the merchandising of the animated children’s series Caillou has a distinctly Canadian story behind it. Based on a series of books popular in Quebec since their launch in 1990 (in which the star was a baby), Montreal’s Cinar purchased the rights…

The following is an alphabetical listing of Canadian animation houses. Information is based on questionnaires completed by companies which chose to respond to Playback’s survey. (The number of commercials listed refers to completely animated – as opposed to post -…

Montreal’s CineGroupe approaches potential productions with merchandising foremost in mind: ‘It’s one of the determining factors in picking a property up. We have had merchandising plans on the cards ever since we picked up Mega Babies,’ says Marie-Christine Dufour, CineGroupe’s vp…

With a full-time licensing division in-house, Toronto’s Decode Entertainment is a perfect example of a smaller player partnering with international agents and reps. When it comes to the merchandising of Decode’s series (coproduced with C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures) Angela Anaconda, Honest Art…

Maggie and the Ferocious Beast started life as a Simon & Schuster children’s book by Betty and Mickey Paraskevas aimed at the preschool-to-11 demo. Now a lighthearted animated preschool series from Toronto-based Nelvana, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast premiered this year…

In stock footage, everything old is new again as it becomes clear historical is where the action is….

The following survey of stock footage websites was conducted by Playback’s sister publication RealScreen magazine. A version of this article appeared recently in RealScreen….

GVFX is in the midst of a fall rush, according to John Gajdecki, the visual effects company’s president and ceo. Approximately 15 projects are currently in its Toronto shop, divided among features, commercials, mows and tv series. Gajdecki says gvfx’s standing…

Toon Boom, the Montreal-headquartered provider of 2D cel animation software, has made large gains in the Indian market, thanks in part to its association with distributor Rahul Commerce. Among its new clients in South Asia are Dataquest Management and Communication and…

Cannes, France: As specialty channels continue to multiply around the world, Canadians are well-positioned to reap the benefits. That was the overall message of the recently concluded mipcom, where Canadian vendors reported strong interest and numerous deals almost across the programming…

Montreal: Two primary perspectives have emerged from industry response to the kpmg report on the Canadian Television Fund….

As early kudos and warnings roll in on the new Canadian Feature Film Fund (CF3), announced Oct. 5 by Heritage Minister Sheila Copps, funding agency British Columbia Film has been first to dovetail its programs to the new $100-million fund….