| Trade name | Cloudco Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Former name | Those Characters From Cleveland (as trade name: 1981–2000s) AG Properties (2000s-2015) American Greetings Entertainment (2015-2018) |
| Genre | Children and family |
| Foundation | 1981 (age 45) |
| Founder | Tom Wilson |
| Industry | Entertainment, Licensing, Creative Services, Marketing, Social Media, Digital/Games |
| Hq location | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Members | 11-50 employees |
| Products | Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese Buddy Thunderstruck Care Bears Holly Hobbie Madballs Tinpo |
| Parent | American Greetings (1981-2018) IVEST Consumer Partners (2023-present) |
| Subsid | CloudCo, LLC |
| Owner | Weiss family (2018-2023) |
| Website | http://www.cloudcoentertainment.com/ |
Those Characters From Cleveland, LLC, officially doing business as Cloudco Entertainment and formerly known as AG Properties and American Greetings Entertainment, is an American animation studio and production company and which formerly traded as American Greetings' former character brand division. Properties owned by the company include Care Bears, Holly Hobbie, Madballs, Buddy Thunderstruck, Tinpo, The Get Along Gang and Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese.
History
As Those Characters From Cleveland (1980s)
Holly Hobbie was created in 1967 as a line of greeting cards by American Greetings.[1] Knickerbocker Toy Co. manufactured stuffed Holly Hobbie dolls from 1968 to 1983.[2] The character's public appeal led to the formation of Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc. In 1972, the company introduced Ziggy, created by Tom Wilson, which soon had a newspaper cartoon strip generating significant additional income. Universal Press later purchased the creative rights. By 1977, Holly Hobbie became one of the top female licensed characters in the world.[3]
Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc. was started up by Tom Wilson on behalf of American Greetings[4] in 1981 to handle its licensing business.[5] The first property out of Those Characters was Strawberry Shortcake, which, in 1981, generated $500 million in retail sales, followed by the Care Bears with $2 billion in sales over its first two years.[3] The Care Bears characters were announced in 1982 with M.A.D., Marketing and Design Service of the toy group of General Mills, and launched in Spring 1983 with toys and a syndicated TV special.[6]
Ralph Shaffer, senior vice-president and creative head at From Cleveland, oversaw the creation of Madballs, foam balls with disfigured faces. AmToy, another American Greetings subsidiary, released them as toys in 1986 and reached the #4 on the toy best-seller list by September of that year.[7]
With Mattel, Those Characters From Cleveland launched Popples in 1986. In 1987, Those Characters came out with four different plush toys that do more than just be huggable, but playable, introduced in 1988 through three toy companies.[8]
As AG Properties (2000s–2015)
In 2001, AG Properties named DIC Entertainment as the licensing agent for Strawberry Shortcake.
With DIC merging with Cookie Jar, thus transferring the rights, the company sued. In the settlement, AG agreed to sell the Strawberry Shortcake franchise (along with Care Bears and Sushi Pack) to Cookie Jar for $195 million with payment due September 30, 2008. Cookie Jar could not come up with the financing, but continued to claim to have licensing rights to Strawberry Shortcake. AG found a new buyer in the form of French company MoonScoop, while settling with Cookie Jar with AG to buy out its rights to Strawberry Shortcake. MoonScoop was to pay part of the purchases price to allow AG to pay Cookie Jar for its rights. Missing that deadline, AG backed out of the deal as MoonScoop attempted to complete the deal by the full payment deadline of June 7, 2009. MoonScoop sued with American Greetings winning the case in November 2012.[9]
By September 19, 2012, AG Properties became the global licensing agent for Pūkeko Pictures’ The WotWots as they sub-licensed the property to EXIM Licensing Group in the Latin America region, Segal Licensing in Canada and Stella Projects in Australian and New Zealand.[10]
Sean Gorman was promoted to president of AG Properties in June 2013 with the mandate to add franchises geared towards a young male demographic. Gorman was hired in 2007 as vice president, entertainment production and development.[11]
