Dargaud Media
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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | March 2, 1984 |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Television series |
| Parent | Dargaud (1984–2022) Ellipse Animation (2022–present) |
Dargaud Media is a French production company and animation studio that produces animation, documentaries and feature-length films. It was created in 1984 by the French-Belgian comic book publishing house Dargaud. It is one of the production labels of Ellipse Animation of the Média-Participations group.
In 1967, Dargaud entered the animation production services with the movie Asterix the Gaul. Subsequently, the company produced or co-produced several Asterix, Lucky Luke and Tintin feature films.
By 1972, Dargaud announced that they've teamed up with American production and distributor United Artists to produce the movie Le Viager which was directed by Pierre Tchernia. Two years later in 1974, Dargaud announced that they had joined forces with René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.
In June 1997, Dargaud announced that they've acquired French animation and production company Marina Productions which was founded by Claude Berthier expanding Dargaud's animation output with Marina Productions being placed under Dargaud Films thrus becoming Dargaud's own animation subsidiary[1] One year later in June 1998 following Dargaud's acquisition of Marina Productions, Dargaud expanded their animation and productions operations by acquiring a majority interest in French production company Millésime Productions which was headed by Gaspard de Chavagnac with Dargaud combining Marina and Millésime's functions into one group with Gaspard de Chavagnac heading Dargaud's two production companies.[2] The following year at the start of 1999, Dargaud Film announced that they have merged their own animation production companies Marina Productions and Millésime Productions into one entity animation production division named Dargaud Marina with the merged group will handle their projects annually.[3][4][5]
In July 2003 three years after Dargaud merged their animation and drama production outputs, Dargaud Marina expanded their animation production activities by their parent company Dargaud along with their owner Média-Participations as their parent company had acquired French animation production studio Ellipsanime from Canal+ owned production outfit StudioExpand, thrus giving Dargaud another production animation studio and assuming all ownership of Ellipsanime's production activities with Ellipsanime's animated production portfolio joining Dargaud's own production portfolio, marking Dargaud Marina becoming the largest animation production division of France.[6][7]
On January 31, 2007, Dargaud Marina's parent company Dargaud announced that they've rebranded their international distribution division Dargaud Distribution to Mediatoon Distribution following Media Participations's launch of Mediatoon.[8]
In late-December 2008, Dargaud Media's international distributor Mediatoon under their interactive division Mediatoon Interactive announced the launch of the online channel that bring all of Dargaud Media's productions including Ellipsanime's programs under one brand named eToon to bring all of Mediatoon programs on VOD and SVOD platforms.[9]
In June 2022 during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Dargaud Media alongside their parent company Dargaud and its owner Media Participations announced that they were bringing their French animation production labels (which were Dargaud Media, Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel, Ellipsanime Productions and Les Cartooneurs Associés) under one umbrella group named Ellipse Animation, returning to the Ellipse Animation name after 24 years with Ellipsanime Productions being placed under Ellipse Animation as their production label.[10]
Filmography
[edit]TV series
[edit]| Title | Years | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blake and Mortimer | 1997 | Canal+ | co-production with Ellipse Animation and Cactus Animation |
| The Princess of the Nile | 1999 | France 2 | |
| The New Adventures of Lucky Luke[11] | 2001–2003 | France 3 Super RTL (Germany) Tele Quebec (Canada) |
co-production with Xilam Animation, Tooncan Productions and Lucky Comics |
| Kitou, The Six Eyed Monster | 2002 | TF1 Vrak TV (Canada) |
co-production with Tooncan Productions and Belvision |
| Lost World of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | Télétoon | co-production with Neuroplanet and Vivatoon | |
