Cookie Jar Group facts for kids
Logo used from 2004 to 2014
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Trade name
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Cookie Jar Group |
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Formerly
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Television production Animation |
| Fate | Acquired by, merged with, and folded into DHX Media |
| Predecessors | FilmFair DIC Entertainment |
| Successor | DHX Media |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Founders | Micheline Charest Ronald A. Weinberg |
| Defunct | December 25, 2014 |
| Headquarters | Official office: Toronto, Ontario, Canada International offices: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Burbank, California, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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3 (2006) |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Michael Hirsh (CEO) Lesley Taylor (President) |
| Parent | DHX Media (2012–2014) |
| Divisions | Cookie Jar Entertainment Cookie Jar Education Cookie Jar Consumer Products Horn Rims Productions KidsCo Copyright Promotions Licensing Group |
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| 1968 | FilmFair is founded |
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| 1971 | DIC Audiovisuel is founded |
| 1974 | CPLG is founded |
| 1976 | CINAR and Colossal Pictures are founded |
| 1978 | Iconix Brand Group is founded. |
| 1982 | DIC Enterprises is founded |
| 1984 | Ragdoll Productions is founded |
| 1987 | DIC Audiovisuel closes |
| 1988 | Studio B Productions is founded |
| 1992 | Epitome Pictures is founded |
| 1993 | DIC Enterprises becomes DIC Entertainment |
| 1994 | Wild Brain is founded |
| 1995 | Platinum Disc Corporation is founded |
| 1996 | CINAR buys FilmFair's library |
| 1997 | Decode Entertainment is founded |
| 1999 | Wild Brain absorbs Colossal Pictures' employees |
| 2002 | Nerd Corps Entertainment is founded |
| 2004 | Halifax Film Company is founded and CINAR rebrands as Cookie Jar Group, and the House of Cool are founded |
| 2005 | Platinum Disc Corporation becomes Echo Bridge Home Entertainment |
| 2006 | Decode and Halifax Film merge as DHX Media, DIC acquires CPLG, and Ragdoll Worldwide is formed with BBC Worldwide |
| 2007 | DHX Media buys Studio B Productions and Wild Brain becomes Wildbrain Entertainment |
| 2008 | DIC Entertainment is acquired and absorbed into Cookie Jar Group |
| 2010 | DHX Media buys Wildbrain Entertainment |
| 2011 | Decode Entertainment closes |
| 2012 | DHX Media buys Cookie Jar Group |
| 2013 | DHX Media buys Ragdoll Worldwide |
| 2014 | DHX Media buys Epitome Pictures, Nerd Corps, and Echo Bridge Home Entertainment and Cookie Jar is absorbed |
| 2016 | The WildBrain multi-channel network launches and Studio B and Nerd Corps merge as DHX Studios |
| 2017 | Wildbrain Entertainment closes and DHX Media buys Iconix Brands Entertainment |
| 2018 | Halifax Film becomes spins off as Island of Misfits |
| 2019 | DHX Media rebrands as WildBrain, Epitome Pictures closes, and the WildBrain MCN becomes WildBrain Spark |
| 2020 | CPLG becomes WildBrain CPLG |
| 2023 | WildBrain acquires House of Cool |
Cookie Jar Group was a Canadian company that made and distributed TV shows, especially cartoons. It was known for creating many popular children's programs. The company started in 1976 as CINAR Films Inc. in Montreal.
CINAR became very successful in children's entertainment. By 1999, it was a major player in the children's TV market. Later, the company faced some challenges regarding its business practices.
In 2004, a group led by Michael Hirsh, who founded another animation company called Nelvana, bought CINAR. They then changed its name to Cookie Jar Group. In 2008, Cookie Jar grew even bigger by acquiring DIC Entertainment, which added many more shows to its collection.
Finally, in 2012, another company called DHX Media bought Cookie Jar. This deal made DHX Media the largest independent owner of children's TV shows. By the end of 2014, Cookie Jar officially became part of DHX Media.