Packages from Planet X was produced for Disney XD by Vancouver-based DHX Media and Disney, and premiered on July 13, 2013.[12] In January 2012, American Greetings Properties and Exim Licensing Group international licensing agent signed a Holly Hobbie publishing deal with V & R Editoras for most of Latin America and the Caribbean.[1]
AG Properties licensed to Lion Forge Comics Care Bears, Madballs and Packages from Planet X for titles under their Roar Comics all-ages imprint for release in late 2014.[13]
On February 3, 2015, Iconix Brand Group signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Strawberry Shortcake brand and related intangible assets from AG Properties for US$105 million.[14][15] DHX Media (now WildBrain) would eventually acquire the franchise in 2017 as part of their buyout of Iconix's entertainment assets, which also included an 80% majority stake in Peanuts owner Peanuts Worldwide.[16]
As American Greetings Entertainment (2015–18)
On October 6, 2015, American Greetings changed the unit's name to American Greetings Entertainment as an indication of a shift in focus to the Care Bears property, alongside additional multi-character and entertainment properties.[17] On October 11, the newly-renamed company announced Buddy Thunderstruck, a stop-motion animated series co-produced with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios that would premiere on Netflix in 2017.[18]
In May 2016, Irish production company Sixteen South named American Greetings Entertainment the worldwide distributor of Claude, an animated TV Adaptation of Alex T. Smith's bestselling children's picture book series.[19] On October 17, 2016, the company announced a partnership with Gaumont Animation to relaunch Herself the Elf with a new television series that the two companies would co-develop, co-produce and co-distribute.[20]
On October 13, 2017, UK pre-school broadcaster CBeebies greenlit a Tinpo television series, which would be co-produced by Dentsu, OLM Digital and Sprite Animation Studios, for a late 2018 release on the network.[21]
In April 2018, Hulu commissioned a Holly Hobbie live-action TV series by Aircraft Pictures. It ran for five seasons and 50 episodes. [22] In May 2018, an advert showcased at the Licensing Expo showcased new redesigns of the Care Bears for a new television series that would premiere in Late-2018.[23]
As Cloudco Entertainment (2018–23)
On April 6, 2018, the Weiss family announced it was to sell the majority shareholding in American Greetings to US investment company, Clayton Dubilier & Rice.[24] The ownership of American Greetings Entertainment was fully retained by the Weiss family, and so, on August 28, 2018, the company was spun off from American Greetings as Cloudco Entertainment, becoming a stand-alone company. The previous management was retained, including president Sean Gorman.[25]
On September 6, the planned new Care Bears animated series previously previewed at the licensing expo would be called Care Bears: Unlock the Magic and would premiere on the Boomerang SVOD service in January 2019.[26][27] On September 20, 2018, Cloudco announced they had opened up a UK office.[28]
The animated series Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese was co-commissioned by CBBC and Gulli in October 2018, co-produced with Watch Next Media in France and Kavaleer Productions in Ireland, and premiered on October 31, 2019.[29]
On June 24, 2019, Warner Music Group's Arts Music division launched the licensed Cloudco Entertainment label with the release of the current Holly Hobbie TV show theme song as a part of a multi-season deal.[30]
In January 2021, Cloudco announced they would team up with Topps to create a new toy range that crosses over Cloudco's Madballs and Topps' Garbage Pail Kids franchises.[31] On March 16, 2021, Cloudco and Marblemedia announced they would team-up to co-produce a new live-action comedy series called Overlord and the Underwoods. On the same day, it was confirmed that the show had been picked up by Nickelodeon internationally, ITV in the United Kingdom, CBC in Canada and BYUtv in the United States.[32]
In October 2022, it was announced that a live-action television adaption of Pretty Freekin Scary was commissioned for Disney Channel as a co-production with CakeStart Entertainment, a joint venture between Cake Entertainment and Kickstart Entertainment, as part of the latter's first-look deal with Disney.[33]
