Toonbox is an animation studio founded in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and based in
Paphos, Cyprus.
History
The studio was founded in 2008, by
Pavel Muntyan (
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
) and Vladimir Ponomarev (
CCO).
Starting from 2011, Toonbox representatives got actively involved in the development of animated cinematography, including the niche of attracting investments to the industry.
In 2012, Toonbox openly claimed its involvement in the production of the ''
Mr. Freeman'' animated series on a TV-channel belonging to
Sergey Minaev
Sergey Sergeevich Minaev (Russian: Серге́й Серге́евич Мина́ев, born January 25, 1975) is a Russian writer, TV and radio host, screenwriter, blogger, and entrepreneur.
Minaev's debut novel "Dukhless. The Tale of an Unreal ...
.
Starting from 2013, the studio has been focusing mainly on animated series for kids.
Since 2014, Toonbox leaders have been urging against anti-advertisement policy in animated cinematograph and television for the sake of industry development. A new episode of ''
Mr. Freeman'' was dedicated to a truly acute topic in Russia —
bitcoin
Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
, has been shown in 130 cities worldwide at a time. The headquarters of the company moved to
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. The move turned out to be in the spotlight of mass media both in Russia and abroad.
In 2015, the street artist
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...
played ''Mr. Freeman''
's episode "Walking on By" at the opening of his entertainment park
Dismaland
Dismaland was a temporary art project organised by street artist Banksy in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. Prepared in secret, the pop-up exhibition at the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, Tropicana, a disused Lido (swim ...
.
On October 12, 2016,
Rovio Entertainment
Rovio Entertainment Oy (formerly Relude Oy and Rovio Mobile Oy) is a Finnish video game developer and publisher based in Espoo. Founded in 2003 by Helsinki University of Technology students Niklas Hed, Jarno Väkeväinen and Kim Dikert, the c ...
(creator of ''
Angry Birds
''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment, and owned by Sega. The game series focuses on the titular flock of colorful angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Cr ...
'') became an official licensing partner of the brand ''
Kit and Kate'' created by Toonbox.
Up to late 2019, Toonbox produced 357 animated movies with a total time-keeping of 18.5 hours. Toonbox produces English, Russian, and non-dialogue content in full HD in 2D, CGI, and 360 VR formats. Its flagship series include ''Kit and Kate'', ''Qumi-Qumi'', and ''Mr. Freeman''.
Toonbox films and series have dubbings into 27 languages and are being broadcast in 130 countries on both TV-channels and VOD platforms. Toonbox YouTube channels can boast 1,9 billion of views. Its international agents include such major companies as Riki Group, Planet Nemo Animation, Maurizio Distefano Licensing, Dadi Media and Ferly.
Productions
Animated short films
*The Hero as the Rock, 2010, directed by Alexandr Svirsky
*Word and Words, 2010, directed by Alexandr Svirsky
*The Magic Pot, 2010, directed by Andrey Bahurin
*Onotole, 2010, directed by Dmitry Gorbunov, Artur Merkulov
*Chepurnas, 2012, directed by Alexandr Svirsky
Awards
* Vinnician Festival, 2008, for the animated movie The Real Adventures of Belka and Strelka
* Russian Flash Awards', 2009, for the animated movie Three Acrobat Brothers (Best Animation)
* Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, 2010, for the animated movie The History Could Have Gone Differently (Best Applied Animation)
* On April 15, 2010
Mr. Freeman was awarded as the best video blog at the international
Weblog
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
competition
The Best of Blogs in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
* VI Multimatograph, 2010, for the series Shaman's Quest (Grand Prix of the festival)
* Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, 2012, for the animated movie The Berry Pie (Best Kids' Movie)
* X Moscow Festival of Native Movies, 2012, for the movie The Berry Pie (Audience Award)
* XXIV Animation Festival in Suzdal, 2019, for Qumi-Qumi series in an updated format (2D and 3D)
Links
Toonbox Studio, official siteMr. Freeman, official siteQumi-Qumi, official siteShaman's Quest, official siteKit^n^Kate, official site
References
{{Animation industry in Russia, state=collapsed
Russian companies established in 2008
Mass media companies established in 2008
Mass media companies of Cyprus
Russian animation studios
Paphos
Television production companies of Russia