Golden Films
Golden Films was an American production studio founded in 1988 by Diane Eskenazi. The studio has produced a variety of animated films. The company's most well-known films were part of the Enchanted Tales series, which were originally distributed by Sony Wonder.
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| Founded | 1988 in Woodside, California |
|---|---|
| Founder | Diane Eskenazi |
| Defunct | 2004 |
Particularly during the 1990s, Golden Films became known for its numerous direct-to-video films based on fairy tales and stories that were also being made into much larger budget theatrical films by other studios at the same time. This prompted The Walt Disney Company to sue one of Golden Films's distributors after a string of Disney Renaissance-era films ended up in direct competition with Golden Films' less expensive productions on the home video market. As both Disney and Golden Films had relied on the same public domain source material, Disney ultimately lost the case.[1] After the 1990s, the company ceased work on producing animated content, but they still remain in operation by distributing their content to other companies.
Works
Golden Films has released a number of films based on stories that are in the public domain, as well as several original stories. Often, Golden Films works were released to video shortly after the release of larger-budget films by major studios, or while major studio films based on the same properties were in production. For example, in the year 1992, Golden Films released Aladdin, Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Three Musketeers. Those films were released after or during the production of major studio productions of the same names, including Walt Disney Pictures' The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Three Musketeers and Sullivan Bluth Studios' Thumbelina.
Other Golden Films productions include Sinbad, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Hercules. Other Golden Films productions based on public domain properties include The Wizard of Oz, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Jungle Book, Snow White, Peter Rabbit, and Treasure Island. Golden Films has also produced films about historical figures, including their films Pocahontas and Anastasia. The company has also produced films based on original stories, including The Great Easter Egg Hunt, The Jungle King, The Legend of Atlantis, and The Secret Treasure of Machu Picchu.
Distribution
Golden Films's productions have been distributed by a variety of distributors. In the United States, distributors have included Sony Wonder, Hallmark, and GoodTimes Entertainment. International distributors include Grupo Planeta and Polygram Video. In some releases in the United Kingdom, the British voice actors are dubbed, replacing the original American voices. These were distributed by Universal Pictures UK, in conjunction with Tartan Video, and by VCI.
References
- Nichols, Peter (September 17, 1993). "Disney loses suit over Good Times' 'Aladdin' video". Bangor Daily News. Bangor Publishing Company. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
