Kartoon Studios
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Andy Heyward, Amy Moynihan Heyward |
| Headquarters | United States |
Key people | Andy Heyward (CEO) |
| Products | Children's animation, video-on-demand service (Kartoon Channel), record labels (Baby Genius, Kid Genius), Stan Lee Comics joint venture, animated feature films (Kartoon Films) |
Kartoon Studios, Inc., previously known as Genius Brands International (GBI), operates as an entertainment enterprise under the leadership of Andy Heyward. This entity emerged through the consolidation of Genius Brands International and A Squared Entertainment.
A Squared Entertainment
Before founding A Squared Entertainment, Andy Heyward was involved with DIC Entertainment, which in July 2003 entered into a television production agreement with Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment to produce Stan Lee's Secret Super Six. Subsequently, in 2006, DIC developed Secret Millionaires Club featuring Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett.
Established in 2009 by Heyward alongside Amy Moynihan Heyward, A Squared Entertainment (A2) focused on animation. The company debuted a slate of four celebrity-themed shows on AOL beginning in late 2009, evolving from brief webisodes into full-length 22-minute television episodes. This lineup included titles such as Secret Millionaires Club, GiGi and The Green Team (working title), Little Martha (working title), and Kosmos, inspired by astronomer Carl Sagan.
The inaugural production from A2, Secret Millionaires Club, showcased an animated version of Warren Buffett providing entrepreneurial guidance to children. Other notable projects comprised Martha & Friends featuring Martha Stewart and Gisele & the Green Team starring Gisele Bundchen.
In February 2010, A2 collaborated with POW! Entertainment and Archie Comics to establish the Stan Lee Comics joint venture, focusing on the Stan Lee's Super Seven franchise. Later that year, on December 7, A Squared premiered the webseries Gisele & The Green Team in partnership with AOLkids.com and Gisele Bündchen.
By April 2012, plans were underway to develop Stan Lee's Mighty 7 across multiple platforms through A Squared Elxsi Entertainment LLC (A2E2), a joint venture formed in January 2011 between A2 and Tata Elxsi, though this partnership concluded by October 2012. Additionally, in 2012, A2 acquired Archie's ownership share in Stan Lee Comics.
As of November 2013, A2 was progressing with the development of Thomas Edison's Secret Lab.
Pacific Entertainment
Founded in 2006 by Klaus Moeller and Larry Balaban—creators of Baby Genius—Pacific Entertainment Corporation acquired the Baby Genius brand along with associated preschool properties such as Wee Worship and the Little Tikes music and DVD collections from Genius Products, Inc. for $3 million in January 2006. Distribution rights within the United States remained exclusively with Genius Products.
In January 2011, GBI licensed the Baby Genius brand to Jakks Pacific’s Tollytots division for a line of musical and early education toys, which debuted with twenty products at Toy Fair 2012.
December 2011 marked Pacific Entertainment Corporation’s rebranding as Genius Brands International, Inc. (GBI). By July 2013, Genius Brands had transitioned its Baby Genius book catalog into digital format through an agreement with Graphicly.
Under the Genius Brands Name
Formed in November 2013 through the merger of A2 Entertainment and the pre-merger Genius Brands (formerly Pacific Entertainment), Genius Brands International (GBI) positioned Heywards from A2 in leading executive roles. Klaus Moeller, previously CEO before the merger, assumed the role of vice president for special markets. The board featured notable figures including former California governor Gray Davis and Jeff Weiss, president and COO of American Greetings Corp.
In April 2014, GBI introduced a subscription video-on-demand service centered on Baby Genius, followed by the launch of the Kid Genius VOD channel on Comcast's Xfinity On Demand platform in October 2015.
By June 2014, Genius Brands had licensed its properties—Baby Genius, Secret Millionaires Club, and Thomas Edison's Secret Lab—to LeapFrog Enterprises for integration into children’s educational tablets. The initial LeapFrog tablet applications were released in December that year.
To finance brand promotion efforts, content acquisition and development initiatives, along with support for the Kid Genius channel, GBI issued and sold approximately 4.3 million shares of stock and warrants at par value during November 2014.
2016–2019
In February 2016, Genius Brands formed a collaboration with Penguin Young Readers and author-illustrator Anna Dewdney to create animated adaptations and oversee licensing for the Llama Llama brand, planning to release a variety of merchandise including clothing and toys within that year.
That same month, Genius Brands and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment revealed a multi-year marketing and distribution partnership encompassing four existing franchises—SpacePop, a revamped Baby Genius series, Secret Millionaires Club, and Stan Lee's Mighty 7—in addition to three projects under development. The refreshed Baby Genius series made its return on Amazon.com in September.
April 2016 saw Genius Brands collaborate with Sony Music Entertainment's Legacy Recordings to establish the Genius Brands Music label, which introduced two targeted imprints: Baby Genius for toddlers and Kid Genius aimed at children through tweens.
By September 2016, Genius Brands partnered with Rob Minkoff and Shane Morris to develop the preschool animated show Rainbow Rangers, focusing on magical girls dedicated to protecting the planet. The series was scheduled for a special premiere in the third quarter of 2017, followed by a full launch in the second quarter of 2018.
The Kid Genius channel evolved into a modest network of on-demand offerings, debuting Baby Genius TV on Comcast On Demand in December 2017. Later that year, Genius Brands launched Kid Genius Cartoons Plus! on Amazon Channels, featuring all GBI programming alongside acquired content. In July 2019, the Genius Brands Network incorporated programming from Tankee, a children’s gaming company.
In January 2017, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment broadened its distribution agreement to include all properties owned by Genius Brands and acquired an equity interest in the company. By November 2017, Genius Brands filed with the SEC to offer 1.65 million shares for resale.
