Wish Films is an animation and live-action studio, established by

Will Brenton William Brenton is a British Television writer, writer, Television producer, producer and Television director, director who has worked in many areas of television and theatre, primarily through his companies Tell-Tale productions and Wish Films ...

and Iain Lauchlan in 2006. It is the successor to Tell-Tale Productions, which was formed in 1994, first producing live shows, and later went on to produce TV shows. Most of Wish's catalogue when it was known as Tell-Tale Productions is currently owned by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

(via

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

), with the exception of ''Tweenies'', which is owned by

BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Wor ...

. The rights to ''Boo!'' have been owned by NBCUniversal since 2003, followed by the most of their shows in 2016.

History

As Tell-Tale Productions

On 14 September 2001, Tell-Tale signed a deal with

Gullane Entertainment Gullane Entertainment Limited was a British independent production company which produced children's programming, including ''Thomas & Friends'' (1984–2021), ''Shining Time Station'' (1989–1995), '' The Magic Adventures of Mumfie'' (1994–1 ...

for the production on two new shows, ''Ella'', and ''Sprogs'', with the latter company distributing the series. On 26 July 2002, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

picked up the UK broadcasting rights to '' Boo!'' for broadcast in September 2003. On September 1 that year, it was announced that

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

had acquired worldwide distribution rights to the series. On 18 September 2002, Tell-Tale announced the production of a hybrid 2D/3D series titled ''WARP''. On the same day, it was confirmed that the distribution rights to ''Ella'' and ''Sprogs'' reverted to Tell-Tale after the deal with Gullane fell through due to

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turn ...

's acquisition of Gullane, alongside the production on two 60-minute direct-to-video ''

Tweenies ''Tweenies'' is a British live action puppet children's television series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, and produced by Tell-Tale Productions and the BBC. The programme was focused on four preschool-aged characters, known as the ...

'' specials. On 1 February 2003, the company signed a property management deal with LMI for ''Sprogs'', alongside a deal with BBC Music to allow music production for the series, which would air in early 2004. On 27 January 2004, Carlton International acquired distribution rights to ''Sprogs''. The company purchased the home video rights in all regions except for the US and French-speaking territories, and worldwide TV rights excluding the UK, the US, and French and German-speaking territories. It was also confirmed that

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

had acquired the UK broadcast rights to the series for a late 2004 broadcast date. On 13 September 2004,

Entertainment Rights Entertainment Rights PLC (formerly known as Sleepy Kids PLC and SKD Media PLC) was a British multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that specialised in television shows and cartoons, children's media, films, and distribution. ...

announced they would acquire Tell-Tale for £3.1 million. The buyout would include the rights to ''Sprogs'', which had, by then been renamed ''

BB3B ''BB3B '' is a British animated series produced by Tell-Tale Productions in 2005. The entire series consists of thirteen episodes of twenty minutes each. It was shown on CBBC in the UK and ABC Kids in Australia. It first aired in 2005. The s ...

'' (previously handled by Carlton) and would be broadcast on CBBC in late 2005, alongside the rights to a new reboot of ''

Fun Song Factory ''Fun Song Factory'' is a British pre-school children's television series and video series. It was originally created in 1994 by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, who at the time, were part of the '' Playdays'' production team. The series was pro ...

'' to air on CITV. The ''Tweenies'' property was retained by

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

although Entertainment Rights would gain royalty income for the property, alongside rights to a planned feature-length film adaptation of the series. The purchase was completed on 1 October 2004. On 20 December 2005, ITV acquired the broadcast rights to ''

Jim Jam and Sunny ''Jim Jam and Sunny'' is a British children's television programme that aired on the CITV channel. It was first aired on November 20, 2006 and ended in June 27 2008. Premise Jim Jam is 3, and his older sister Sunny is 5. Whenever they enter t ...

'' for broadcast on the then-new CITV Channel, and that production would start in 2006, being the largest broadcast deal made by ITV for a children's series.

Wish Films

In 2006, Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan bought back Tell-Tale (excluding most of its catalogue) and rebranded it as Wish Films. Wish Films took over production of ''Jim Jam and Sunny'', which premiered on CITV later that year. In 2008, Wish produced their first international co-production, a TV adaptation of ''

Wibbly Pig Wibbly Pig is the title character of a series of picture books for young children, written and illustrated by English author and illustrator Mick Inkpen. The series includes titles such as ''Wibbly Pig Likes Bananas'' () and ''Is It Bedtime Wibb ...

'', based on the children's book of the same name by

Mick Inkpen Mick Inkpen (born 22 December 1952) is a British author and illustrator. He is best known for his creations Kipper the Dog and Wibbly Pig. Background Inkpen was born on 22 December 1952 in Romford, Essex, England. He was educated at Roya ...

, with Canadian-based

9 Story Entertainment 9 Story Animation Studio (formerly known as 9 Story International) is a Canadian media production, animation studio, and distribution company founded in September 1996 by Vince Commisso and Steven Jarosz. History As 9 Story Entertainment The com ...

, with the latter holding distribution rights in the Americas, and BBC Worldwide holding distribution rights in all other regions. On 6 May 2010,

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

commissioned a new show from Wish to air on the channel's summer schedule called ''Mighty-Mites'', presented by Sarah-Jane Honeywell. Other shows produced by Wish around these time frames include '' Florrie's Dragons'', a co-production with

Studio 100 Studio 100 N.V. is a Belgian children's entertainment production & distribution company that specialized in high quality kids & family entertainment content and operated their in-house animation studios such as their Australian animation compa ...

and Clockwork Zoo, and ''

Melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

'', a co-production with LAAH Entertainment.

Filmography

As Tell-Tale Productions

* 1998: ''

'' * 1999: ''Wow! That's What I Call Nursery Rhymes/Christmas!'' * 1999: ''

'' * 2003: ''WARP'' (CGI/2D animated pilot) * 2003: ''Jim Jam'' (animated pilot of ''Jim Jam and Sunny'') * 2003: '' Boo!'' * 2003: ''Tweenies - Night-Time Magic'' (direct-to-video special) * 2004: ''Tweenies - Jungle Adventure'' (direct-to-video special) * 2004: ''

'' (Reboot) * 2005: ''

'' (originally called "Sprogs" in 2003 pilot)

As Wish Films

* 2006: ''

'' * 2009: ''

'' * 2010: ''Mighty Mites'' * 2010: '' Florrie's Dragons'' * 2013: ''

Live Shows

*Fun Song Factory (1994-1997) *CBeebies Live (2005) *Thomas & Friends: The Big Live Tour/The All Aboard Live Tour (2002-2006) *Tweenies Live (2000-2001) *Tweenies Live: The Christmas Present (2001-2002, 2003) *Tweenies Live 2: The Fab-a-Rooney Tour (2002) *Tweenies Live: No Sleep 'till Bedtime (2005)

References

{{authority control 1994 establishments in England Children's theatre DreamWorks Classics Theatre companies in the United Kingdom