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Klasky-Csupo, Inc.

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Klasky-Csupo, Inc.
File:Klasky Csupo logo.svg
Formerly
Klasky & Csupo (legal name until 1991)
Private
ISIN🆔
IndustryAnimation, motion pictures, television series, graphic design, commercials
Founded 📆1982; 42 years ago (1982)
Founders 👔
Area served 🗺️
Key people
  • Terry Thoren (CEO, 1994–2006)
  • Tracy Kramer
  • Norton Virgien
  • Brandon Scott (Vice President)
Products 📟 
OwnersArlene Klasky
Gábor Csupó
Members
Number of employees
🌐 Websitewww.klaskycsupo.com
📇 Address
📞 telephone

Klasky-Csupo, Inc. (stylized as KLaSKY CSUPO INC., doing business as Klasky-Csupo, pronounced "class-key chew-poe" /klæski ˈp/ KLAS-kee CHOO-poh) is an American animation studio and production company located in Los Angeles, California.[1] It was founded by producer Arlene Klasky and Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó,[2] hence the company's name.

The company was founded by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó in a spare room of their apartment in 1982, and grew to 550 artists, creative workers, and staff in an animation facility in Hollywood. During the 1990s and early-mid 2000s, they produced and animated era-defining shows for Nickelodeon such as Rugrats, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, As Told by Ginger, and All Grown Up!, The Simpsons for Gracie Films, as well as Duckman on USA Network. In 2008, Nickelodeon ended their long-running partnership with Klasky Csupo and its shows ceased production. However, they were involved with a revival/reboot of Rugrats for Paramount plus[3], the streaming service for Nickelodeon parent Paramount Global.

History[edit]

1982–1991: Early years[edit]

Klasky-Csupo, Inc. was formed in 1982[4] in the spare bedroom of a Hollywood apartment where Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó were living while married. In 1983, Klasky-Csupo expanded and moved to a new location on Seward Street to open its first facility in Hollywood.

Klasky-Csupo was initially distinguished by its work on logo designs, commercials, feature film trailers, TV show titles, promos and ident spots for a wide variety of clients, in the process earning a reputation as the industry's most imaginative and innovative studio. Building on its success, the studio left Seward Street to open its second facility in Hollywood in 1988 at the corner of Fountain and Highland Avenues. The studio soon grew to include six buildings that have become well known in Hollywood—in true Klasky Csupo style, the exterior walls of the buildings are decorated with large murals of its characters.

The studio's first big break came in 1987 when James L. Brooks of Gracie Films hired the studio to produce the title sequence for a new comedy series called The Tracey Ullman Show. In addition to the main title, Klasky Csupo was given the opportunity to produce a series of one-minute cartoons which featured a family called the Simpsons, created by Matt Groening. Klasky Csupo produced and animated all 48 shorts, and when it became one of the most popular segments on the show, Fox began airing a weekly half-hour series entitled The Simpsons. Klasky Csupo produced every episode for the first three seasons of the series. The studio shared the 1989–1990, and 1990–1991 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, with Gracie Films.

In addition to that, Klasky Csupo produced the hit video "Do the Bartman". Klasky Csupo animator and colorist Gyorgyi Peluce conceived the idea of The Simpsons characters having yellow skin, and Marge Simpson having blue hair, opting for something which "didn't look like anything that had come before."[5][6][7] Klasky Csupo was also responsible for an error during the episode "Homer's Odyssey" in which Waylon Smithers was colorized as black with blue hair.[8]

In 1992, Gracie Films switched domestic production of The Simpsons to Film Roman from 1992 to 2016.[9] Csupó was "asked [by Gracie Films] if they could bring in their own producer [to oversee the animation production]," but declined, stating "they wanted to tell me how to run my business."[9] Sharon Bernstein of The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Gracie executives had been unhappy with the producer Csupo had assigned to The Simpsons and said the company also hoped to obtain better wages and working conditions for animators at Film Roman."[9] Of the 110 people he employed to animate The Simpsons, Csupó laid off 75.[9]

1991–2006: Major success with Nickelodeon[edit]

Starting in 1991, Klasky Csupo began producing Rugrats, one of the first animated shows for Nickelodeon, which was inspired by the couple's two sons and what they would do if they could speak.[10][11] Their next major series was Duckman for the USA Network. The show revolved around the home life and adventures of a dim-witted and lascivious private detective duck named Eric Duckman. The series ran from 1994 to 1997. During the same time, Nickelodeon released Klasky Csupo's second Nicktoon series, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. During this time, Klasky Csupo ended production on Rugrats because 65 episodes that they were contracted to do had aired (originally, due to the 65 episode rule).[12] However, when "Rugrats" went into syndication, it exploded in popularity with ratings skyrocketing and advertising deals taking off, and Nickelodeon and Klasky Csupo resumed production on the series.

