Crest Animation Productions
{{Short description|Indian-American animation studio}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Crest Animation Productions
| logo = Crest_Animation_Productions_logo.jpg
| caption =
| type =
| genre =
| former_names = Rich Entertainment
(1986–1993)
Rich Animation Studios
(1993–2000)
RichCrest Animation Studios
(2000–2007)
| successors = Streetlight Animation
Splash Entertainment
| founder = Richard Rich
| foundation = {{start date and age|1986|03|15}}
| location_city = Burbank, California, United States
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| defunct = {{end date and age|2013|06|19}}
| fate = Closed
| key_people = Terry L. Noss
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| owner = Nest Family Entertainment (1993–2000)
Crest Animation Studios (2000–13)
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}}
Crest Animation Productions (formerly RichCrest Animation Studios, Rich Animation Studios and originally Rich Entertainment) was an Indian-American animation studio that operated from 1986 to 2013. Headquartered in Burbank, California, it was founded on March 15, 1986 by Richard Rich.
Crest's most well known work include Alpha and Omega and The Swan Princess. The studio initially made some traditional animated films, but later exclusively relied on computer animation until its closure in 2013.
History
The studio was founded by film director Richard Rich in 1986, who previously worked at Walt Disney Productions. He initially had 26 employees, most of them coming from Disney such as former marketing chief Matt Mazer.{{cite news|last=Citron|first=Rich|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-21-fi-4238-story.html|title=Rich Hopes to Strike It in Animation|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 21, 1993|access-date=February 6, 2018}} Around that time, Rich was contacted by Jared F. Brown to produce half-hour animated videos based on audio cassettes of the Book of Mormon for his Living Scriptures firm.{{cite news|last=Porter|first=Donald|url=http://theoccasionalcritic.blogspot.com/2012/11/richard-rich-nov-19-1994.html|title=Richard Rich|work=Standard-Examiner|via=Blogger|date=November 19, 1994|access-date=February 6, 2018}} They subsequently expanded to educational animated Christian and historical videos for children through a sister company Family Entertainment Network.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
In 1993, Rich Animation Studios was fully acquired by Nest Entertainment,{{cite news |last1=Haring |first1=Bruce |title=Nest not empty with new units |url=https://variety.com/1993/digital/features/nest-not-empty-with-new-units-106726/ |access-date=11 April 2022 |work=Variety |date=May 11, 1993}} a holding company that also combined Family Entertainment Network and Cassette Duplicators Inc., a cassette-duplicator in West Valley City. On the heels of the videos' success, the two studios produced The Swan Princess in 1994, based on the classic ballet Swan Lake. Despite being a box-office disappointment, it sold well on video and spawned two sequels, The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain and The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom.
In 1999, the two studios teamed up with Morgan Creek Productions and Rankin/Bass Productions to produce an animated adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I for Warner Bros. However, the film bombed at the box office and received very negative reviews, which forced Nest Family Entertainment to sell off the studio to Crest Animation Studios on New Year's Day 2000.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} The studio was renamed to RichCrest Animation Studios, and they continued to produce Bible videos for Nest until 2005.
In February 2007, RichCrest was renamed to Crest Animation Productions and announced that it was "expanding its business to become a full-service animation studio specializing in the development and production of CGI-animated properties for theatrical, television, home entertainment and interactive distribution".{{cite web|title=RichCrest Animation Now Crest Animation Prods. with Fogelson at Helm |first=Sarah |last=Baisley |url=http://www.awn.com/news/business/richcrest-animation-now-crest-animation-prods-fogelson-helm |work=Animation World Network |date=February 13, 2007 |access-date=April 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904214927/http://www.awn.com/news/business/richcrest-animation-now-crest-animation-prods-fogelson-helm |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |url-status=live }}
The studio was finally shut down in 2013, after failing to make a profit.{{cite web |title = WEEKEND DEATH FOR INDIA'S LARGEST ANIMATION FIRM |first = Yogesh |last = Sadhwani |url = http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Weekend-death-for-Indias-largest-animation-firm/articleshow/21236107.cms }} Many of its productions contracts were handed over to other studios for completion. Norm of the North, a film that was in production at Crest before closing, along with future Alpha and Omega sequels were handed over to Splash Entertainment while future Swan Princess installments were handled by Streetlight Animation, which Rich also formed.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
Filmography
=Theatrical Features=
Rich era
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Title
! Release Date ! Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Swan Princess | {{Start date|1994|11|18}} | Co-production with Nest Family Entertainment |
| The King and I | {{Start date|1999|3|19}} | Co-production with Morgan Creek Productions, Rankin/Bass Productions and Nest Family Entertainment |
RichCrest era
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Title
! Release Date ! Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Trumpet of the Swan | {{Start date|2001|5|11}} | Co-production with TriStar Pictures and Nest Family Entertainment |
| Muhammad: The Last Prophet | {{Start date|2002|11|8}} |
Crest era
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Title
! Release Date ! Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alpha and Omega | {{Start date|2010|9|17}} | Co-production with Lionsgate Films; and produced in CGI. |
=Direct-to-Video=
Rich era
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Title
! Release Date ! Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Animated Stories from the Book of Mormon | 1987-1992 | Co-production with Living Scriptures |
| Animated Stories from the New Testament | 1987-2004 | Co-production with Nest Family Entertainment |
| Animated Hero Classics | 1991–1997, 2004 | Co-production with Living History Productions, Nest Family Entertainment and Warner-Nest Animation |
| Animated Stories from the Bible | 1992–1995 | Co-Production with Nest Family Entertainment |
| The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain | {{Start date|1997|7|18}} | |
| The Swan Princess III: The Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure | {{Start date|1998|8|4}} | |
| The Scarecrow | {{Start date|2000|8|22}} |
RichCrest era
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Title
! Release Date ! Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments | 2003 | Co-production with TLC Entertainment and SMEC Media |
| Arthur's Missing Pal (CGI) | {{Start date|2006|8|22}} | Co-production with WGBH-TV, Mainframe Entertainment and Marc Brown Studios |
Crest era
Note: All films CGI.
Films originally slated for production at Crest
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Title
! Release Date ! Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Norm of the North | {{Start date|2016|1|15}} | Co-produced by Splash Entertainment and Assemblage Entrainment |
| Alpha and Omega: Dino Digs | {{Start date|2016|5|10}} | |
| The Swan Princess: Princess Tomorrow, Pirate Today | {{Start date|2016|9|6}} | Co-production with Nest Family Entertainment |
| Alpha and Omega: The Big Fureeze | {{Start date|2016|12|8}} | |
| The Swan Princess: Royally Undercover | {{Start date|2017|3|28}} | Co-production with Nest Family Entertainment |
| Alpha and Omega: Journey to Bear Kingdom | {{Start date|2017|5|9}} | |
| The Swan Princess: A Royal Myztery | {{Start date|2018|3|27}} | rowspan="6"| Co-production with Nest Family Entertainment |
| The Swan Princess: Kingdom of Music | {{Start date|2019|8|6}} | |
| The Swan Princess: A Royal Wedding | {{Start date|2020|8|4}} | |
| The Swan Princess: A Fairytale is Born | {{Start date|2023|5|23}} | |
| The Swan Princess: Far Longer than Forever | {{Start date|2023|9|19}} |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Animation industry in the United States}}
Category:American animation studios
Category:Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
Category:Indian animation studios
Category:Visual effects companies
Category:Indian companies established in 1986
Category:Mass media companies established in 1986
Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 2013
Category:Indian companies disestablished in 2013
Category:Film production companies based in Mumbai