Buddy Studios

Template:Infobox company

**Buddy Studios** is a South Australian animation production studio based in Elizabeth Park, South Australia. It was founded in 2000 by Cal Brunker, Bob Barlen, Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein. Its first feature film, Purple Squirrel, was released in 2000.

*Purple Squirrel*, *V-Team*, *Buddy The Rat* and the other movies were the studio's most commercially successful franchises, while *Futurama*, *Looney Tunes*, *Winnie The Pooh* and the other movies were among its most critically praised films. Buddy, the character for The Nut Job franchise, is the studio's mascot.

The other studios included Buddy Television, Buddy Animation, Buddy Shorts, Buddy Home Entertainment and Buddy Games.

On January 15, 2016, ToonBox Entertainment announced plans to purchase most of Buddy Studios assets for $39.8 billion. On May 25, ToonBox and Buddy Entertainment's shareholders approved the merger between the two companies. On July 5, ToonBox Entertainment announced the acquisition of Buddy Studios that was finalized on July 16.

On March 9, 2017, Buddy Studios created a new animation division called "Buddy Animation" and its first feature film, The Lucky Number, was released on July 4, 2017 and became an immediate box office success.

All films will be branded as a Buddy Studios film along with co-producing companies, except from 2000-2009.

## History

### 2000-2009: Founding and creating pre-branded movies

The film was founded on January 1, 2000 as "Buddy Entertainment" in Elizabeth Park, South Australia by Cal Brunker, Bob Barlen, Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein. The company's first feature-length film was Purple Squirrel.

### 2016-2017: ToonBox's acquistion of Buddy Studios and Buddy Animation

> *Further information: Acquisition of Buddy Studios by ToonBox Entertainment*
>
>

The acquisition of Buddy Entertainment was first announced on January 15, 2016 when ToonBox Entertainment, a Canadian animation studio, announced it was planning to acquire assets from Buddy Studios for $39.8 billion. On May 25, the two companies shareholders approved a merger.

### 2018-2020: Buddy+ streaming service, Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein's retirement and new founders

In 2018, the company founded the streaming service Buddy+, which is an over-the-top (OTT) pay streaming platform owned by ToonBox Entertainment.

### 2021-present: Acquisition of Rhythm & Hues Studios, new era of Buddy Studios

> Main article: *Acquisition of Rhythm & Hues Studios by Buddy Studios*
>
>

In November 2020, Rhythm & Hues Studios ceased operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, Buddy Studios acquired the rights to Rhythm & Hues Studios, and rebranded the company to simply Rhythm & Hues, and is currently operating as Rhythm & Hues Entertainment.

## Divisions

* Buddy Television - founded in 2001
* Buddy Animation - founded in 2017
* Buddy Games - founded in 2000
* Buddy Shorts - founded in 2002
* Buddy Home Entertainment - founded in 2000

## Filmography

*Main article: Lists of Buddy Studios films*

## Highest-grossing films

*Main article: List of highest-grossing films by Buddy Studios*

## Streaming platform

On August 18, 2017, Buddy Studios announced it was developing its own streaming platform. The platform, known as Buddy+, would feature original programming created by the company's vast array of film and television production studios, including Buddy Studios. As part of the new distribution platform, Cal and Bob confirmed that Buddy Studios would renew development on smaller-budgeted genre films that the studio had previously stopped producing for the theatrical exhibition market a few years prior. On October 21, 2017, nine films were announced to be in production or development for the service. The films would be budgeted between $120 million and $260 million. The studio is expected to produce approximately 3-4 films per year exclusively for Buddy+, alongside its theatrical tentpole slate. Buddy+ was launched on January 12, 2018, in the United States, Canada, and other territories, with subsequent international expansions. Within the first two months of the service's launch, Buddy Studios had released three films exclusively for Buddy+.

* List of Buddy+ original films
* List of Buddy+ original series
* List of Buddy+ original specials
* List of Buddy+ Premier Access releases

## Logo

Logo: TBA

Music/Sounds: TBA

* Buddy Studios/Standard Logos
* Buddy Studios/Logo Variations
* Buddy Studios/Trailer Variations
* Buddy Studios/On-Screen Logos
* Buddy Studios/Print Logos
* Buddy Studios/Other

### Summaries

* Buddy Studios/Logo Variations/Summary
* Buddy Studios/Trailer Variations/Summary