In 1993, Klasky Csupo worked with popular comedian Lily Tomlin and her partner Jane Wagner to bring the irascible little girl, Edith Ann, to television in two half-hour animated specials for ABC. The first, A Few Pieces of the Puzzle, aired in January 1994 and received excellent critical acclaim and the second, Homeless Go Home, aired in May 1994 to even better critical response and ratings.

In 1995, the studio debuted Santo Bugito, the first Saturday morning animated comedy. Created by Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo for CBS, "Santo Bugito" is the story of a small town of 64,000,000 insects located on the border of Texas and Mexico. Music-driven and Latin-influenced, the series stars Cheech Marin, Joan Van Ark, Tony Plana, William Sanderson, George Kennedy, Marabina Jaimes, and David Paymer are voicing characters. "Santo Bugito" is highlighted by a distinctive look and the music of Mark Mothersbaugh, the Devo keyboardist who also worked on Rugrats.

Also that year, Klasky Csupo established Klasky Csupo Commercials (rebranded as Class-Key Chew-Po Commercials in 1998), helmed by John Andrews, to continue the successful commercial animation business that had grown from the company's initial work in main titles and graphics. Class-Key Chew-Po had been an immediate success, building an impressive client list with work for companies like 1-800-COLLECT, Oscar Mayer, Taco Bell, Kraft, and Nickelodeon. In 2001, the company founded ka-chew!, a live-action commercial division.

The company was also active in producing recorded music with the labels "Tone Casualties" and "Casual Tonalities". Gabor Csupo was a good friend of Frank Zappa and occasionally collaborates with Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed most of the music for Rugrats. After Duckman and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters' were cancelled in 1997, Klasky Csupo began producing The Wild Thornberrys for Nickelodeon.[13] The cartoon, premiering in 1998, revolved around a girl named Eliza Thornberry who could talk to animals.[14]

In 1998, Klasky Csupo redesigned McDonald's mascot, Ronald McDonald. The company was commissioned to develop six animated videos which were distributed directly to consumers via McDonald's restaurants - 14,000 in the United States and 21,000 worldwide. On December 23, 1998, CEO Terry Thoren concluded an eleven-month negotiation with the car industry Mercedes-Benz and moved the company into the state of the art studio in Los Angeles.[15] Between the late-1990s and 2000s, Klasky Csupo began producing new shows Rocket Power, As Told by Ginger, and BBC's Stressed Eric.

In 2001, in honor of the Rugrats 10th Anniversary, Klasky Csupo released a two-part special entitled, All Growed Up. The special featured all of the babies as preteens.[16] It was popular enough that Nick commissioned a series based on that special, titled All Grown Up!, which ran from 2003 to 2008. Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys are the only Klasky Csupo shows to have theatrical movies based on themselves. On September 29, 2001, Class-Key Chew-Po signed animation director Chris Prynoski and his company Titmouse, Inc. for commercial representation.

In 2003, Klasky Csupo was then commissioned by Cartoon Network to direct a music video by the band They Might Be Giants for their song "Dee Dee and Dexter", which features the characters drawn in anime style, as a fourth music video for Dexter's Laboratory. Class-Key Chew-Po Animated Commercials and Broadcast Design were folded into ka-chew! on January 1, 2004. In 2005, the company again worked for Cartoon Network, producing Oogloo + Anju and The Topside Rag for Sunday Pants under ka-chew!

2006–2012: Decline[edit]

Throughout the mid-2000s, Klasky Csupo ceased production on their Nickelodeon shows. Nick executives had become tired with the Klasky Csupo style of animation[citation needed] and soon ended their long-running partnership. In 2006, CEO Terry Thoren departed from the company, and they dissolved the remainder of their 401(k) program, leading them to a period of dormancy and inactivity.

