Film Roman
Film Roman is an American animation independently owned company. It was originally owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate and later by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of producer Steve Waterman. Founded by veteran animator and director Phil Roman in 1984, it is best known for producing source animation for the Garfield primetime specials and series such as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Family Guy.
History
Background
, veteran alumnus of MGM Animation/Visual Arts and Bill Melendez Productions, founded Film Roman in 1984 as a means to continue the production of the Garfield television specials, since Melendez's own studio was unable to work on both the Peanuts and Garfield specials. Peanuts executive producers Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez and their aforementioned studio had produced the first two Garfield specials, but due to both Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz' and Garfield creator Jim Davis' concerns about conflicting interests in allocating production priority at Melendez's boutique studio, the production had to be moved. While he was leaving him and Melendez for his already-established studio, Roman was offered the opportunity to produce the next Garfield prime time special, Garfield in the Rough, for CBS by Mendelson, which he accepted and went on to produce and direct all by himself, winning an Emmy in the process.Formation
In 1985, CBS' head of children's programming Judy Price had commissioned an animated television series based on the Garfield prime time special series, later ultimately titled Garfield and Friends, which took three years for Roman to decide developing and producing the program before it eventually aired on the network's Saturday morning time slot, premiering on September 17, 1988. The aforementioned show was Film Roman's first regular series. In 1986, in an effort to expand and diversify the studio, Roman hired Marvel Productions VP of Business Affairs and his own personal attorney, Michael Wahl, as President and Bill Schultz, Marvel's Director of Development, to join in the company as the fledgling studio's VP of Production and Development. Garfield and Friends was expanded to an hour on CBS' number one rated Saturday Morning block and the studio grew to increase its capacity.In 1988, the new management team developed, sold and produced a new series, Bobby's World, to the brand new Fox Kids Network, headed up by former Marvel Productions president Margaret Loesch. In 1992 to 2016, Film Roman took over the source production of 20th Century Fox's The Simpsons from Klasky-Csupo who had produced the one-minute teaser cartoon shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show as well as the animation for the first three seasons and the first two episodes of the fourth season. The studio went on to grow and produce many popular animated series now seen all around the world.
Waterman Entertainment">Steve Waterman (producer)">Waterman Entertainment ownership
In 2015, Film Roman was acquired from its parent company Starz Distribution by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of executive producer Steve Waterman. As such, it now does business with Starz, which owns the company's catalogue. However, Waterman Entertainment closed on December 24, 2015, resulting in Film Roman becoming independent again.On November 22, 2016, the company formed a joint venture based in Tijuana, called Film Roman Baja J.V., with Boxel Studios, a Baja California-based animation facility.
Location
The original studio was located on Riverside Drive in Toluca Lake, California, where Roman was also joined by Melendez producer Lee Mendelson. Years later, the studio moved to a new location on Chandler Blvd. in Studio City, before settling into another location at Starz Plaza on Hollywood Way in Burbank, which it shared with the former Hub Network and Hasbro Studios, and finally settling into its present location in Woodland Hills.Television series
- This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow
- Heathcliff
- The Untamed
for 20th Century Fox Television/Animation:
| Show | Creator | Year | Notes |
| The Simpsons | Matt Groening | 1992–2016 | Seasons 4–27 only |
| King of the Hill | Mike Judge | 1997–2010 | |
| Family Guy | Seth MacFarlane | 1999–2000 | Seasons 1–2 only |
for Marvel Animation:
| Show | Creator | Year | Notes |
| ' | Marty Isenberg Robert N. Skir David Wise | 2000–2003 | Now distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
| The Super Hero Squad Show | Stan Lee | 2009–2011 | Now distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
| Ciro Nieli Joshua Fine Christopher Yost | 2010–2013 | Now distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television | |
| Ultimate Spider-Man | Marvel Animation | 2012–2017 | Now distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
| Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | Paul Dini Henry Gilroy Marvel Animation | 2014–2015 | Now distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
various other studios:
- Klutter
- The Critic
- Mission Hill
- The Oblongs
- The Goode Family
- Beavis and Butt-Head
- The Mr. Potato Head Show
- Tripping the Rift
Television specials
''Garfield'' specials
- Garfield in the Rough
- Garfield's Halloween Adventure
- Garfield in Paradise
- Garfield Goes Hollywood
- A Garfield Christmas
- Happy Birthday, Garfield
- Garfield's Babes and Bullets
- Garfield's Thanksgiving
- Garfield's Feline Fantasies
- Garfield Gets a Life
Other specials
- Nick and Noel
- A Cool Like That Christmas
- The Bears Who Saved Christmas
- Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold
- The Story of Santa Claus
- The Magic Pearl
- Puss in Boots
- Johnny Tsunami
- Hairballs
- Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
- Motocrossed
- The Santa Claus Brothers
Films
Direct-to-video
- The Happy Elf
- Weebles: Welcome to Weebleville!
- Weebles: Sharing in the Fun!
- '