Calon (TV production company) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mount Stuart Media Ltd.

Trade name	Calon
Industry	Animation
Predecessor	Siriol Productions Ltd (1982–2005)
Founded	2005
Founder	Robin Lyons
Headquarters	Cardiff, Wales, UK
Key people	Robin Lyons
Subsidiaries	Sali Mali 2 Ltd.

Calon (which means 'heart' in Welsh) is the name used by Mount Stuart Media Ltd. This British company makes animated TV shows. It is based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Calon mainly created Welsh animated series for the TV channel S4C. The company was also known as Siriol Animation and Siriol Productions before.

History of Calon

Calon was formed after a special deal. The company Siriol Productions was bought out from Entertainment Rights. This happened when Entertainment Rights moved its main office to London. Most of the staff stayed in Wales. They helped Siriol become an independent company again. This deal gave Calon the rights to its current shows and some older ones. However, Entertainment Rights still owns the rights to most of the very old series.

The company grew to employ over 40 people. For more than 30 years, Calon helped develop new talent in the Welsh animation industry. Calon kept making animated shows. It also started creating live-action content for the UK and other countries. They also worked with big TV networks outside the UK.

In March 2009, the company bought back its animation shows from S4C International.

In July 2010, the company decided to close down voluntarily. This happened because they could not get the money they hoped for to grow the company. Soon after, it became part of Mount Stuart Media Ltd.

Shows Made by Calon

Calon produced many different shows. They made two series of Hana's Helpline. These were for young children on Channel 5's Milkshake block. This was a joint project with S4C and the German broadcaster ZDF. One series of Igam Ogam was made for S4C, Channel 5, ZDF Enterprises, and the Gaelic Media Service on BBC Alba. They also created a puppet show called The Zoo Factor for CBBC. Calon also made live-action dramas. These included Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw for ITV and Nickelodeon. In 2011, ITV asked Calon to create a new comedy show. Calon also worked with The Osmonds to develop a film about the wild west.

• Bobinogs (season 3)
• Hana's Helpline
• Psi-5 (pilot film; 2007)
• U-Chronia (pilot film; 2009)
• Igam Ogam (2009–2013)
• The Zoo Factor (2011)
• Captain Morten and the Spider Queen (2018) (film)
• Sali Mali (December 2020 – present) (season 2)

About Hana's Helpline

Hana's Helpline is a stop-motion animation series. It is made for children who are not yet in school. The show is about Hana, a duck. She runs a special phone helpline for animals who have problems. The main voices are done by Arabella Weir, Jonathan Kydd, Joanna Ruiz, Boyd Clack, and Caroline Harker. Most of the other voices are done by children.

There are 52 episodes in total. Each episode is 10 minutes long. It first aired in Wales under its Welsh name Holi Hana on April 2, 2007. The first English broadcast was on Five on June 12, 2007. It has also been shown in other countries. For example, it started broadcasting on TVB Pearl on May 10, 2007. Books based on the show were available from Random House Children's Books starting in January 2008. Toys of the characters were also made by Golden Bear Toys. The first DVD of the show was released in November 2007. A second collection of episodes was released in Spring 2008.

Siriol Productions

Siriol Productions was also known as Dave Edwards Studio or Siriol Animation. "Siriol" means 'cheerful' in Welsh language. It was started in 1982 in Cardiff. The founders were Mike Young, his wife Liz, animator Dave Edwards, and producer Robin Lyons. The company began when these three men talked to the new Welsh TV channel S4C. They got a deal to make an animated series called SuperTed. Mike Young created SuperTed. With help from S4C, the partners set up their animation studio, Siriol Animation.

SuperTed was a very successful show. The company won a famous BAFTA award in 1987 for it. The series first aired in 1982. It was shown on S4C in Wales and on the BBC in other parts of the UK. It had three series and 36 episodes.

After SuperTed did so well, S4C asked the company to make another series. This was Wil Cwac Cwac. It was based on children's books first published in Wales in the early 1930s. The stories are about a naughty little duckling. He lives on a farm in rural Wales with his family and friends. After this, S4C asked for more shows. They made half-hour specials for the animated series Fox Tales. This included the 1986 TV special A Winter Story.

Lyons and Young also worked on a children's stop-motion animated series, Fireman Sam in 1987. However, this show was produced by Prism Art and Design Ltd and Bumper Films. In its early years, the studio worked only for S4C. Robin Lyons, who was the managing director, decided to find more customers. He wanted to work with other companies to make shows. This led to the creation of Siriol Productions in 1988. In 1989, Mike Young left the company. He moved to the United States to start his own company, Mike Young Productions. Young also worked with Hanna-Barbera. They developed a cartoon called Fantastic Max (which was first called Space Baby). They also created a follow-up series to SuperTed called The Further Adventures of SuperTed.

Working with other companies proved successful for Siriol. They made shows like The Princess and the Goblin. This was an 80-minute film made with Hungary's Pannonia Film Studio. They also made Under Milk Wood. This was a 50-minute TV special using a 1950s voice recording by Richard Burton. These projects helped Robin Lyons make many connections in the animation world. He worked with broadcasters like the BBC and ITV. He also worked with other top animation studios.

In 1989, Siriol joined with other companies. These were La Fabrique in France, Cologne Cartoon in Germany, and Sofidoc in Belgium. Together, they formed their own distribution company called EVA Entertainment. Steve Walsh, who used to be in charge of co-productions at Goldcrest Films, led this new company. Their joint productions were part of the EC's CARTOON program. This was part of its MEDIA initiative. EVA was the first group formed under this plan. The group worked with major European broadcasters. These included the BBC in the UK, FR3 and Canal+ in France, and ZDF and WDR in Germany. They also made shows with other European partners. They even worked with US and Canadian companies.

In 1995, EVA received a lot of private money. It also attracted two top people from BBC Children's International, Mikael Shields and Tony Stern. EVA Entertainment made many series and specials. Siriol creatively controlled the group's main productions. These shows were sold to over fifty countries on five continents. Some of them were Robert Creep, Tales of the Tooth Fairies, Billy the Cat (the group's biggest project), and Romuald the Reindeer. Robin Lyons produced the last two shows. When EVA was sold to Pearson PLC, Siriol formed other partnerships. They worked with Scottish Television and SKD Media Plc.

In 1998, Siriol was bought by Sleepy Kids. This company was renamed Entertainment Rights in 2000. Lyons took on a bigger role within the new company. In 2005, Lyons led a management buyout for Siriol Productions. The company was then renamed Calon.

Shows Produced by Siriol

Animation Services Provided by Siriol

Kalisto Ltd

Kalisto Ltd. was a short-lived company. It was a joint project between the directors of Siriol Animation and Booker Group. It started in 1986. The company worked on a show called Space Baby. This later became Fantastic Max, which was made with Hanna-Barbera. They also worked on another series called Satellite City (with Fairwater Films). And they made the 1991 animated film The Little Engine That Could. Kalisto lasted for less than a year. Then Booker bought back the rights to the projects.