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Atkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The company is best known for producing the first two Care Bears television specials – The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine – and the four syndicated specials that inspired The Raccoons (as well as first-season episodes of the show itself). Atkinson also produced the Christmas specials The Little Brown Burro, Tukiki and His Search for a Merry Christmas and The Trolls and the Christmas Express and the 1986–87 series The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin (with DIC Entertainment).[1][2][3]
They also worked on the 1981 science fiction anthology movie Heavy Metal and The Body Electric, an animated movie featuring music composed by the Canadian rock band Rush.[4]
History
Vic Atkinson founded the company.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Atkinson was hospitalized after overseeing the production of two segments for Heavy Metal. He recovered and oversaw The Christmas Raccoons before leaving the company and selling his share to Bill Stevens. Atkinson did not like the direction the company was heading in and stated that "I won't produce garbage" while Stevens says he left over disagreements regarding growth and financial risk.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Christmas Raccoons cost $700,000, The Raccoons on Ice cost $850,000 and the episodes of The Raccoons cost up to $415,000.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
F. R. Crawley, who was $1.2 million in debt, sold his company to Stevens for $1.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Merilyn Read acquired the rights for Babar the Elephant and discussed creating a special with Atkinson-Crawley. Babar and Father Christmas was the one of the most expensive specials at the time, with a budget of $600,000.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Sheldon Wiseman and Kevin Gillis formed Hinton Animation Studios, which recruited from Atkinson-Crawley's employment. In 1987, Stevens attempted to aid the financial ailing company by raising $6 million through a public offering under the name The Crawley Group, but the stock market crashed three days before his presentation. The company had $4 million in debt by 1988, and owed a large amount of unpaid wages causing more employees to join Hinton Animation.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Filmography
Television specials
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1978 | The Little Brown Burro |
| 1979 | The New Misadventures of Ichabod Crane |
| 1979 | Tukiki and His Search for a Merry Christmas |
| 1980 | The Christmas Raccoons |
| 1981 | The Trolls and the Christmas Express |
| 1981 | The Raccoons on Ice |
| 1983 | The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings |
| 1983 | The Legend of Hiawatha |
| 1983 | The Raccoons and the Lost Star |
| 1984 | The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine |
| 1985 | The Body Electric |
| 1985 | Rumpelstiltskin |
| 1985 | The Velveteen Rabbit |
| 1985 | For Better or For Worse: The Bestest Present |
| 1986 | The Tin Soldier |
| 1986 | Babar and Father Christmas |
| 1987 | The Nightingale |
Television series
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985–86 | The Raccoons | Season 1 (11 episodes) |
| 1985–86 | OWL/TV | animation |
| 1986–87 | The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin | Seasons 1–2 (65 episodes) |
| 1988 | Dennis the Menace | Season 2 (13 episodes) |
| 1988 | COPS | Season 1 (11 episodes) |
Direct-to-video films
| Year | Title | Distributor |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Raccoons: Let's Dance! | Embassy Home Entertainment |
| 1987 | Meerkats | Ammex Productions |
Feature films
| Year | Title | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Heavy Metal | Columbia Pictures | "Harry Canyon" and "B-17" segments |
Short films
| Year | Title | Co-production with |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Santa | |
| 1974 | Yesterday's Farm | Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada |
| 1975 | Camp Roofless | Department of National Defence |
| 1975 | Amenita | Pyramid Films |
| 1976 | Let's Talk Business | Department of Regional Economic Expansion |
| 1976 | Propst[r]ike | Transport Canada |
| 1977 | Post and Beam Construction (slide film) | Canadian Wood Council Eastern Forest Products Laboratory |
| 1980 | Wood Construction (slide film) | Canadian Wood Council Eastern Forest Products Laboratory |
| 1980s | Things That Go Bump: Client/Counselor Relationship and Other Things That Go Bump | Canadian Employment and Immigration Commission |
| 1981 | Groups That Work: Part One | Canadian Employment and Immigration Commission Telescene Productions |
| 1981 | Groups That Work: Part Two | Canadian Employment and Immigration Commission Telescene Productions |
| 1983 | A Piece of Sunshine | Ontario Hydro |