Ragdoll Productions facts for kids
Logo used since 2000
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Formerly
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Ragdoll Productions (U.K.) Limited (1985-2000) Ragdoll Video Limited (1991–2000) Ragdoll Limited (2000-2013) |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 26 July 1984 |
| Founder | Anne Wood |
| Headquarters |
Shenington, Oxfordshire
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England
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Key people
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Christopher Wood |
| Owner | Ragdoll Ltd. |
| Subsidiaries | The Ragdoll Foundation |
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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 |
Ragdoll Productions Limited, or simply Ragdoll, is a British television production company founded in 1984 by Anne Wood, who had previously worked for Yorkshire Television and TV-am. It is located in Shenington, Oxfordshire, and has produced a number of children's programmes, most notably Pob's Programme, Teletubbies, Rosie and Jim, Brum, Boohbah, Tots TV, and In the Night Garden..., most of which are now owned by WildBrain.
Contents
History
Ragdoll Productions was founded on 26 July 1984 by Anne Wood, who produced shows for the ITV network. It was incorporated as Ragdoll Productions (U.K.) Limited in April 1985 and was originally based in Birmingham. The company's first show, Pob's Programme, premiered on Channel 4 later that year. The company was later commissioned by Central Independent Television to produce Playbox, which demonstrated the ability for the company to produce their own characters. In 1989, The Magic Mirror and BOOM! marked the company's debut in the animation and live-action markets. The company at first produced puppet-based programmes, and their mascot was originally a female rag doll that was based on one that belonged to Wood's daughter.
In 1992, the company moved their operations to Stratford-upon-Avon and opened up The Ragdoll Shop.
In the mid-1990s, Ragdoll expanded operations to the United States, and signed a deal with The Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Company to sell their programmes in the market.
In 2000, Ragdoll dropped their rag doll mascot for a more simplistic logo designed by Lambie-Nairn, with the company also adopting a new name of Ragdoll Limited by that point. During that time, the company started to move away from puppet-based shows (which started with Teletubbies in 1997), by making animated cartoons. Ragdoll still produced live-action shows, but would use costumes and animatronics instead of puppets.
In October 2001, Ragdoll parted ways with Itsy Bitsy following a failure to reach an agreement with the company's majority owner, the Handleman Group. Ragdoll then started to sell their programmes on their own from then-on, forming Ragdoll USA.
In January 2002, Teletubbies: Everywhere, a spin-off of Teletubbies, was announced to air on CBeebies within its launch window. On 14 June, a new series titled Boohbah was announced and was pre-sold to CITV and GMTV for a 2003 delivery. The show later saw an international roll-out.
At MIPTV 2005, Ragdoll announced a new series titled Blurrfect and that CITV had acquired broadcasting rights for an autumn 2005 delivery. By September 2005, the series was renamed Blips, and soon premiered on 29 September 2005 as part of the CITV's autumn schedule. On 13 October, Ragdoll unrevealed two new series that were pre-sold to the BBC: In the Night Garden... and Tronji, for a 2007 delivery. In October 2005, Ragdoll subsidiary The Ragdoll Foundation announced that Five's Milkshake! block had commissioned a series of six short films titled What Makes Me Happy?, which would air daily from 19 December.
In September 2006, Ragdoll formed a joint venture with BBC Worldwide called Ragdoll Worldwide, to sell and license the company's programmes outside of the UK and North America. In the Night Garden... and Tronji would be the first two programmes created as part of the venture, while existing programmes were handled by BBC Worldwide, which managed the international broadcast sales and the UK and international licensing of all Ragdoll properties (including Blips, Boohbah, Brum, Tots TV, Rosie and Jim, and Open a Door), with Ragdoll retaining all British broadcast rights. A new subsidiary, Ragdoll USA Inc., part of the new joint venture, would manage Ragdoll's distribution in North America.
In January 2013, Ragdoll opted to end their agreement with BBC Worldwide and put up Ragdoll Worldwide for sale. On 16 September, Canadian studio DHX Media (now as "WildBrain") purchased the venture from both companies for £17.4 million (or USD$24 million) The deal included the rights to most of Ragdoll's programming, but with the exceptions of Pob's Programme and Playbox, the latter of which was acquired by ITV Studios. The company also changed to its current name of Ragdoll Productions Limited, with "Productions" added back to the name after 13 years.
