Klasky Csupo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Klasky-Csupo, Inc.

Logo used since 1991
Formerly	Klasky & Csupo (legal name until 1991)
Former type	Private
Industry	Animation
Fate	Dormancy (original)
Founded	1982; 43 years ago (1982) (original) 2012; 13 years ago (2012) (current)
Founders	Arlene Klasky Gábor Csupó
Defunct	2008; 17 years ago (2008) (original)
Headquarters	1238 North Highland Avenue Los Angeles, California 90038
Key people	Terry Thoren (CEO, 1994–2006) Tracy Kramer Norton Virgien Brandon Scott (Vice President)
Products	Animated series Music videos Animated shorts Animated commercials Comic books Live-action shows Animes
Owners	Arlene Klasky Gábor Csupó

Klasky-Csupo, Inc. is an American animation studio in Los Angeles, California. It was started in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and animator Gábor Csupó. They began in a spare room of their apartment. The company grew to have 550 artists and staff in Hollywood.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Klasky Csupo made popular shows for Nickelodeon. These included Rugrats, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, As Told by Ginger, and All Grown Up!. They also animated the first three seasons of The Simpsons. In 2008, Nickelodeon stopped working with Klasky Csupo, and their shows ended. The company then closed for four years. In 2012, it reopened. In 2018, they started making a new computer-animated version of Rugrats. This new show came out in 2021 on Paramount+.

History of Klasky Csupo

Early Years: 1982–1991

Klasky-Csupo, Inc., began in 1982. It was founded by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó in their Hollywood apartment. One year later, the company grew and moved to a new building in Hollywood.

At first, Klasky Csupo was known for making cool logo designs and commercials. They also created trailers for movies and titles for TV shows. They quickly became known as a very creative studio. In 1988, the studio moved to an even bigger location in Hollywood. Their buildings became famous because they had large murals of their characters on the outside walls.

The studio's first big chance came in 1987. A company called Gracie Films asked them to create the opening for a comedy show called The Tracey Ullman Show. Klasky Csupo also got to make one-minute cartoons for the show. These cartoons featured a family called the Simpsons, created by Matt Groening. Klasky Csupo made all 48 of these short cartoons. They became very popular, and soon The Simpsons got its own weekly TV show. Klasky Csupo animated the first three seasons of The Simpsons. They even won Emmy Awards for their work in 1989–1990 and 1990–1991.

Klasky Csupo also made the music video for "Do the Bartman". An animator at Klasky Csupo, Gyorgyi Kovacs Peluce, came up with the idea for The Simpsons characters to have yellow skin and Marge Simpson to have blue hair. She wanted them to look different from anything else.

In 1992, Gracie Films decided to have another studio, Film Roman, animate The Simpsons. Gábor Csupó didn't want to let them tell him how to run his business. Because of this change, Klasky Csupo had to let go of 75 animators who worked on The Simpsons.

Major Success with Animated Shows: 1991–2005

In 1991, Klasky Csupo created Rugrats. This was one of the first animated shows for Nickelodeon, known as "Nicktoons". The idea for Rugrats came from Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó's own sons. They wondered what their babies would do if they could talk.

Their next big show was Duckman for the USA Network. It was about a silly private detective duck named Eric Duckman. This show ran from 1994 to 1997. At the same time, Nickelodeon released Klasky Csupo's second Nicktoon, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.

Rugrats was very popular, and its ratings went way up. This made Nickelodeon and Klasky Csupo decide to make more episodes. People said Rugrats was "a show like the Simpsons, but for children."

In 1993, the studio worked with comedian Lily Tomlin. They brought her character, Edith Ann, to TV in two animated specials for ABC. These specials were well-liked by critics and viewers.

In 1995, the studio launched Santo Bugito on CBS. This was a comedy about a small town of insects living near the Texas-Mexico border. It had a unique look and music by Mark Mothersbaugh, who also did the music for Rugrats.

Klasky Csupo also started a division for animated commercials. They made ads for big companies like Oscar Mayer, Taco Bell, and Kraft. In 2001, they added a live-action commercial division called Ka-Chew!.

After Duckman and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ended in 1997, Klasky Csupo started The Wild Thornberrys for Nickelodeon. This show was about a girl named Eliza Thornberry who could talk to animals. It premiered in 1998.