Purchase by IVEST Consumer Partners (2023–present)
On August 24, 2023, it was announced that Canadian-based private equity firm IVEST Consumer Partners had purchased Cloudco Entertainment for $100 Million.[34] IVEST's intentions with Cloudco is to focus on the Care Bears brand and turn it into a major household name[35] by helping introduce the franchise to a new generation of children, and producing 'retro'-style merchandise featuring the classic Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins characters, geared towards the now-adult audience who grew up with it, through collaborations with retailers such as Primark, Shein, Claire's, Pop Mart and MINISO. Other plans include utilizing existing Cloudco properties for developing new content, producing new IP, as well as Cloudco being used to acquire and license other properties that IVEST could pick up in the future.[36]
On October 16, 2024, Cloudco and WildBrain announced the production of a new forty-four minute special entitled The Care Berry Switch, which crosses over Strawberry Shortcake with the Care Bears for the first time. This is Cloudco's first Strawberry Shortcake production to be made by the company since the sale of the property to Iconix/WildBrain in February 2015.[37]
On June 5, 2025, it was announced that a live-action/animated Care Bears film was put into development at Warner Bros. Pictures, with Josh Greenbaum being announced as director.[38][39]
Properties
Current
- Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese[40] (2006)
- Buddy Thunderstruck[17] (2015)
- Care Bears[25] (1981)
- Care Bear Cousins[5]
- The Get Along Gang[5] (1983)
- Holly Hobbie[25] (1967)
- Holly Hobbie & Friends (2005)
- Herself the Elf[5]
- Lady Lovely Locks[41] (1987)
- Madballs[7] (1985)
- Maryoku Yummy[11] (2001)
- Overlord and the Underwoods (2021)
- Packages from Planet X[12] (2006)
- Pretty Freekin Scary (2006)[42]
- Sushi Pack[43] (2006)
- Tinpo[25] (2007)
- Twisted Whiskers[11] (2001)
Ownership unknown
- Brush-a-Loves[8] (1987)
- FlopaLots[8] (1987)
- Nosy Bears[8] (1987)
- Peppermint Rose[41] (1990)
- Special Blessings[8] (1987)
Sold
- My Pet Monster (1986) - Sold to Saban Brands in 2012, now owned by Hasbro.
- Popples (1986) - Toys initially produced by Mattel; sold to Saban Brands in 2012, now owned by Hasbro.
- Strawberry Shortcake[14] (1980) - sold to Iconix Brand Group in 2015, now owned by WildBrain.
- The Berrykins - Strawberry Shortcake's little forest pals[5]
- Ziggy[5] (1972) - Sold off in 2011.
Content
Television shows
Films
Television and streaming specials
Direct-to-video specials
References
- ^ Dickson, Jeremy (January 3, 2012). "AGP expands Holly Hobbie brand". Kidscreen. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
- ^ Hatala, Greg (September 23, 2013). "Made in Jersey: BFFs manufactured by Knickerbocker". nj.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
- ^ "History of American Greetings Corporation". International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.59. St. James Press. 2004. Retrieved July 25, 2019. – via FundingUniverse.
- ^ Segall, Grant (September 19, 2011). "Tom Wilson of Ziggy comic fame dies at 80: news obituary". The Plain Dealer. Advance Ohio. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ Stiansen, Sarah (July 7, 1985). "LICENSING INDUSTRY AWAKENS". Sun Sentinel. United Press International. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
- ^ Pecora, Norma Odom (2002). "Chapter 3: The Industries:Television and Toy". The Business of Children's Entertainment. Guilford Publications. p. 52. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ "Madballs Make Ralph Shaffer More Than a Face in the Crowd". People. September 1, 1986. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ "New group of stuffed toys does stuff". UPI Archives. Upi.com. 1987-12-29. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ Grant, Allison (November 26, 2012). "American Greetings wins case against MoonScoop over Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