In 2015, Ragdoll produced the live-action/stop-motion series Twirlywoos with DHX, making it the first and only co-production between the companies.
In 2018, the company co-produced a short film with Disney UK for the Hope Works initiative, titled What Shall We Do With The Angry Monster?.
In 2021, Ragdoll formed a deal with British distribution company Cake Entertainment for them to distribute their new series, B.O.T. and the Beasties, for CBeebies. On 29 March, the company was relocated to Shenington, with Anne Wood retiring from the company on 14 December, and leaving her son Christopher as director of the studio.
Pre-Ragdoll productions
The following are some of productions made by Anne Wood before Ragdoll was founded, accompanied by a brief description and vital statistics:
- Puzzle Party - first broadcast in 1977. Hosted by Gyles Brandreth and featuring characters Gnigel and Gnu, the show was one of Anne Wood's earliest TV shows for the BBC.
- The Book Tower - first broadcast in 1979, hosted by Tom Baker and Stephen Moore.
- Ragdolly Anna - first broadcast in 1982, based on the children's books by Jean Kenward.
- Roland Rat - first broadcast in 1983.
Productions
Ragdoll's programmes produced between 1990 and 2017 (excluding Pob's Programme, BOOM! and Storytime) are currently owned by WildBrain (formerly known as DHX Media).
Ragdoll Productions
| Title | Year(s) | Network | Notes/Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pob's Programme | 1985–1990 | Channel 4 | Owned by Ragdoll |
| Playbox | 1987–1992 | ITV (Central) | Currently owned by ITV Studios |
| The Magic Mirror | 1989 | ITV | Co-production for The Kellogg Company Ragdoll's first animated production |
| BOOM! | 1990–1991 | Channel 4 | Ragdoll's first non-puppet live-action production |
| Rosie and Jim | 1990-2000 | ITV (Central) | Oldest Ragdoll series to be owned by WildBrain |
| Brum | 1991, 1994 2001–2002 |
BBC One (Children's BBC/CBBC) CBeebies |
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| Tots TV | 1993–1998 | ITV (Central) | Co-produced with Carlton Television in later seasons Rights co-owned with ITV Studios |
| Open a Door | 1994–2003 | BBC Two (Children's BBC/CBBC) CBeebies |
An international short film series co-produced with other companies. |
| Storytime | 1995–1997 | BBC Two | Series 5-6 only |
| Teletubbies | 1997–2001 | BBC Two (Children's BBC/CBBC) | Original series, revivals/reboots are produced by DHX Media. |
| Badjelly the Witch | 2000 | BBC One | Television special/movie Co-produced with Norma Farnes Management |
| Teletubbies Everywhere | 2002 | CBeebies | Short form series |
| Boohbah | 2003–2006 | ITV (CITV and GMTV) | Co-produced with GMTV |
| Blips | 2005–2006 | ITV (CITV) | |
| What Makes Me Happy | 2005 | Five (Milkshake!) | Co-produced with The Ragdoll Foundation Series of six short films |
| Twirlywoos | 2015–2017 | CBeebies | Co-produced with DHX Media |
| What Shall We Do With The Angry Monster? | 2018 | YouTube | Short film Co-produced for Disney UK |
| B.O.T. and the Beasties | 2021-present | CBeebies | Short form series Owned by Ragdoll Distributed by Cake Entertainment |
Ragdoll Worldwide
| Title | Year(s) | Network | Notes/Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the Night Garden... | 2007–2009 | CBeebies | |
| Tronji | 2009–2010 | CBBC | |
| Dipdap | 2011 | CBeebies | Short form series |
| The Adventures of Abney & Teal | 2011–2012 | CBeebies |
The Ragdoll Shop
The Ragdoll Shop in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire was a store that consisted of themed play areas based on Ragdoll properties and an area where merchandise was sold. The store first opened in 1992, and traded until 2005, because of expansion limits and failure to find a new larger venue.
The building that formerly housed the shop is now a optometrist's practice named Dr. CP Grey's. The picture of Rosie and Jim waving can still be seen in the black window at the top of the building.
