MGM Animation/Visual Arts

MGM Animation/Visual Arts
Company type	Private
Industry	Animation
Predecessor	Sib Tower 12 Productions
Founded	1962
Founder	Chuck Jones, Les Goldman, Walter Bien
Fate	Closed in late 1970
Headquarters	United States
Key people	Chuck Jones, Les Goldman, Walter Bien
Products	Tom and Jerry shorts, TV specials (How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Horton Hears a Who!), The Phantom Tollbooth (film)
Parent	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (after acquisition)

MGM Animation/Visual Arts was a U.S.-based animation company established in 1962 by director and producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman, and executive Walter Bien under the original name Sib Tower 12 Productions. Among its distinguished projects are the concluding series of Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts, the television specials Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, as well as the feature-length film The Phantom Tollbooth, all distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

History

Initially formed in 1960 as "S I B Productions, Inc." by Walter Bien, the company engaged Filmation Associates in 1962 to animate the syndicated series Rod Rocket. Separately, Chuck Jones founded Tower 12, Inc. in 1962 with the purpose of producing theatrical shorts and corporate films. After his departure from Warner Bros. Cartoons, where he had directed Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for more than three decades, Jones assumed leadership of Sib Tower 12, which subsequently merged with SIB Productions.

A number of animators who had worked with Jones at Warner Bros., along with voice actor Mel Blanc and writer Michael Maltese, became part of Sib Tower 12. The studio secured a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to create a new series of Tom and Jerry shorts. This collaboration led MGM to purchase the studio from the bankrupt SIB Productions, rebranding it as MGM Animation/Visual Arts in 1964. The studio continued producing Jones' Tom and Jerry shorts through 1967.

In addition to the Tom and Jerry series, Jones directed the Academy Award-winning short film The Dot and the Line (1965), adapted from Norton Juster's book, as well as The Bear That Wasn't (1967), based on Frank Tashlin's work. The studio also ventured into television by creating acclaimed Dr. Seuss adaptations: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and Horton Hears a Who! (1970).

Their most ambitious undertaking was the feature film The Phantom Tollbooth, adapted from Norton Juster's novel; although production was completed in 1968, its release was postponed due to internal complications.

Following the studio's closure in late 1970, Chuck Jones established Chuck Jones Film Productions, which produced specials inspired by Rudyard Kipling and The Cricket in Times Square. Later, MGM inaugurated a new animation division named MGM Animation in 1993.