- ^ McLean, Tom (September 19, 2012). "Deals for 'WotWots,' 'Green Squad,' 'Pirates,' 'Fuzzy Tales'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ Graser, Marc (June 14, 2013). "Sean Gorman to Grow American Greetings' Portfolio of Boys Properties". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ Dawidziak, Mark (August 1, 2013). "'Packages from Planet X' created by American Greetings' designer Jeff Harter". Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ "Lion Forge Plans Care Bears Comics". License Global. July 22, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ Atkinson, Claire (February 3, 2015). "Strawberry Shortcake is new 'it' girl for Iconix". New York Post. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ "Snoopy Owner Iconix to Buy Strawberry Shortcake for $105M". ABC News. Associated Press. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ Mitchell, Robert (10 May 2017). "DHX Media Acquires 'Peanuts' in $345 Million Purchase of Iconix". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ Callan, Patrick (2015-10-06). "American Greetings Properties rebrand marks entertainment focus". Kidscreen. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ Edwards, MJ (11 October 2015). "Stop-Motion Series 'Buddy Thunderstruck' Coming to Netflix". Rotoscopers
- ^ Dickson, Jeremy (May 5, 2016). "Claude trots to Disney Junior EMEA". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ Foster, Elizabeth (October 17, 2016). "American Greetings, Gaumont re-launch Herself the Elf". Kidscreen
- ^ Whyte, Alexandra (October 13, 2017). "CBeebies greenlights American Greetings' Tinpo". Kidscreen
- ^ Pinto, Jordan (April 9, 2018). "Hulu commissions Holly Hobbie kids series". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ "Care Bears: Unlock the Magic Licensing Expo 2018 ad. No idea if this is a TV show, TV special, shorts ... advertising campaign? Whatever it is, it launches later this year on Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Pop.". No. 999141838022938624. 22 May 2018.
- ^ "Investors - American Greetings"
- ^ Loveday, Samantha (August 28, 2018). "American Greetings Spins Off Its Licensing Arm". PG Buzz. Max Media Ventures. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- ^ "'Care Bears' Looking To 'Unlock The Magic' At Boomerang". Deadline Hollywood. September 6, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ Nickolai, Nate (September 6, 2018). "New 'Care Bears' Series to Stream on Boomerang". Variety. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Hobson, Jane (September 18, 2018). "Cloudco bolsters exec roster, opens UK office". Kidscreen
- ^ Hobson, Jane (October 3, 2018). "Cloudco, Watch Next, Kavaleer mix for new series". Kidscreen
- ^ Foster, Elizabeth (June 24, 2019). "Holly Hobbie sings a new tune". Kidscreen. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Tuchow, Ryan (January 15, 2021). "Deals of the Week: Canal+, Cloudco, Mondo TV". Kidscreen
- ^ Kaminska, Karolina (March 16, 2021). "CBC, ITV pick MarbleMedia family series". C21Media
- ^ Brzoznowski, Kristin (15 October 2022). "CakeStart & Cloudco Team for Disney Sitcom". TV Kids
- ^ "IVEST snaps up licensing rights to franchise Care Bears for $100m". 24 August 2023.
- ^ "The Target-trained marketing genius who helped move $16 billion in Harry Potter movies and merch has a nascent new project: Reviving Care Bears"
- ^ "'Care Bears' Owner Cloudco Sells to IVEST for $100 Million". www.animationmagazine.net. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ^ "80s ICONS STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE AND THE CARE BEARS TO HOLD HANDS IN a NEW-BUT-RETRO ANIMATED SPECIAL". 16 October 2024.
- ^ Gajewski, Ryan (June 5, 2025). "'Care Bears' Movie in the Works From Josh Greenbaum at Warner Bros.". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (June 5, 2025). "Josh Greenbaum Tapped To Direct 'Care Bears' Movie For Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ "Jeff Harter". Linkedin. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- ^ "Those Characters From Cleveland: Female Franchises | Online Quiz". Mental Floss. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ "Crazy for cute characters"
- ^ "Studio Espinosa Illustration". studioespinosa.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
- ^ "Disney Orders 'Pretty Freekin' Scary' Comedy Series As Part Of First-Look Deal With Cakestart". cakeentertainment.com. October 25, 2022.
- ^ Hernandez, Andrea (October 14, 2022). "Disney gets Pretty Freekin Scary". Kidscreen
- ^ "80s ICONS STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE AND THE CARE BEARS TO HOLD HANDS IN a NEW-BUT-RETRO ANIMATED SPECIAL". 16 October 2024.