Technicolor Animation Productions[1] (formerly known as Timoon Animation, Genao Productions and OuiDo! Productions) was the French-based entertainment production company and it was a production arm part of the French visual effects and animation company Technicolor Creative Studios. The company was founded on May 28, 2003 as Timoon Animation by Philippe Mounier the founder of PMMP and Bridget Gauthier-Darcet of Largardère Images and they were responsible for co-producing animated shows and reboots such as the Alvin and the Chipmunks and Sonic the Hedgehog franchises.
History
Technicolor Animation Productions was first founded in Paris, France on May 28, 2003 in which it was originally known as Timoon Animation when the then vice-president of Lagadère Images, Brigett Gautheir-Darcet and founder of another animation studio in France PMMP, Philippe Mounier teamed up to create this company in order to boost Largadère Images and produced its first animated series The Odd Family which they co-produced with SAMG Animation (now SAMG Entertainment).
On October 3, 2008 Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog the directors of OuiDo! Entertainment which they founded in 2007 joined Timoon Animation under Christophe Thoral with the two being both named Managing Producer and Executive Producer including their projects which were being developed under Timoon.
On March 5, 2012 after Lagardére Entertainment was founded in 2008 taking Timoon Animation with it, the company had been rebranded to Genao Productions in order to expand its focus towards fiction and unscripted entertainment programs for young people.[2]
In October of that same year Genao Productions announced that they have partnered with American-based company and owner of the legendary Alvin and the Chipmunks band Bagdasarian Productions to produce a new CGI animated series revival named ALVINNN! and the Chipmunks which was originally titled The Chipmunks and Chippets with PGS Entertainment acquiring the global distribution rights to the show on August 21, 2013 but excluding US and France.[3]
In October 2, 2013 the company joined forces with Japanese-based video game company Sega through its American division Sega of America to bring the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise back into television with its CGI animated series Sonic Boom which premiered on Cartoon Network in the US, Canal J and Gulli in France on November 8, 2014 with Lagardère Entertainment Rights (now LS Distribution) handling distribution. Also in October, 7 of the same year when Largadère Entertainment had announced that they were ceasing animation production in order to focus on scripted and unscripted programming, they sold its animation subsidiary Genao Productions to its managers Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog which founded OuiDo! Entertainment in 2007 prior to join the company in 2008. Genao was turned into an independent animation producer by them and the two renamed the company to and created OuiDo! Productions after they with Lagardére Entertainment Rights retaining Genao's back catalogue.[4] Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog were both later named CEOs of the newly renamed company with Hertzog became the present of the independent animation studio.
On February 25, 2015, it was announced that American/French technology and creative comlany Technicolor SA (now known as Vantiva) announced that they have acquired OuiDo! Productions and they renamed the studio as "Technicolor Animation Productions" with Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog remained CEOs and continued to work for the renamed company. After the Technicolor SA purchase, OuiDo! works were retroactively credited with the new company name and logo, replacing the OuiDo! logo[5]
In 2022, due to the spin-off of Technicolor Creative Studios, it, along with Technicolor Animation, were merged into Mikros Animation, this caused some shows, such as Alvinnn!!! and the Chipmunks, to end production.
