Viacom Animation (formerly known as Zaiden Fischer Productions) was an American animation studio founded by animator Zaiden Fischer, who previously worked at Walt Disney Productions. The studio produced the television special Bright Christmas, the short films Sidewalker, Just One Fever, Fuzzy & Fluffy and Blues Low Life, commercials and other work, and later negotiated with Universal Pictures to make two animated features The Lightning Storm and The Workers. After the release of The Workers, Fischer severed his connection with Universal and the studio was bought by media company Viacom in 1987, where it was split into three teams: Viacom Animation, the television animation unit Games Animation and the adult animation unit MTV Animation.
Fischer and Hanson were later drawn away from the studio when they joined Paramount Feature Animation in late 1994, after Viacom's acquisition of Paramount Communications. In early 1990s, Viacom Animation's films continued to suffer losses at the box office, and the studio was closed down in 1995 after the release of their final feature, Future Legend, which ended up being their highest-grossing film, following Viacom's acquisition of Paramount. Viacom Animation was folded into Paramount Feature Animation, where Fischer, Hanson and much of the staff went on to join there. As of 2020, Paramount currently owns the rights to most of Viacom Animation's back catalog.
History[]
Early founding / Fischer and Universal (1980–1988)[]
After leaving Walt Disney Productions in 1980 due to disagreements with the studio during the production of The Fox and the Hound, animator Zaiden Fischer established an independent animation studio called Zaiden Fischer Productions and recruited fellow CalArts graduates whom Fischer worked with. Some employees from Disney also came to the studio. In its early days, the studio worked on short films such as Sidewalker, Just One Fever, Fuzzy & Fluffy and Blues Low Life, the Christmas special Bright Christmas, the television series Dizzy, undeveloped projects and commercials while seeking a suitable feature film project.
In mid-1981, Fischer was approached by Universal Pictures with an idea for a feature film about a teenage boy who found the lightning storm that give him the ultimate powers, The Lightning Storm. Fischer wrote early story treatments, and production began a year later, with a release date originally set for Christmas 1983 before pushing back to June 1984. In addition to The Lightning Storm, two further films were already well into development; The Workers since mid-1982, and Liche's Wish since late 1982. The studio also had another film in development, Elements of Light, which had began development in early 1982 alongside Liche's Wish. Due to production difficulties with that project, Fischer had no choice but to leave Elements of Light's development to Bill Kroyer, a fellow animator of Fischer, as they were unable to produce two films at the same time. Elements of Light was later solely produced by Kroyer Films with backing from Universal Pictures, and released in September 1989. Meanwhile, Sammy and the Sing-Along Gang, the studio's first new straight-to-video series, debuted.
In November 1983, Fischer and Universal signed a $30 million deal to produce four animated feature films that were estimated to be completed during the next 12 years. Along with the deal their first project was announced, titled Hansel and Gretel. Intended to be based on the German fairy tale, it was put on hold two years later because of script issues.
In June 1984, The Lightning Storm was released to generally positive reviews by critics, who praised the richness and fluidity of the animation, though some found the narrative unsatisfying. The Lighting Storm returned only a modest box office performance, which was blamed on distributor Universal's poor promotion, regionally staggered releases, and competition from Ghostbusters and Gremlins, which both were released a week earlier.
In 1985, Disney producer Joe Hale and his production team came to Fischer's studio, after being fired from Disney following the critical and financial failure of The Black Cauldron. Meanwhile, Fischer finally unveiled the newest series yet in its cycle, and the first in their successful long-time line of syndicated animated shows, The Spacebots. Airing from 1986 to 1989, the show's success led to Fischer seeking to produce more animated series on their own in syndication.
The Workers was completed in mid 1986, opening in August. The main animators consist of John Levine, Skylar Robinson, Terry Ward and Erica Miller, who were one of the first major contributions in the film. The Workers performed poorly at the box office, grossing just $9.6 million. While its poor financial performance led the studio to declare bankruptcy in early 1988, the film performed better on home video in later that year, becoming a fast seller.
