Many Disney Series Created by Defunct Canadian Studio
For 54 years, Canadian animation studio Nelvana produced animated and live action television series that were seen worldwide. Care Bears, Rupert Bear, Beetlejuice, Dog City, The Backyardigans, The Berenstein Bears, Franklin, Max & Ruby, and a host of other series were produced or animated by the landmark Toronto studio.
But recently, the studio laid off all of its animation crew, refocusing solely on monetizing its existing series through distribution to television stations and streaming services, and brand licensing.
The studio has Disney credentials to its name, including iconic Playhouse Disney series Handy Manny and Rolie Polie Olie, as well as the earliest Star Wars animated series. Let’s take a look at their contributions.
Star Wars
Nelvana worked on the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. The animated segment “The Faithful Wookie” is easily the best part, and introduced Boba Fett. While George Lucas did his best to bury the Life Day program, he clearly liked the Moebius-inspired character design, which led to the studio creating the Droids (1985-1986) and Ewoks (1985-1986) series, available for streaming on Disney+.
Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles
Many writers for Disney’s dark and complex animated series Gargoyles didn’t expect a third season, and found work elsewhere. Coupled with different broadcast standards on a network instead of syndication, the final set of 13 episodes (1996-1997) aren’t beloved by many diehards. But nevertheless, Nelvana continued what Walt Disney Animation Japan began.
Rolie Polie Olie
The swellest kid around was a major marketing matter for the mouse from 1998 to 2004, appearing on merchandise and in live shows at Disney’s California Adventure and Disney-MGM Studios.
Nelvana maintained the rights to the series, and it can be viewed not only on Disney+, but on the Canadian company’s own YouTube, Treehouse Direct.
Handy Manny
Just like Rolie, Handy was a prominent character in the Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior lineup. Released from 2006 to 2013, the Wilmer Valderrama-led series includes an astounding 113 half-hour episodes. The series is on Disney+.
Lucky Duck
Many Disney Channel Original Movies have become iconic. But did you know that there was a “Disney Junior Original Movie”?
Starring Broadway’s Christian Borle and Megan Hilty, as well as Tom Cavanagh, Lucky Duck (2014) features the trials and tribulations a rubber duck with a faulty whistle.
Babar and the Adventures of Badou
This 2010 to 2015 series based on the classic children’s book elephant aired on Disney Junior. Nelvana now makes the series available to stream for free on YouTube.
The ZhuZhus
The second series based on the ZhuZhu Pets toy line, this 2016 to 2017 series aired on Disney Channel in the United States.
Hotel Transylvania: The Series
It’s a Sony Pictures Animation film series, yet Nelvana did the television adaptation airing on Disney Channel? Yup. This ran 2017 to 2020.
Go Away, Unicorn!
Nelvana animated this 2018 to 2019 Disney Channel series for another company.