August 2018 marked a $4.5 million capital raise for Genius Brands via a convertible debt round led by Robert Wolf of 32 Ventures, attracting both new and returning investors. The following month, Bank Lemi provided a $6 million credit line to support production of the second season of Llama Llama.
2020–2023
In May 2020, shares of Genius Brands experienced a dramatic increase of 2000% after four stock sales were announced, following NASDAQ's warning regarding low share prices that threatened delisting. This surge was largely fueled by the announcement of the Kartoon Channel launch and Mattel’s Rainbow Rangers toys securing placement on Wal-Mart shelves for summer 2020. After a stockholder sale registered on June 4, the stock price declined by 13%. The Kartoon Channel, which consolidated existing channels, officially launched on June 15, 2020, across four additional platforms.
On July 6, 2020, Genius Brands secured exclusive global rights from POW! Entertainment to utilize Stan Lee's name, likeness, and signature, along with licensing over one hundred original POW! intellectual properties. These assets were incorporated into a joint venture named Stan Lee Universe under Genius's management. Michael E. Uslan was brought on board as an advisor for film and television projects related to this venture. Additionally, Genius finalized a publishing agreement with Archie Comics for Stan Lee Universe comic books, beginning with an adaptation of Kindergarten Cop.
On October 27, 2021, Genius disclosed intentions to purchase Canadian company Wow Unlimited Media for $53 million to broaden its international footprint. The acquisition was finalized on April 7, 2022.
On January 4, 2023, Genius sold half ownership of Frederator’s shows Bravest Warriors, Bee and PuppyCat, and the upcoming series Catbug to Japan’s Toho International. This alliance facilitates co-production of fresh content and consumer product initiatives while granting Toho Asian distribution rights.
2023–present
On June 26, 2023, Genius Brands underwent a rebranding to become Kartoon Studios and shifted its stock listing to NYSE American. In July 2023, Kartoon Studios collaborated with VeVe to launch non-fungible tokens featuring Stan Lee, which quickly sold out. During the same month, they introduced Kartoon Films, a new division dedicated to producing animated feature films utilizing artificial intelligence technology, with an anticipated release set for 2024; however, these titles have not yet been released.
In 2024, Kartoon Studios revealed Gadget A.I., a generative AI platform designed for the creation and production of animated content, inspired by the character Gadget from Inspector Gadget. This technology is intended strictly for internal application and is not available for external licensing. Nevertheless, WildBrain, the rights holder of the Inspector Gadget intellectual property, initiated a copyright claim against Kartoon Studios concerning Gadget A.I.
Current
- A Squared Entertainment LLC: subsidiary specializing in brand management and licensing
- Genius Brands Music: record label encompassing the Baby Genius and Kid Genius imprints
- Stan Lee Comics LLC: a joint venture with POW! Entertainment, centered on the Stan Lee's Mighty 7 franchise
- Kartoon Channel (previously Kid Genius Network)
- Wow Unlimited Media
Former
- Kid Genius Cartoon Channel
- Baby Genius TV
- Kid Genius Cartoons Plus!
Kartoon Channel
Kartoon Channel (formerly known as Kid Genius Channel) is a video-on-demand service owned by Kartoon Studios.
Initially launched by GBI in October 2015 through Comcast's Xfinity On Demand platform, the channel was aimed primarily at children's programming. Debra Pierson took on the role of general manager in March 2016. By December 2016, Margaret Loesch assumed the position of Executive Chairman while Pierson was elevated to channel president. In February 2017, the channel broadened its reach by becoming available on over-the-top platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.
The channel was rebranded as Kartoon Channel on June 15, 2020, merging its existing services and expanding onto four additional platforms. Margaret Loesch continued as executive chairperson alongside former Walt Disney Television production president David Neuman, who joined as chief creative officer.
Programming
- Initial
- Later additions
- Eddie Is a Yeti (Plus!)
- Nancy Drew Codes & Clues
- LaGolda, a bilingual soccer-themed animated series produced in partnership with UnitedHealthcare (Plus!)
- Baby Genius TV
- The Adventures of Paddington Bear
- Rainbow Valley Fire Department
- Baby Prodigy
- Igloo-Gloo
- Pirates Adventures in Art
- So! Smart
- Todd World
- Baby Genius Nursery Rhymes
- Baby Genius Animals
- Plus!
- Inspector Gadget
- Liberty's Kids
- DinoSquad
- Carl Squared
- Heads Up
- The Day Henry Met
- So Smart!
- Baby Prodigy
- Happy Kids
Production library
| Title | Year(s) | Type | Production partner(s) |
Distributor | Kid Genius Cartoon Channel |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gisele & The Green Team | 2010–2012 | Animated series | AOLkids.com | (Plus!)[1] | ||
| Martha & Friends | 2011 | AOLkids.com | (Plus!)[1] | |||
| 2012 | Animated film | Hallmark Channel | Martha's Magnificent Egg[2] | |||
| Secret Millionaires Club | October 23, 2011 – October 12, 2014 | Animated series | Berkshire Hathaway Bang Zoom! Entertainment Xing Xing Animation Hub Network |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |
initial[3] (Plus!)[1] | |
| 2014 | Tablet apps | Leap Frog Enterprises |
| |||
| Baby Genius | tablet apps | |||||
| September 2015 – | Animated series | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | ||||
| Thomas Edison's Secret Lab | Animated series | Symbiosys Technologies Telegael Georgia Public Broadcasting |
American Public Television[4] |
initial[3] (Plus!)[1] | ||
| SpacePop | 2016 – | Animated series | Symbiosys Technologies Telegael |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | initial[3] (Plus!)[1] | |
| Books | Imprint (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group) |
|
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