In fall 2006, Klasky Csupo announced development of 28 new animated pilots that were to be up for sale at a later date.[17] The animation designs in these pilots are in different styles, instead of the typical style that Klasky Csupo was famous for in the 1990s. As of 2010, some of the cartoons had yet to be finished.[needs update?] Gabor Csupo would later post the remains on his YouTube channel. One of the pilots, Chicken Town, was picked up as a series by French company Ellipsanime, though Klasky Csupo was not involved with it.[18]

In 2007, Paul Demeyer left Klasky Csupo to found Wild Canary, taking some of ka-chew!'s clients with him. In 2008, ka-chew! celebrated its 10th anniversary by expanding its roster of directors.[19] In April 2011, ka-chew! was absorbed into 6 Point Media.[20]

2012–present: Resurrection[edit]

In 2012, Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo resurrected the company. Along with Craig Singer, they created "Ollie Mongo", a digital comic book which is about a story of a teenage skateboarding zombie who lives 200 years in the future.[21] The company is currently working on "RoboSplaat!", a web series featuring the "Ink Splaat" character with a robotic voice from the 1998 logo renamed "Splaat" (voiced by Greg Cipes), which is continuing its use as the main production logo. The web series premiered on December 21, 2016.[22] An app based on the web series is also currently in development.[23]

As of 2015, Klasky Csupo were working on some "top secret projects".[24]

On September 2, 2015, it was announced that Nickelodeon may "seek to experiment with retooled versions of classics" that could include Rugrats.[25] The following day, The Independent announced that Rugrats "could soon be back on our screens too".[26] At San Diego Comic-Con in 2016, Arlene Klasky explained that she would be willing to work on a revival of the series, along with co-creators Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain.[27]

On July 16, 2018, Nickelodeon announced a revival/reboot of Rugrats, consisting of a 26-episode order. Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó will return as executive producers for the revived series.[28] Using CGI animation rather than the classic two-dimensional style, the new Rugrats premiered on Paramount+, the streaming service for Nickelodeon parent ViacomCBS, on May 27, 2021.[29]

Work[edit]

Television series[edit]

# Title Year(s) Creators Notes Co-production with
1 The Simpsons (seasons 1–4)[30] 1989–92 Matt Groening Animation production Gracie Films and 20th Television
2 Rugrats 1991–2004 Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó & Paul Germain Nickelodeon Animation Studio
3 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters 1994–97 Gábor Csupó & Peter Gaffney Games Animation, Inc.,
4 Duckman Everett Peck Based on the comics of the same name. Reno & Osborn Productions, Celluloid Studios (1995-1997), Paramount Television
5 Santo Bugito[31] 1995–96 Arlene Klasky & Gábor Csupó Anivision
6 The Wild Thornberrys 1998–2004 Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman & Stephen Sustaric Nickelodeon Animation Studio
7 Stressed Eric (season 1) 1998 Carl Gorham Absolutely Productions
8 Rocket Power 1999–2004 Arlene Klasky & Gábor Csupó Nickelodeon Animation Studio
9 As Told by Ginger 2000–06 Emily Kapnek
10 All Grown Up! 2003–08 Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó & Paul Germain Spin-off of Rugrats
11 Rugrats Pre-School Daze UK: 2005, US: 2008 Spin-off of Rugrats. Mini-series.
12 Rugrats 2021–present[32] Revival/reboot of the original 1991 series. Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Web series[edit]

Title Year(s) Notes
RoboSplaat! 2016
2020–present
Created by Arlene Klasky.
Company's first web series.
Dear Splaat 2016 Created by Arlene Klasky.
Spin-off web series of RoboSplaat.

Films[edit]

Title Year Directors Notes Co-Production Box Office
The Rugrats Movie 1998 Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien Nickelodeon Movies & Paramount Pictures $140.9 million[33]
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie 2000 Stig Bergqvist and Paul Demeyer $103.3 million[34]
The Wild Thornberrys Movie 2002 Cathy Malkasian and Jeff McGrath Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon. $60.7 million[35]
Rugrats Go Wild 2003 John Eng and Norton Virgien Crossover with Rugrats & The Wild Thornberrys. $55.4 million[36]
Bridge to Terabithia 2007 Gábor Csupó First production for The Walt Disney Company. Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures $137.6 million[37]
Immigrants 2008 Final film to date. Warner Bros. $0.1 million[38]

Produced pilots[edit]