Right before the August 1986 release of The Workers, there were reports that due to creative differences Universal and Fischer would not be extending their contract. The deal was officially terminated in October 1986. Unofficial reasons for departure were weak performances of the two three movies, for which Universal had to take writedowns, this led them to create its own feature animation studio. Zaiden Fischer Productions had also already laid off eight of its staff at that time.
Viacom Animation (1987–1994)[]
On March 14, 1987, Zaiden Fischer Productions was purchased by Viacom. The following year, Viacom beat out bidders including Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. and News Corporation when it made a deal to purchase Games Animation for $230 million. Viacom dividing into the new animation divisions: Viacom Animation for feature animation, Games Animation for television animation and MTV Animation for adult animation. Games Animation would produce high-quality Saturday morning cartoons for Nickelodeon. Viacom also invested a further $8 million to acquire the rights to partially completed film Liche's Wish with Viacom Pictures co-producing and co-financing. A condition of the investment was that Viacom would have a close involvement in the management of Fischer's financial operations, following reports of the studio's past mismanagement.
In April 1989, Viacom signed a three-year deal with Orion Pictures to finance, co-produce, and distribute animated feature films.
Warner Bros. Pictures, who planned to distribute Liche's Wish, had already backed off in the wake of Zaiden Fischer Productions' bankruptcy, doubtful that the picture would ever be completed. Paramount Pictures stepped in to become the U.S. distributors for the film while Viacom Pictures Worldwide handled international distribution, planning to release it in November 1990 rather than its initially planned December 1989 release. Directed by former Disney animator John Levine, Liche's Wish was a critical and commercial failure, grossing over $17 million, but was a great success when released on home video; accompanied by a $20 million advertising campaign, the video sold over three million copies in the first month alone, topping the charts and becoming one of the top-selling VHS releases of all time.
Shortly after the Viacom buyout during the production of Liche's Wish, development work was already beginning on the studio's next feature. Early ideas for a childern-based story had been mooted after the completion of The Workers, but never progressed beyond rough storyboards. The idea was revisited in late 1987 and developed into a feature-length story, titled The Children of California. The film entered full production in late 1988. Another film in development, The Three Princes and Their Beasts, began when Fischer expressed interest in writing the story treatment for an adaptation of the Lithuanian fairy tale, which eventually began production in 1989 for an initial release in 1991 from Orion Pictures.
More coming soon!
Decline and closure (1994–1995)[]
Coming soon!
Productions[]
Feature films[]
| # | Title | Release date | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lightning Storm | June 29, 1984 | Universal Pictures |
| 2 | The Workers | August 22, 1986 | |
| 3 | Liche's Wish | December 14, 1990 | Paramount Pictures |
| 4 | The Children of California | November 25, 1992 | Paramount Pictures (North America) Orion Pictures (International) |
| 5 | The Three Princes and Their Beasts | May 14, 1993 | Orion Pictures |
| 6 | Pop Teen Mice | August 5, 1994 | Paramount Pictures |
| 7 | Future Legend | June 30, 1995 |
Direct-to-video films[]
| Title | Year | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Sammy and the Sing-Along Gang: Rhyme Time | 1985 | CBS/Fox Video (through Playhouse Video) |
| Sammy and the Sing-Along Gang: Let's Sing | ||
| Sammy and the Sing-Along Gang: Animal Adventures | ||
| Sammy and the Sing-Along Gang: Underwater Adventures |
Short films[]
- Bright Christmas (1980; TV short)
- Sidewalker (1981)
- Just One Fever (1982)
- Fuzzy & Fluffy (1983)
- Blues Low Life (1984)
- Busy Tools (1996)
Television series[]
- Main article: Games Animation, MTV Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Coming soon!
Other[]
- ElfQuest 3-D (1983; animated sequences)
- Rover Dangerfield (1991; additional ink/paint)
- Rock-a-Doodle (1991; additional visual effects and animation)
- Bébé's Kids (1992; ink/paint, production camera and xerox work)
- Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992; additional animation)
- Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992; additional visual effects and animation)
- Once Upon a Forest (1993; additional animation)
- The Princess and the Goblin (1994; additional animation)
Cancelled projects[]
Coming soon!
Related studios[]
Coming soon!
Trivia[]
Coming soon!