Key people Richard Rich Founder Richard Rich Defunct 2013 | Headquarters Burbank Founded 1986 | |
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Predecessor Rich Animation Studios (1986–2000)RichCrest Animation Studios (2000–2007) Films produced Alpha and Omega, The Swan Princess, The Swan Princess: A Royal Fa, The Swan Princess Christmas, The Little Engine That Could | ||
Crest Animation Productions (formerly RichCrest Animation Studios and Rich Animation Studios) was an animation studio located in Burbank, California, United States. The studio's most well known work include Alpha and Omega and The Swan Princess.
Contents
History
The studio was founded by film director Richard Rich in 1986, who previously worked at Walt Disney Productions. In 1987, the studio was owned by Nest Family Entertainment to produce and distribute educational animated Christian and historical videos for children such as Animated Stories from the New Testament, Animated Hero Classics and Animated Stories from the Bible. In 1994, the two studios produced and released their first and most famous collaborated feature film called The Swan Princess, based on the classic ballet Swan Lake, it was distributed for New Line Cinema. The film was rather successful on its first opening weekend. It also spawned two sequels, The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain and The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom, neither of which did a good performance. In 1999, the two studios teamed up with Morgan Creek Productions and Rankin/Bass Productions to produce an animated adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I for Warner Bros.. However, the film bombed at the box office and received very negative reviews, which forced Nest Family Entertainment to sell off the studio to Crest Animation Studios in 2000 to form RichCrest Animation Studios. In 2001, the studio produced and released its last collaborated feature film with Nest Family Entertainment, which is The Trumpet of the Swan, based on E.B. White's 1970 novel of the same name, it was distributed by TriStar Pictures, although it also does a poor performance. However, the studio continued to produce Bible videos for Nest Family Entertainment until 2005. In February 2007, it was renamed to its current name and it was announced that it is "expanding its business to become a full-service animation studio specializing in the development and production of CGI-animated properties for theatrical, television, home entertainment and interactive distribution".
The studio was later shut down in 2013, after failing to make a profit. Many of its productions contracts were handed over to other studios for completion. For example, Norm of the North, a film that was in production at Crest before closing, along with future Alpha and Omega sequels were handed over to be finished at Splash Entertainment.
Rich era
Theatrical Features
Direct-to-Video
RichCrest era
theatrical Features
Direct-To-Video
Crest era
Note: All films CGI.
Thetrical features
Direct-to-Video features
Films originally slated for production at Crest