Kanbar Entertainment

Kanbar Entertainment
IndustryFilm
FounderMaurice Kanbar
Sue Bea Montgomery
Headquarters
United States
ProductsMotion pictures
DivisionsKanbar Animation

Kanbar Entertainment is an independent film production studio founded by private investor Maurice Kanbar and Hollywood veteran Sue Bea Montgomery in 2002. The studio produced Hoodwinked!,[1] which was one of the first computer-animated films to be entirely independently financed.[2][3][4]

The film was produced on a budget of less than $8 million,[5] considerably less than the typical budget for an animated film.[6] To save costs, Kanbar Entertainment founded the animation studio Digital Eyecandy in Manila, Philippines to create most of the film's animation.[7][8][9]

The Weinstein Company signed on as the film's distributor near the end of its production[10] and it was released in December 2005.[11] The film received mixed critical reviews,[12] but was financially successful, earning over $110 million worldwide.[13]

Hoodwinked!'s success led to a sequel being announced in January 2006.[14] Although Kanbar Entertainment originally intended to finance the film entirely on its own as it had done with the first film, it was convinced by The Weinstein Company to enter into a co-financing agreement with the studio.[15] This allowed the film to be produced on a larger budget than its predecessor at $30 million.[16]

The film was initially scheduled for a January 2010 release, but in December 2009, The Weinstein Company postponed the release date.[17]

Kanbar Entertainment sued The Weinstein Company in March 2010, claiming that the delay violated their agreement and also accusing the studio of not contributing to monthly production accounts after February, 2009, neglecting to consult them on a release strategy, and failing to respond to proposed changes to the film, even though they held "final authority on production decisions".[15] Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil was eventually released in April 2011 to almost universally negative critical reviews[18] and financial failure, earning $23.1 million worldwide; less than its budget.[19][20]

Kanbar Entertainment enlisted InterWorks, Inc. to create an Android based video game of Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. Kanbar Entertainment had several ideas proposed to them by InterWorks, Inc. and chose Hoodwinked Too! Decoder Game, which was released on the Android Market in correlation with the film's April 29, 2011 release date.[21]

Kanbar Entertainment also produced Lifelines, which was released in 2009[22] and Seducing Charlie Barker, which was released in 2010.[23]

Kanbar Animation
Company typeDivision
IndustryAnimation
Founded2002; 22 years ago (2002)
FounderMaurice Kanbar
Sue Bea Montgomery
ProductsAnimated Films
OwnerKanbar Entertainment
  1. ^ Ian Mohr (May 17, 2005). "Weinsteins sign Red Riding Hood". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  2. ^ Jason Anders (January 26, 2009). "A Conversation with Cory Edwards". fullecirclestuff.blogspot.com. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  3. ^ Cory Edwards (January 29, 2009). "Interview with Fulle Circle". coryedwards.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  4. ^ Martin Goodman (February 3, 2006). "Dr. Toon: A Peek Under the Hood". awn.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  5. ^ Cory Edwards (December 30, 2010). "Stop the Madness". coryedwards.com. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  6. ^ Martin Goodman (February 3, 2006). "Dr. Toon: A Peek Under the Hood page 2". awn.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  7. ^ J. Paul Peszko (May 11, 2004). "Hoodwinked: Anatomy of an Independent Animated Feature Page 3". awn.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  8. ^ Dennis King (January 13, 2006). "Hoodwinked! Review Tulsa World". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  9. ^ "Indie Animation". creativeplanetnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  10. ^ J. Paul Peszko (January 13, 2006). "Hoodwinked: Blue Yonder Set to Make Animation History page 1". awn.com. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  11. ^ Thomas, Kevin (January 14, 2006). "Little Red gets 'Hoodwinked'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  12. ^ Hoodwinked at Rotten Tomatoes Edit this at Wikidata
  13. ^ "Hoodwinked Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  14. ^ Ian Mohr (January 17, 2006). "'Hood' sequel gets a wink". Variety. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Ted Johnson (March 31, 2010). "Kanbar Entertainment files suit against Weinstein". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  16. ^ Amy Kaufman (April 28, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Fast Five' looks to shift the box office into high gear". latimesblogs.com. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  17. ^ Joe Flint (December 16, 2009). "Weinstein Co. delaying 'Hoodwinked' sequel". latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  18. ^ "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  19. ^ "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  20. ^ Kim Hollis (December 27, 2011). "Top 10 Film Industry Stories of 2011: #8 North American Movie-Goers Less Animated in 2011". Box Office Prophets. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  21. ^ "Kanbar Entertainment, LLC". interworks.com. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  22. ^ Bruce Bellingham (March 2009). "Maurice Kanbar is back in the vodka business – this time it's Blue Angel". northsidesf.com. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  23. ^ Dennis Harvey (May 10, 2010). "Seducing Charlie Barker". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2013.