Hasbro Studios

Background

In the early 1980s, when Hasbro decided to begin creating animated series based on their properties, they hired Sunbow Productions, who was already producing commercials for them, to create such series as G.I. Joe and The Transformers. In May 2008, Hasbro reacquired the animated series based on their properties from Sunbow Productions, so they could create programs in-house.

History

Hasbro Studios was formed in 2009 for TV development, production, and distribution under Stephen Davis as president. On November 9, 2010, Hasbro Studios signed an agreement with Canadian media company Corus Entertainment to broadcast their productions on Canadian television networks, such as YTV and Teletoon. On October 6, 2011, Hasbro Studios signed an agreement with seven US and international airlines, such as Continental Airlines and Qantas, to broadcast shows on their planes. In March 2012, the studio started venturing into foreign co-productions starting with Play-Doh (DoPei Le Doh), mixed animation and live action series with Toonmax, part of the Shanghai Media Group.

In December 2012, Hasbro transferred all entertainment divisions to Hasbro Studios, including their Los Angeles-based film group and Cake Mix Studio, the company's Rhode Island-based commercials and short content producer. On February 28, 2013, the studio laid off three staffers in its Game & Reality Show Production & Development department and moved that department under Vice President Kevin Belinkoff to the animation department's executive plus outside creative consultants.

The Hub was renamed Discovery Family on October 13, 2014. On October 20, the studio announced a new film self-finance/co-finance production label Allspark Pictures.

On December 15, 2015, Hasbro Studios and Paramount Pictures had agreed to a deal creating a five-property movie universe produced by Hasbro's Allspark Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The properties in this movie-verse are G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionairies, M.A.S.K. and Rom.

After two attempted films for Stretch Armstrong, the property was pick up by Netflix for a full 26-episode order as an animated series making it the first deal between the company and the streaming service.

Hasbro Films

Hasbro Films, or Hasbro Film Group, is a film development unit within Hasbro Studios, a division of Hasbro tasked with developing movies for Hasbro properties.

Background

Hasbro had made a 1980s animated Transformers movie. Waddingtons, later purchased by Hasbro in 1994, Clue's US licensee, had Clue made in 1985. Hasbro had previously licensed Transformers to DreamWorks for a live action film released in 2007. The Transformers franchise continued with Paramount Pictures, the distribution of and acquirer of DreamWorks, with the addition of the G.I. Joe property.

Hasbro Films history

Hasbro and Universal Pictures signed an agreement in February 2008 to derive and produce four films from seven Hasbro properties: Battleship, Candy Land, Clue, Magic: The Gathering, Monopoly, Ouija, and Stretch Armstrong. Hasbro was to pay for all development costs for the films and Universal was supposed to pay $5 million per property not made into films. In May, Bennett Schneir was hired to lead its film division while Hasbro also reacquired animated series based on their properties from Sunbow Productions.

By January 2012, all Hasbro properties at Universal — except for Battleship and Ouija — were halted in development. While Hasbro's film division continued to have an office on the Universal lot, Hasbro was able to take the Universal agreement properties to any studio. Universal paid a multimillion-dollar fee instead of the $5 million per property to depart from the agreement.

On 31 January 2011, it was announced that Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison, and Adam Sandler were in final negotiations to develop the Candy Land film. In February, Stretch Armstrong was set up with Relativity Media. In October, Hasbro signed a three picture co-production two-year deal which includes a first look provision with Emmett/Furla for Monopoly, Action Man, and Hungry Hungry Hippos, with Envision Entertainment's partners Stepan Martisoyan and Remington Chase as co-financiers. In December, Hasbro transferred the feature films division into Hasbro Studios along with its other short film division. By October 10, 2013, Relativity and Hasbro had removed the Stretch Armstrong movie from their schedules.

Hasbro filed suit against Sweetpea Entertainment and Warner Bros. on May 12, 2013 regarding the announced Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) movie based on Chainmail. Hasbro had asserted that rights had reverted to Hasbro, while Sweetpea felt they had the rights under a 1994 agreement with TSR. Hasbro had reportedly just agreed to license D&D movie rights to Universal. On August 3, 2015, Warner Bros. announced that they will be developing a Dungeons & Dragons movie as a resolution to the lawsuit. The film will be based on the Forgotten Realms campaign world with Courtney Solomon and Roy Lee producing, David Leslie Johnson writing the screenplay, and produced by Sweetpea Entertainment and Allspark Pictures.

In January 2014, Hasbro announced a franchise film deal with 20th Century Fox for Magic: The Gathering by its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast. In October 2014, the studio announced a new film self-finance/co-finance label Allspark Pictures with its first but existing project Jem and the Holograms plus a newly announced My Little Pony movie.

Hasbro's first original film project (not based on a toy or game), Hacker Camp, was assigned to writer Tripper Clancy in February 2015. By July 2015, the Monopoly satire film with Emmett/Furla was set aside with Hasbro announcing that Lionsgate will distribute a Monopoly film with Andrew Niccol writing the film as a family-friendly action adventure film co-financed and produced by Lionsgate and Hasbro's Allspark Pictures.

Films' parent unit, Hasbro Studios, on December 15, 2015 agreed with Paramount Pictures to a deal creating a five-property movie universe by financing unit Allspark Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The properties in this movie-verse are G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionaries, M.A.S.K. and Rom. A writers’ room was organized to develop a "creative roadmap". On April 21, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Michael Chabon, Brian K. Vaughan, Nicole Perlman, Lindsey Beer, Cheo Coker, John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein, Joe Robert Cole, Jeff Pinkner, Nicole Riegel and Geneva Robertson has joined the writers room.

On November 4, 2016, The Weinstein Company has announced that a Furby movie is in development as a live action/CG-animated movie produced under the TWC-Dimension label.