Title Year Creator Co-production with Notes
Kevin's Kitchen 1995 Arlene Klasky
The Carmichaels 1999 Arlene Klasky & Gábor Csupó Nickelodeon Planned spin-off of Rugrats. Later remade as A Rugrats Kwanzaa special.
Psyko Ferret 2001 Atul Rao, Kim Saltarski, Greg van Riel,
Karen Krenis, Brian Strause, Emily Kapnek
& Paul Greenberg
What's Cooking? 2004 Arlene Klasky
You Animal Bruce Wagner Spike TV, Global Tantrum
Chicken Town 2005 Niko Meulemans Nickelodeon CGI
Commander Bunsworth Aglaia Mortcheva
Junkyard Teddies Arlene Klasky CGI
Rollin' Rock Starz Gábor Csupó
SCHMUTZ James Proimos & David Hale
Wiener Squad Niko Meulemans CGI
Zeek & Leo
Sugarless Erin Ehrlich The N
Twinkle Dora Nagy Nick Jr. Planned first preschool animated series produced by the company.
Big Babies 2006 Arlene Klasky Nickelodeon
Eggheads
Ricky Z
Ace Bogart: Space Ape Neal Sopata
Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters Jef Czekaj
Little Freaks Erin Ehrlich
Ronnie Biddles John Matta & Ken Daly
My Stupid Cat Everett Peck

Other works[edit]

Title Year(s) Notes Client
21 Jump Street 1987 main title Stephen J. Cannell Productions
Eddie Murphy Raw trailer Paramount Pictures
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark 1988 title sequence NBC Productions
Mortuary Academy Landmark Films
Brotherhood of the Rose (television movie) 1989 NBC
Anything but Love main titles 20th Century Fox Television
Quantum Leap Universal Television
Booker Stephen J. Cannell Productions
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers title sequence Trancas International
Shadrach music video Beastie Boys
Shocker title sequence Universal Pictures
Sesame Street 1990–1991 four shorts plus Monster in the Mirror Children's Television Workshop
In Living Color 1990–1993 main titles 20th Television
Northern Exposure 1990 "Aurora Borealis: A Fairy Tale for Big People" (Aurora Borealis effect) Universal Television
HBO Storybook Musicals "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" HBO
I Feel So Good 1991 music video Richard Thompson
Roc main titles HBO Independent Productions
Man Trouble 1992 title sequence 20th Century Fox
Mo' Money Columbia Pictures
Great Scott! main titles Castle Rock Entertainment
Recycle Rex Designed and created by David Cutler Disney Educational Productions
Whatzupwitu 1993 music video Eddie Murphy
Edith Ann: A Few Pieces of the Puzzle (television special) Created by Lilly Tomlin ABC
Edith Ann: Homeless Go Home (television special) 1994
Magic Theatre game design and animation Instinct Corporation
Knowledge Adventure
MADtv 1995–1997 Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoons Warner Bros. Television
Bird in the Window 1996 short film
Clueless 1996–1999 main titles Paramount Television
Kelly Kelly 1998 Warner Bros. Television
The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald 1998–2003 Direct-to-video series McDonald's
Snowden's Raggedy Ann & Andy Holiday Show 1998 animation Target
What's Inside Heidi's Head? 1999 Created by Nancye Ferguson and Mark Mothersbaugh
Company's first live-action series.
Noggin
Don't Rush Me 2000 music video Juliana Hatfield
Flying Nansen short film
Disney's One Saturday Morning opening and bumpers Walt Disney Television
The Wayne Brady Show 2001 main titles Buena Vista Television
The Anna Nicole Show 2002 E!
The Osbournes MTV
Girls Behaving Badly Oxygen
Punk'd 2003, 2006 MTV
Cartoon Network Groovies 2003 "Dee Dee and Dexter" (with Titmouse, Inc.) Cartoon Network
The Ashlee Simpson Show 2004 main titles MTV
Dirty Little Thing music video (with Titmouse, Inc.) Velvet Revolver
The Princes of Malibu 2005 main titles GRB Entertainment
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List Bravo
Sunday Pants Oogloo + Anju and The Topside Rag Cartoon Network
Passions animated scenes[39] NBC Universal Television Studio
The Daly Planet 2006 main titles Golf Channel
This Film Is Not Yet Rated title sequence and animation BBC Films
The Simple Life 2006–2007 main titles 20th Century Fox Television
Bridge to Terabithia 2007 creature designs Walt Disney Pictures
Nip/Tuck main titles and "Damien Sands" animated scene Warner Bros. Television
Los Campeones de la Lucha Libre 2008 recording studio FWAK! Animation
Noodle and Doodle 2010 Doggity's PBS Kids Sprout
The LeBrons 2011 sound recording (season 1) Believe Entertainment Group
Spring Hill Productions
Ollie Mongo: Adventures in the Apocalypse 2012 Created by Arlene Klasky and Craig Singer.
Company's first print-related series/comic book.
Poppy Cat 2012–2015 recording studio for US dub Cake Entertainment
Top Cat Begins 2015 recording studio Ánima Estudios
Legend Quest 2017
Monster Island