In 1998, Klasky Csupo made its first full-length movie, The Rugrats Movie. It was the number one movie in the country when it opened. It earned over $141 million worldwide. It was the first animated movie not made by Disney to earn over $100 million in the United States. They made two more Rugrats movies: Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) and Rugrats Go Wild (2003). Rugrats Go Wild was a crossover with The Wild Thornberrys. The Wild Thornberrys also got its own movie in 2002.

Klasky Csupo also created The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald for McDonald's. These were animated videos featuring the famous mascot.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Klasky Csupo made two more shows for Nickelodeon: Rocket Power and As Told by Ginger. They also produced the first season of Stressed Eric, an adult animated series for BBC Two.

In 2001, for the tenth anniversary of Rugrats, Klasky Csupo released a TV special called All Growed Up. This special showed the Rugrats babies as teenagers. It was so popular that Nickelodeon ordered a whole series based on it, called All Grown Up!. This show ran from 2003 to 2008.

In 2003, Klasky Csupo and another company, Titmouse, Inc., made a music video for the band They Might Be Giants. It featured characters from Dexter's Laboratory drawn in an anime style.

Decline and Return: 2006–Present

In the mid-2000s, Klasky Csupo stopped making their Nickelodeon shows. Their long partnership with the network ended. In 2006, the company's CEO, Terry Thoren, left. The studio then became quiet and less active for a while.

In 2006, Klasky Csupo announced they were working on 28 new animated cartoon pilots. These pilots had different animation styles, not just the one the studio was famous for. Some of these cartoons were later shared by Gábor Csupó on his YouTube channel.

In 2008, the studio released its most recent film, Immigrants. This movie was originally planned as a TV series.

In 2012, Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó reopened the company. Their first new project was Ollie Mongo, a digital comic book about a skateboarding zombie teenager. In 2015, the company announced RoboSplaat!, a web series about the robot character from their old logo. This character, named "Splaat," is now voiced by Greg Cipes. The RoboSplaat! web series started on December 21, 2016.

On September 2, 2015, Nickelodeon said they might bring back classic shows, possibly including Rugrats. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2016, Arlene Klasky said she would like to work on a new Rugrats series.

On July 16, 2018, Nickelodeon announced a new Rugrats series with 26 episodes. Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó returned as executive producers. The new Rugrats uses computer animation instead of the hand-drawn style of the original. It premiered on Paramount+ on May 27, 2021.

In April 2022, Gábor Csupó started an NFT project called Cosa Monstra.

RoboSplaat! Web Series

RoboSplaat! is an animated web series created by Arlene Klasky for YouTube. The show is about Splaat, a purple ink splat. Splaat is voiced by Greg Cipes, who also voices Beast Boy from Teen Titans.

RoboSplaat! Characters

Splaat

• Splaat (voiced by Greg Cipes) is the main character. He is a purple ink splat with yellow rectangles for eyes and a mouth. He wears black long sleeves and red and white sneakers. In the old Klasky Csupo logo, he looked more robotic and had no arms or legs.

Splaat's Family

• Digital (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is Splaat's 12-year-old younger brother. He has red rectangles and blue lips. He wears a black short-sleeved shirt and grey and white shoes.
• Sergei (voiced by Cooper Barnes) is Splaat and Digital's father and Blossom's husband. He is an ink bottle with sea-green eyes and pink lips. He wears purplish-black armless sleeves and black shoes.
• Blossom (voiced by Candi Milo) is Splaat and Digital's mother and Sergei's wife. She is a pair of blue scissors with blue eyes and a yellow rectangle for a mouth. She wears an orange skirt and gloves. She doesn't have legs.
• Grandpa (voiced by Richard Tanner) is Splaat and Digital's grandfather and Sergei's father. He is a grey ink splat with blue eyes and black eyebrows. He wears green glasses, a black suit, a green shirt, a purple necktie, and brown shoes.

Klasky Csupo Filmography

Television Series

Web Series

Films

Pilots

Other Projects

Commercials

See Also

In Spanish: Klasky Csupo para niños

• Nickelodeon Animation Studio
• Film Roman