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 |
Key people
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Ted Koplar Peter Keefe |
Products | Anime, cartoons |
Subsidiaries | Calico Entertainment |
WEP LLC, doing business as World Events Productions, is an American-based animation and distribution company in St. Louis, Missouri, best known for releasing the anime titles Voltron, Defender of the Universe and Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, as well as producing the original animated series Denver, the Last Dinosaur.
Legal issues
World Events Productions settled a legal dispute with Toei Animation in 2010 over copyright infringements of a potential live-action Voltron movie. In the past, both companies disputed when Voltron: The Third Dimension was released. The previous dispute was settled in 2000, with WEP acquiring the animated properties Voltron and GoLion, as well as 'Vehicle Force Voltron' and 'Dairugger'. The most recent legal issues between the two companies focus on WEP's right to adapt the anime into live-action and possibly marketing it in Japan. As a result of this dispute, 20th Century Fox and New Regency Productions pulled out of the live-action project.
On July 2009, Atlas Entertainment acquired the live-action film rights. This prompted film producers James Young, Ford Oelman and Mark Costa to file a lawsuit against World Events Productions, claiming that their companies - Animus Films and NHO Entertainment - have held exclusive live-action rights to Voltron since 2004. The live-action project was eventually scrapped on June 2010 in favor of a new Voltron television series. On November 4, 2016, three months after the completion of NBCUniversal's acquisition of Classic Media's parent company, DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, it was announced that Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation will make the film with David Hayter writing the script.
Filmography
- Voltron (1984–1985)
- Adaptation of Toei Animation's Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.
- Voltron: Fleet of Doom (1986)
- One-off crossover of both Voltron seasons co-produced by Toei Animation.
- Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs (1987–1988)
- Adaptation of Studio Pierrot's Star Musketeer Bismarck
- Denver, the Last Dinosaur (1988)
- WEP's first all-original work.
- Vytor: The Starfire Champion (1989)
- Widget the World Watcher (1990-1991) (co-production)
- Mr. Bogus (1991-1993)
- The Moo Family Holiday Hoedown (1992)
- Christmas special
- Bubsy pilot (1993)
- Twinkle the Dream Being (1993-1995)
- The New Adventures of Voltron (1994-1995)
- Original "Voltron" episodes created for the North American market without Toei Animation's involvement. The following "Voltron" series would also be produced without the involvement of the original Japanese creators.
- This Land Is Your Land: The Animated Kids' Songs of Woody Guthrie (1997)
- Video short
- Bad Baby pilot (1997)
- Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998–2000)
- 3D animated sequel to Voltron co-produced by Mike Young Productions
- Voltron Force (2011–2012)
- Co-produced by Kickstart Productions and DreamWorks Classics.
- Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016–2018)
- Co-produced by DreamWorks Animation Television.
- Denver the Last Dinosaur (2018)
- CGI production co-produced by Zagtoon
Live-action films
- Voltron live-action film
- A live-action film, based on the series produced through DreamWorks Animation, will be released through Universal Pictures