Commercials[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. "Klasky Csupo Inc.[permanent dead link]" BNET. Retrieved on April 9, 2010.
  2. Eller, Claudia (2000-11-17). "Rugrats Duo Draws on Shared Vision". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  3. "how-to-login-into-the-paramount-plus-login-2022". retargetingnews.com. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  4. "House of toon style". Variety. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  5. Ortved, John (2009). Simpsons Confidential: The uncensored, totally unauthorised history of the world's greatest TV show by the people that made it (UK ed.). Ebury Press. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-0-09-192729-5. Search this book on
  6. Cagle, Daryl. "The David Silverman Interview". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  7. Sheff, David (June 2007). "Matt Groening". Playboy. 54 (6). Archived from the original on 2007-10-13.
  8. Rhodes, Joe (2000-10-21). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Bernstein, Sharon (1992-01-21). "'The Simpsons' Producer Changes Animation Firms". Los Angeles Times. p. 18. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  10. "Move over, Bart Simpson". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  11. Barnett, Laura (2015-06-09). "Creator Arlene Klasky and actor Elizabeth Daily: how we made Rugrats". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  12. "Meet The Nicktoons Family". Rugratonline.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  13. Mifflin, Lawrie (November 13, 1997). "Nickelodeon Adds to Children's Hours". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  14. Graeber, Laurel (July 30, 2000). "She Can Talk to the Animals (Don't Tell)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  15. "Klasky Csupo getting ready for a big move". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  16. Shattuck, Kathryn (July 15, 2001). "FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; TV's No. 1 Babies Celebrate Their 10th Birthday". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
  17. "Klasky Csupo News". Klaskycsupo.com. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  18. "Chicken Town" – via www.imdb.com.
  19. "ka-chew! Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary with Expanded Directors Roster". Creative Planet Network. February 12, 2008.
  20. Six Point Harness (April 27, 2011). "John Andrews Partners With Six Point Harness To Launch 6 Point Media" (Press release). Animation World Network. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  21. "Ollie Mongo Adventures in the Apocalypse Issue 1".
  22. "Splaat". www.facebook.com.
  23. "Splaat". www.facebook.com.
  24. "Splaat". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26.
  25. Steinberg, Brian (2 September 2015). "'Rugrats' Revival? Nickelodeon Mulls Return of Classic Shows".
  26. "Hey Arnold! is coming back, and possibly Rugrats too". Independent.co.uk. 3 September 2015.
  27. Venable, Nick (21 July 2016). "Could The Rugrats Return To Nickelodeon? Here's What The Creator Says". CinemaBlend. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  28. "'Rugrats' Relaunch Set With Nickelodeon Series, Paramount Movie". 16 July 2018.
  29. Low, Elaine (2021-02-24). "'Rugrats' Revival With Original Voice Cast to Debut on Paramount Plus". Variety. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  30. Bernstein, Sharon (1992-01-21). "The Simpsons' Producer Changes Animation Firms". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  31. "The rugrats' real mom and dad". Business Week. October 16, 1995. Archived from the original on December 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-28. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  32. Petski, Nellie Andreeva,Denise; Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (2018-07-16). "'Rugrats' Returns With Nickelodeon Series Revival & Live-Action Paramount Movie". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  33. "The Rugrats Movie (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  34. "Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  35. "The Wild Thornberrys (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  36. "Rugrats Go Wild (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  37. "Bridge to Terabithia (2007) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  38. "Immigrants (L.A. Dolce Vita) (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  39. "Ready Hankies for ka-chew! Animation on NBC Soap Opera". Animation World Network. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  40. "Klasky Csupo Commercials". Archived from the original on 1998-07-04. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

External links[edit]