World Events Productions facts for kids
Current logo, featuring a silhouette of Voltron
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Trade name
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World Events Productions |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
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Key people
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Ted Koplar Peter Keefe |
| Products | Anime, cartoons |
| Subsidiaries | Calico Entertainment |
WEP LLC, also known as World Events Productions, is an American company based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are known for creating and sharing animated shows. WEP became famous for bringing Japanese anime series like Voltron, Defender of the Universe and Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs to American television. They also produced their own original cartoon, Denver, the Last Dinosaur.
Contents
Company History
Early Days
World Events Productions was started in 1980 by Ted Koplar. His father, Harold Koplar, was a well-known businessman in St. Louis who founded the TV station KPLR-TV. The company first began as a TV program called World Events, which focused on current news.
In 1982, Ted Koplar worked with Jack Galmiche and Frank Babcock. Together, they created and shared three kickboxing shows that were shown all across the country.
Bringing Anime to America
In 1983, Ted Koplar went to a science fiction convention. There, he discovered a Japanese anime series called Beast King GoLion. He believed this show could be very popular in the U.S. WEP got the rights to the series from Toei Animation and released it in 1984. They edited the show and added English voices, calling it Voltron. The show was a huge hit!
After all the GoLion episodes aired, WEP adapted another Japanese series, Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, into the second season of Voltron. However, this season was not as popular because viewers missed the original GoLion team. So, WEP asked Toei Animation to create 20 more episodes based on the GoLion story for Voltron.
In 1987, WEP got the rights to another anime, Star Musketeer Bismark, from Studio Pierrot. They released it as Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs. WEP rewrote parts of the story, changed the order of some episodes, and even had six new episodes made just for the U.S. version. While Saber Rider wasn't as big as Voltron, it gained a loyal group of fans over the years, especially in Germany.
Creating Original Cartoons
After years of bringing Japanese anime to the U.S., WEP started making its own animated shows. In 1988, they released Denver, the Last Dinosaur. This show was very popular with parents and was even recommended by the National Education Association. In 1989, WEP released Vytor: The Starfire Champion. Even though it won awards, this show was only on TV for a short time.
In 1998, WEP brought back the Voltron story with a brand new TV series. Voltron: The Third Dimension was a 3D animated sequel to the original show. Some of the original voice actors returned, along with famous actors like Clancy Brown and Tim Curry. The series won an Emmy Award for its sound editing, but fans and critics had mixed feelings about it.
Recent Years
In 2008, World Events made the original GoLion and Dairugger XV series available in the U.S. again.
In 2010, a company called Classic Media (now part of DreamWorks Classics) gained the rights to share the Voltron shows.
WEP, along with Kickstart Productions and Classic Media, released a new Voltron animated series called Voltron Force in June 2011. This series continued the story after the original show and aired on Nicktoons.
Shows and Films
Here is a list of some of the animated shows and films World Events Productions has been involved with:
- Voltron (1984–1985)
- This show was made by adapting two Japanese anime series: Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV from Toei Animation.
- Voltron: Fleet of Doom (1986)
- This was a special movie that brought together characters from both Voltron seasons. Toei Animation also helped make it.
- Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs (1987–1988)
- This show was adapted from the Japanese anime Star Musketeer Bismarck by Studio Pierrot.
- Denver, the Last Dinosaur (1988)
- This was the first cartoon that WEP created all by themselves.
- Vytor: The Starfire Champion (1989)
- Widget the World Watcher (1990–1991) (co-production)
- Mr. Bogus (1991–1993)
- The New Adventures of Voltron (1994–1995)
- These were new Voltron episodes made for North America without the original Japanese creators. Future Voltron series would also be made this way.
- Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998–2000)
- This was a 3D animated sequel to the original Voltron, made with Mike Young Productions.
- Voltron Force (2011–2012)
- This show was made with Kickstart Productions and DreamWorks Classics.
- Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016–2018)
- This series was made with DreamWorks Animation Television.
- Denver the Last Dinosaur (2018)
- A new computer-animated (CGI) version of the show, made with Zagtoon.
Future Live-Action Films
- Voltron live-action film
- A movie based on the Voltron series is planned to be made by DreamWorks Animation and released by Universal Pictures.
