Icebox.com

{{short description|Streaming television animation company}}

{{lowercase title}}

{{Infobox website

| name = Icebox Animation

| logo = Icebox logo.svg

| screenshot =

| caption =

| url = {{url|www.iceboxanimation.com}}

| type = Animation

| commercial =

| language = English

| registration = Optional (previews only)

| owner =

| launch_date = {{start date and age|June 1, 1999}}

| current_status = inactive

| revenue =

}}

icebox Animation was an animation company founded in 1999 by Jonathan Collier, Howard Gordon, Rob LaZebnik, Scott Rupp, Tal Vigderson,{{cite news|title= The Net's red-hot upstart |work= Salon|url= http://www.salon.com/2000/10/09/icebox/|accessdate=2011-11-20}} The founders stated that the company was created to capitalize on the inherent "freedom of the medium" which they felt stifled creativity of writers due to the confining restrictions of the studio system and traditional media.{{cite magazine|title= Drawing Power |magazine= Entertainment Weekly|date=2000-06-23|url= https://ew.com/article/2000/06/23/internet-cartoons-toe-line/|access-date=2011-11-20|first=Noah|last=Robischon}}{{cite news|title= Steve Stanford of Icebox.com on Internet cartoons |work= CNN|date=2000-09-10|url= http://edition.cnn.com/chat/transcripts/2000/9/10/stanford/|accessdate=2011-11-20}}{{cite news|title= Icebox deal puts animation in your face |work= CNet|url= http://news.cnet.com/Icebox-deal-puts-animation-in-your-face/2100-1023_3-251031.html|accessdate=2011-11-20}}

The most noteworthy online animation creations of the company are the controversial animated cartoon Mr. Wong and Queer Duck. Many of the founders such as Rob LaZebnik and Jonathan Collier have written and continue to contribute to and write for shows as The Simpsons in traditional media.{{cite news|title= Will Icebox Halves Staff, Gets Sued & Sells Toon To Fox |work= Animation World Network|url= http://www.awn.com/news/business/icebox-halves-staff-gets-sued-sells-toon-fox|accessdate=2011-11-20}}{{cite news|title= Animation Site Icebox to Close at Week's End |work= The Los Angeles Times|date=2001-02-08|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-08-fi-22711-story.html|access-date=2011-11-20|first=Jon|last=Healey}}{{cite news|title= Can Icebox Heat up Online Animation? |work= Business Week|url= http://www.businessweek.com/ebiz/0004/ec0411.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20000511213700/http://www.businessweek.com/ebiz/0004/ec0411.htm|url-status= dead|archive-date= May 11, 2000|accessdate=2011-11-20}}

The company has paired with Mondo Media in a number of shows.

The original Icebox.com shut down in February 2001 after the company failed to secure additional operating capital.{{cite news|title= Icebox.com to close|work= The Guardian|date=2001-02-09|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/feb/09/newmedia.internet|accessdate=2011-11-20|location=London|first=Amy|last=Vickers}} It was reported Icebox.com had been spending upwards of $1.4 million a month prior to its demise.

Later in 2001, the site was re-established as Icebox 2.0, LLC after several company founders bought the assets of the failed original venture, including the icebox.com domain name. The scope of the new company was greatly scaled down from its predecessor.

Many of the animated shorts on the new site were viewable only on a pay-per-view basis. The pay-per-view feature has since been removed, although many episodes of Mr. Wong Senior House and Twisted are not viewable on the site, instead Mr.Wong only available for purchase on DVD.

Currently, most of the content from the website is now available via the official YouTube channel, called Icebox.

On June 5, 2018, Icebox.com moved their website to Icebox.tv. The website is currently offline.

Dogs Playing Poker, a show based on Icebox's series Poker Night, premiered as a series of shorts on FOX on January 9, 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/watch-fox-debuts-denis-learys-dogs-playing-poker/|title=Watch: Fox Debuts Denis Leary's 'Dogs Playing Poker'|first=Mercedes|last=Milligan|date=Jan 8, 2021|accessdate=May 27, 2021}}