| Jacques Cousteau's Ocean Tales | 2003 | France 3 YTV & Tele-Quebec (Canada) |
co-production with Vivatoon |
| Boule et Bill | 2005 | TF1 & Télétoon | co-production with Tooncan Productions and Bell Ombre Films |
| Yakari | 2005–2017 | France 3 WDR (seasons 3–5) |
season 5 only co-production with Storimages, Belvision, Ellipsanime Productions (seasons 3–5), Les Cartooneurs Associés (season 4), ARD (seasons 3–5) and 2 Minutes |
| Rintindumb | 2006–2007 | France 3 | co-production with Xilam Animation and Lucky Comics |
| Time Jam: Valerian & Laureline | 2007–2008 | co-production with EuropaCorp and Starlight | |
| The Garfield Show[12] | 2008–2016 | France 3 Cartoon Network/Boomerang (United States) |
co-production with Paws, Inc. |
| The Daltons | 2010–2016 | France 3 | co-production with Xilam Animation, Lucky Comics and B Media Kids |
| Boule et Bill | 2016–2019 | France 3 & Piwi+ | co-production with Ellipsanime Productions and Belvision |
| Little Furry | 2017–2021 | Piwi+ OUFtivi (Belgium) Ketnet (Netherlands) |
co-production with Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel and Belvision |
| Garfield Originals | 2019–2020 | France 3 Nick.com (United States) |
co-production with Paws, Inc. |
| The Fox/Badger Family | 2018–2022 | France 5 | co-production with Ellipsanime Productions and Philm CGI |
| Kid Lucky[13] | 2020 | M6 Rai Gulp |
co-production with Ellipsanime Productions, Belvision and Rai Ragazzi |
| The Smurfs[14] | 2021–present | TF1 La Trois (Belgium) Ketnet (Netherlands) Nickelodeon (International) |
season 1 only co-production with Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel and Peyo Productions |
| Belfort and Lupin[15] | 2025–present | France 4 Auvio Kids TV (Belgium) Radio-Canada (Canada) Ketnet (Netherlands) SWR (Germany)[16] |
co-production with Ellipsanime Productions, Belvision and RTBF |
Films
[edit]| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure | December 5, 2007 | Pathé Distribution | co-production with Xilam Animation, France 3 Cinema and Lucky Comics |
| Tricky Old Dogs | August 22, 2018 | Gaumont[17] | co-production with Radar Films, France 3 Cinema, Cinécap, Dargaud, Entourage Pictures and Egérie Productions |
| Yakari, A Spectacular Journey[18] | August 12, 2020 | BAC Films (France) Leonine Distribution (Germany) |
co-production with Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel, Le Lombard, Belvision, BAC Film Production, Leonine Production, WunderWerk, Gao Shang Pictures, WDR and France 3 Cinema |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "News briefs". Kidscreen. 1 June 1997.
- ^ "Production, Distribution and Programming: News Briefs". Kidscreen. 1 April 1998.
- ^ Longworth, Jocelyn (January 1, 1999). "France toon giants unite". Kidscreen. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ Paoli, Pascal (1 May 1999). "Xilam unveils toon project slate". Kidscreen.
- ^ "News in Brief". Kidscreen. 1 August 2003.
- ^ "Dargaud acquires Ellipse Animation". C21Media. July 22, 2003. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ DeMott, Rick (July 22, 2003). "Ellipse Animation Sold to Comic Book Firm". Animation World Network. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ "Mediatoon International Distribution Takes Shape". Worldscreen. January 31, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ Claire Afan, Emily (December 22, 2008). "Mediatoon launches eToon". Kidscreen.
- ^ Brzoznowski, Kristin (June 15, 2022). "Média-Participations Sets Out Cross-Media Strategy". Worldscreen. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ Fry, Andy (April 1, 2000). "Xilam directs Lucky Luke's TV re-entry". Kidscreen. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ Moody, Annemarie (June 26, 2008). "New CG Garfield To Air On Cartoon Network". Animation World Network. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (June 18, 2024). "Média-Participations AV Preps 'Kid Lucky,' 'Living with Dad' for M6 Kids". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (August 31, 2017). "IMPS & Dupuis Plan New 'Smurfs' Series". Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ "Deals of the Week". Kidscreen. January 12, 2024.
- ^ Tuchow, Ryan (April 29, 2024). "New broadcasters scoop up Ellipse and Belvision's Belfort & Lupin". Kidscreen.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (January 19, 2018). "Gaumont Leaps Into Comicbook-Based 'Tricky Old Dogs' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (April 24, 2019). "Dargaud Debuts 'Yakari' Feature at Cannes Animation Day". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 18, 2024.