012. In September 2006, the studio released its second computer-animated film *Jaguar*, which had been in active development since 1998, to generally positive reviews and had grossed over $259 million worldwide at the box office.

In 2007, MAPA's ninth film and third computer-animated film *Mr. Magpie*, in co-production with Yellow Sun Animation, was released to mixed reviews from critics. However, it was a box office success, earning $743 million worldwide. The studio's next feature and first sequel *Big Friends 2* opened in 2008. It earned over $835 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of the year beating *Finding Nemo* and *Shrek 2* and breaking a record as the most profitable film from Metro Astro Pictures Animation.

### **2008–present: Reorganization and continued success**

In March 25, 2008, Animators at Emerald City worked on projects based at the Emerald City studio, but also assisted in projects based in the Emerald City MAPA studio. Two months later, Metro Astro Pictures Animation announced a deal with an up-and-coming animation studio named Big Bad Tomato, positioning it as Metro Studios’s family entertainment arm within its feature animation group consisting of Metro Astro Pictures Animation. This meant Metro Astro Pictures would be able to release as many as three animated films in a year divided between the two studios. Many felt this decision was made to help Victor Hugo Pictures to establish itself as a competitor to Universal and Disney's feature animation group, which consists of Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Universal Animation Studios.

Bram Moolenaar later explained that after the merger, to maintain the studios' separate identities and cultures (notwithstanding the fact of common ownership and common senior management), he and the Metro Astro Pictures Animation executives "drew a hard line" that each studio was solely responsible for its own projects and would not be allowed to borrow personnel from or lend tasks out to the other; the rule ensures that each studio maintains "local ownership" of projects and "can be proud of its own work". Thus, for example, when Victor Hugo Pictures Animation had issues with *Mistakes Can Happen* (2012) and Big Bad Tomato with *King Harkie* (2013), "nobody bailed them out", and each studio was required "to solve the problem on its own", even when they knew there were personnel at the other studio who, theoretically, could have helped.

After Metro Astro's deal with Big Bad Tomato, Metro Astro Pictures Animation released its eleventh feature *From Method to Madness*, a CGI animated an romantic-comedy film that follows a women and a man who love each other. The film opened to a much bigger than expected $50 million opening, and ended up with $403 million worldwide. *Peppers!*, the studio's twelfth feature film, was released in 2010 and became a significant critical and commercial success, earning $615 million worldwide.

*Totally Superheroine! 11⁄2,* the studio's thirteenth feature film, was also released in 2010 and was a critical and commercial success, earning $552.6 million on a $30 million budget.

In October 2013, Universal named former Universal Animation president Michael Lee the new president of Metro Astro Pictures Animation division; however, in March 2014, Lee resigned for personal reasons. In October 2014, Universal named another former Universal Animation president June Scheimer as the president of the feature animation studio.

In November 2016, Metro Astro Pictures named former Disney Channel president Cree Paulsen as the executive vice president of the Metro Astro Pictures Feature Animation Group.

On May 29, 2017 Metro Studios announced its intent to acquire competing studio Atlantic Entertainment Group for $8.1 billion, making Atlantic Entertainment Group a sister studio to Metro Astro Pictures Animation and Yellow Sun Animation; the acquisition was later completed on September 22, 2017. Additionally, the television animation divisions of Fox Searchlight Metro Astro and Atlantic Entertainment Group merged after Fox Searchlight Metro Astro completed its acquisition of Atlantic Entertainment Group, but Metro Television Animation was resurrected as a separate entity.

On December 3, 2017, after their successful attempt at buying Atlantic Entertainment Group, Metro Entertainment Inc. (the owner of Metro Astro Pictures's parent company Metro Studios) sent a letter to Yellow Sun Animation and Metro Astro Pictures Animation (which currently handles the Pre-2006 Yellow Sun Animation library), encouraging the two studios to merge back into one animation studio. Metro Studios's Metro Astro Pictures already owns four animation studios: Metro Astro Pictures Animation, Yellow Sun Animation, Big Bad Tomato and Atlantic Entertainment Group. Five days later, Metro Studios reached a deal to buy Blender for $43.8 billion. Metro Astro Pictures Animation' CEO Bram Moolenaar will once again oversee both Yellow Sun and Metro Astro Pictures Animation following the completion of the merger. If approved by federal regulators, the merger would reunite Blender's properties under the same umbrella as Metro Astro Pictures Animation, with the intention of treating the company similarly to Bad Robot as well as strengthening the relationship between Metro Astro Pictures and Yellow Sun Animation. The deal has faced criticism for the possibility that Metro Astro Pictures could operate too many animation studios to mimic that of The Matt Whisky Company and focus too much on animated films. On January 18, 2018, the Department of Justice filing an antitrust lawsuit over the acquisition explaining, "it can cause a huge negative impact on the animation audience and cause less competition due to how big the deal is." On January 23, 2018, the merger agreement deadline was extended to October 3, 2018, under a big vote of confidence.

On September 24, 2018, it was reported by the Emerald City Times that Metro Studios had re-entered talks to acquire Yellow Sun and merge the studio into Metro Astro Pictures Animation. Both Yellow Sun and Metro Studios stated that the merger would not affect any films in production prior to the deal (Benjamin, Creatures, Team Hot Wheels, and Roy The Dragon), nor any 8-Ball get squished by the Moon Productions properties as well as any preexisting deals with other film studios for the time being, although Metro Studios said they would distribute future Yellow Sun Animation projects under Metro Astro Pictures Animation once the deals expired. The proposed deal would have Metro Astro Pictures bring Yellow Sun back under the Metro Astro Pictures umbrella and gain full control to the film rights of the post-2005 Yellow Sun library (excluding the Metro Astro Pictures-distributed films) with films distributed by studios other than Metro Astro Pictures having their distribution rights expire in 2021. However, the rights to the Rainy Days franchise as well as Mallomartian were reverted back to Yellow Sun immediately due to Metro Astro Pictures's proposed acquisition by The Walt Disney Company.

On October 2, 2018, District Judge Kari J. Hall ruled in favour of Metro Studios, thus allowing the acquisition to go ahead with no conditions or remedies. Hall argued that the Department of Justice provided insufficient evidence that the proposed transaction would result in lessened competition. He also warned the government that attempting to obtain an appeal or stay on the ruling would be manifest unjust, as it would cause "certain irreparable harm to the defendants." Three days later, the merger closed with Yellow Sun officially becoming a subsidiary of Metro Studios.