| Sony Pictures Kids Zone | |
| Former Names: | Sony Kids' Music/Video (1992–93) Sony Wonder (1993–2020) Sony Pictures Family Fun (2015–2020) |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Industry: | Entertainment |
| Hq Location City: | New York City, New York |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Products: | Family films |
| Founder: | Linda Morgenstern |
| Parent: | Sony Music Entertainment (1992–2004) Sony BMG Music Entertainment (2004–2007) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007–present) |
Sony Pictures Kids Zone is the kids and family entertainment label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not directly related to the former Sony Wonder Technology Lab, an interactive technology and entertainment museum, although the museum was also owned by Sony.
Sony Music Video launched its Sony Kids' Music and Sony Kids' Video labels in February 1992 after months of planning under the banner SMV Children's Library. Artists signed to Sony Kids' Music at launch included Dan Crow, Tom Chapin, Tom Paxton, Kevin Roth, Rory, and Lois Young, who would all release product in the spring.[1] After Sony Music Video dissolved in October, Sony Kids' Music and Video were coordinated and marketed through Epic Records beginning in January 1993.[2] On May 22, 1993, Nickelodeon signed a long-term agreement with Epic Records to distribute home video and audio titles through Sony Music.[3]
On July 3, Sony Kids' Music and Video were merged as Sony Wonder; Sony Wonder's president Ted Green sought new strategic alliances like their one with Nickelodeon.[4] [5] [6] On April 24, 1995, Children's Television Workshop entered a long-term agreement to distribute Sesame Street videos, music, and books through Sony Wonder, while Columbia Pictures began development on two Muppet films which would be released on video by Columbia TriStar Home Video. Sony Wonder also took over distribution of Random House Home Video titles in April.[7]
On July 29, Nickelodeon and Sony Wonder launched the Nick Jr. Video label with three titles based on Eureeka's Castle, Gullah Gullah Island, and Allegra's Window; an audio line launched on March 26, 1996.[8] In 1996, two years after Viacom's acquisition of Paramount Communications,[9] Sony Wonder's deal with Nickelodeon expired, leaving Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. videos and DVDs to be distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment (and CIC Video internationally until 1999).[10]
On August 2, 1997, Sony Wonder entered a long-term worldwide joint venture with Together Again Video Productions to create and distribute new and previous Kidsongs titles, starting with 20 new episodes of The Kidsongs Television Show.[11] On December 27, Sony Wonder and Golden Books Family Entertainment agreed to release titles from Golden Books' catalog starting in spring 1998;[12] the contract continued with Classic Media after they acquired Golden Books.
The company was also the Canadian home video distributor for series produced by Cinar, such as Wimzie's House, Madeline, A Bunch of Munsch, The Busy World of Richard Scarry and Caillou.[13]
On May 4, 1998, Sony Wonder bought Sunbow Entertainment,[14] which had produced various shows based on Hasbro's toy lines but whose original programming had mostly under-performed. On March 1, 2000, Sony Wonder signed a first-look distribution agreement with German-based management firm TV-Loonland AG to handle the distribution of their shows in German-speaking and Eastern European territories[15] and eventually signed a UK home video deal with Maverick.[16] On October 3, as an extension to the previous agreement, TV-Loonland purchased the television division of Sony Wonder, including its programming and ownership in Sunbow. As part of the deal, Sony kept the North American home video and international audio rights to its library.[17] [18] [19] On May 14, 2008, Hasbro acquired the Sunbow programs based on its properties, which are now part of Hasbro Entertainment.[20] [21] [22] [23]
In 2009, TV-Loonland filed for bankruptcy.[24] In 2011, Loonland sold its catalogue to m4e AG.[25] In February 2017, Studio 100 acquired a majority stake in m4e AG. Studio 100 currently holds the television rights to most of the Loonland catalogue, including the Sunbow and Sony Wonder titles.[26]
On March 13, 2007, Sony BMG announced that it was shutting Sony Wonder to focus on its core music business. However, on June 20, 2007, it was announced that Sony Wonder became a division of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as its kids'- and family-entertainment label.[27] [28] Classic Media's, Sesame Workshop's and Random House's video deals were sold to Genius Products for an undisclosed amount, and later to Vivendi Entertainment. The home media releases to Caillou were moved to Vivendi Entertainment Canada. Since 2012, Caillou DVDs are distributed by Entertainment One and after their purchase of Phase 4 Films in 2014, are released through the KaBoom Entertainment label. Sesame Workshop's properties were moved to Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment in 2010 following the closure of Genius Products. As of 2018, Sesame Workshop's properties are distributed by Shout! Factory through the Shout! Factory Kids label.[29] [30]
In 2012, DreamWorks Animation acquired Classic Media for $155 million; the company became a unit of DreamWorks Animation and was renamed to DreamWorks Classics. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is the current distributor for Classic Media's properties after NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks Animation in 2016.
In 2015, the Sony Wonder label was rebranded as Sony Pictures Family Fun, and later folded into Sony Pictures Kids Zone in 2020. The Sony Wonder label was still used for the direct-to-video The Swan Princess film series up until the same year.