Soup2Nuts

Soup2Nuts

Company type	Division (originally)
Industry	Animation, Television production, Video game development, Educational software
Predecessor	Tom Snyder Productions
Founded	1980
Founder	Tom Snyder
Defunct	2015-12-31
Fate	Shut down by Scholastic Corporation
Successor	None
Headquarters	Massachusetts , United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Tom Snyder, Jere Dykema
Products	Animated series (e.g. Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist; Home Movies; WordGirl; Astroblast!), Educational software (FASTT Math), Video games
Owner	Scholastic Corporation (from 2001)
Number of employees	9 (at shutdown) (2015)
Parent	Scholastic Corporation (from 2001)

Soup2Nuts—originally a division of Tom Snyder Productions—was an American animation studio established by Tom Snyder. The studio gained recognition for its comedic animated series, the innovative use of Squigglevision—a distinctive animation method involving frame recycling to create dynamic motion—and a unique approach to voice acting that emphasized improvisation.

History

Tom Snyder, who began his career as an educator at Shady Hill School, created educational computer software during the 1970s aimed at improving learning experiences for students in grades four through eight. In 1980, Jere Dykema, a parent of one of Snyder's pupils, invested $30,000 in exchange for a 30% ownership share and provided an additional $100,000 loan to launch Computer Learning Connection, which was later renamed Tom Snyder Productions.

The company's inaugural television project was Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, which debuted in 1995 on Comedy Central. On February 23, 1996, Tom Snyder Productions was purchased by Torstar Corporation for a sum exceeding $10 million, enabling the expansion of both its educational and television production divisions. Subsequently, the studio developed Home Movies, initially broadcast on UPN and later continued on Adult Swim following its cancellation. In 2001, the television branch adopted the name Soup2Nuts to highlight its comprehensive production capabilities. Beyond series production, Soup2Nuts also created shorts, adaptations of books, commercials, and interactive web-based series. Later that year, both companies were acquired by Scholastic Corporation, with Tom Snyder Productions continuing to develop educational products until 2015.

Beginning in 2007, Soup2Nuts produced WordGirl, an educational superhero series for PBS Kids, which received multiple accolades including awards for Best Direction and Outstanding Writing in Animation.

On March 13, 2015, Scholastic announced plans to shut down Soup2Nuts as part of a corporate strategy refocusing on its core areas: children's publishing and education. Earlier that year, the workforce had been reduced to nine employees. The studio’s final work was Astroblast!. Tom Snyder Productions officially ceased operations on December 31, 2015; its FASTT Math educational software line was subsequently acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Video games

• Personk (1978)
• The Search Series (1980)
• Snooper Troops: Case #1: The Granite Point Ghost (1982)
• Snooper Troops: Case #2: The Case of the Disappearing Dolphin (1982)
• In Search of the Most Amazing Thing (1983)
• Agent USA (1984)
• Run for the Money (1984)
• American Challenge: A Sailing Simulation (1986)
• Sub Mission (1986)
• Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams (1988)
• Lane Mastodon vs. the Blubbermen (1988)
• Decisions, Decisions (1988)
• ZorkQuest: Assault on Egreth Castle (1988)
• ZorkQuest: The Crystal of Doom (1989)
• Fizz & Martina (1992)
• Math Mysteries (2000)
• Science Seekers (2000)

Animation

Title	Creator	Co-produced by	Year(s)	Network
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Jonathan Katz	HBO Downtown Productions	1995–1999; 2002	Comedy Central
	Tom Snyder
How Do You Spell God? ("The Tale of the Watch" segment)			1996	HBO
Science Court	Tom Snyder	Burns & Burns Productions	1997–2000	ABC
Cosby ("A Very Nice Dance" and "War Stories" animated segments)			1999	CBS
Home Movies	Brendon Small Loren Bouchard	Burns & Burns Productions	2001–2004	Adult Swim
The Dick & Paula Celebrity Special	Tom Snyder	FX Productions	1999	FX
The Lewis Lectures			2000; released in 2002	Adult Swim
Pops! An Animated Musical Adventure (pilot)	Candy Altman	Altman/Mugar Productions	2001	WGBH-TV
Watering Hole (interstitial series)		Williams Street	2002	Adult Swim
Hey Monie!	Dorothea Gillim		2003	Oxygen, BET
Fridays (Show & Tell segments)	Various		2004	Cartoon Network
O'Grady	Tom Snyder Carl W. Adams Holly Schlesinger	Noggin, LLC	2004–2006	Noggin (The N)
'Sunday Pants' ('Thadlow's Driving School' segments)	'Sven Gordon Stuart Hill'		'2005'	'Cartoon Network'
'Assy McGee'	'Matt Harrigan Carl W. Adams'	'Williams Street'	'2006–2007'	'Adult Swim'
'WordGirl'	'Dorothea Gillim'	'Scholastic Media'	'2007–2015'	'PBS Kids Go!'
'Weston Woods' (various shorts)	'Various'	'Weston Woods'	'2009–2015'
'Between the Lions' (animated sequences)		'WGBH-TV Sirius Thinking'	'2009–2010'	'PBS Kids Go!'
'SciGirls'		'Twin Cities PBS'	'2010–2015'
'Chuck Vanderchuck's Something Something Explosion'			'2011–2015'	'PBS Kids Go!'
'Sesame Street' ("4307" and "4504" animated sequences)	'Joan Ganz Cooney Lloyd Morrisett'	'Sesame Workshop'	'2012, 2014'	'PBS Kids'
'Astroblast!'	'Bob Kolar'	'Scholastic Media'	'2014–2015'	'Sprout NBC'

External links

• Official site