Contents
History of Cookie Jar Group
CINAR's Early Years
The company began in 1976 when Micheline Charest and Ronald A. Weinberg met in New Orleans. They first worked on distributing foreign films in the U.S. Later, they moved to New York City and officially started CINAR, focusing on film and TV distribution.
In 1984, CINAR shifted its focus from distributing films to creating its own TV shows. They moved their main operations to Montreal, Quebec. Here, they concentrated on making family-friendly TV programs.
CINAR produced many well-known shows. These included The Little Lulu Show, Animal Crackers, Emily of New Moon, and Mona the Vampire. They also created Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, and Madeline. Some of their most famous shows were Arthur, Zoboomafoo, and Caillou.
CINAR also helped bring popular Japanese anime and other international shows to English-speaking audiences. They dubbed series like Adventures of the Little Koala, Ronin Warriors, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
In September 1993, CINAR became a public company. This meant its shares could be bought and sold by the public.
In 1996, CINAR bought the animation library and studio of a London-based company called FilmFair. This allowed CINAR to open a European studio, CINAR Europe, in 1997. The goal was to create new versions of classic shows like The Wombles and The Adventures of Paddington Bear. However, CINAR Europe closed in 2002 due to financial issues.
By 1999, CINAR was very successful, earning about $150 million (Canadian dollars) each year. They owned a large part of the children's television market.
Becoming Cookie Jar Group
On March 15, 2004, a new group bought CINAR for over $190 million (Canadian dollars). This group was led by Michael Hirsh, who had founded the animation company Nelvana. Two weeks later, on March 29, the company officially changed its name to Cookie Jar.
On June 20, 2008, Cookie Jar Group announced plans to acquire DIC Entertainment. This acquisition was completed on July 23, 2008. DIC then became part of Cookie Jar's entertainment division.
With the acquisition of DIC Entertainment, Cookie Jar gained a huge library of over 6,000 half-hours of programming. They also got the rights to many well-known children's brands. Cookie Jar also took over DIC's headquarters in Burbank, California, for its own offices.
Cookie Jar also gained a one-third ownership in KidsCo, an international children's TV channel. They also acquired Copyright Promotions Licensing Group, a company that handles licensing for popular characters.
In April 2009, Cookie Jar hired Tom Mazza to help expand their TV show production. He aimed to create more Canadian co-productions that could be sold worldwide. In 2011, Cookie Jar launched a new division called The Jar. This division focused on creating shows for U.S. primetime television.
Joining DHX Media
On August 20, 2012, DHX Media announced that it would acquire Cookie Jar Group for $111 million. This purchase was a big deal because it made DHX Media the largest independent owner of children's television programming in the world. The acquisition was completed on October 22, 2012.
After the merger, the sixth season of the show Johnny Test was produced by Cookie Jar under DHX Media's ownership. Cookie Jar officially closed its doors after this series finished its run on December 25, 2014.
Television Programs and Blocks
Popular Shows
Cookie Jar and its earlier form, CINAR, produced and distributed a wide variety of children's television shows. Many of these shows became very popular with young audiences around the world.
Cookie Jar TV
Before Cookie Jar acquired DIC, DIC had been programming a weekend morning block for the TV network CBS. This block was called KEWLopolis. After the acquisition, on February 24, 2009, CBS renewed its contract with Cookie Jar for this block.
For the 2009–10 TV season, the block was renamed Cookie Jar TV. It continued to air children's programming on Saturday mornings. In later years, starting with the 2011–12 season, promos for the block sometimes called it Team Toon. In 2013–14, Cookie Jar TV was replaced by a new block called CBS Dream Team.
Cookie Jar Toons
On November 1, 2008, a TV channel called This TV launched a daily children's programming block. This block was named Cookie Jar Toons. It provided educational and informational shows for children.
Cookie Jar Kids Network
Cookie Jar Kids Network was a special block of children's programs. It aired selected Cookie Jar shows on local TV stations, including those affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. This network helped these stations meet requirements for showing educational programs for kids. It stopped broadcasting on September 18, 2011.
Images for kids
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Logo used from 2004 to 2014
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CINAR logo used from 1984 to 2004, shown here is the 2000 variant, consisting of the 1992 variant on a blue oval.
