Toonbox Explained

Toonbox
Founded:	(Moscow, Russia)
Hq Location Country:	Moscow Russia (2008-2014) Paphos, Cyprus (2014)
Key People:	Pavel Muntyan (CEO) Vladimir Ponomarev (CCO)

Toonbox is an animation studio founded in Russia and based in Paphos, Cyprus.

History

The studio was founded in 2008, by Pavel Muntyan (CEO) and Vladimir Ponomarev (CCO).

Starting from 2011, Toonbox representatives got actively involved in the development of animated cinematograph, including the niche of attracting investments to the industry.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

In 2012, Toonbox openly claimed its involvement in the production of Mr. Freeman animated series on a TV-channel ^[5] belonging to Sergey Minaev.

Starting from 2013, the studio has been focusing mainly on animated series for kids.^[6]

Since 2014, Toonbox leaders have been urging against anti-advertisement policy in animated cinematograph and television for the sake of industry development.^[7]

In 2014, a new episode of Mr. Freeman dedicated to a truly acute topic in Russia — bitcoin, has been shown in 130 cities worldwide at a time.^{[8] [9]}

In 2014, the headquarters of the company moved to Cyprus. The move turned out to be in the spotlight of mass media both in Russia and abroad.^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

In 2015, the number one street artist Banksy played Mr. Freeman's episode Walking On By ^[14] at the opening of his weirdo entertainment park Dismaland.^[15]

On October 12, 2016 Rovio Entertainment (creator of Angry Birds) has become an official licensing partner of the brand Kit^n^Kate created by Toonbox.^{[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]}

Up to the present moment (late 2019), Toonbox has produced 357 animated movies with a total time-keeping of 18.5 hours. Toonbox produces English, Russian, and non-dialogue content in Full HD in 2D, CGI, and 360 VR formats. Its flagship series include Kit^n^Kate, Qumi-Qumi, Qumi-Qumi 360 VR, and Mr. Freeman.

Toonbox films and series have dubbings into 27 languages and are being broadcast in 130 countries on both TV-channels and VOD platforms.^[23] Toonbox YouTube channels can boast 1,9 billion of views. Its international agents include such major companies as Riki Group, Planet Nemo Animation, Maurizio Distefano Licensing, Dadi Media and Ferly.

Animated Shows

Production year	Title	Episodes	Seasons	Director	Scriptwriter
2008-2009	The Real Adventures of Belka and Strelka	6	1	Владимир Пономарёв	Comedy Club
2009-2012	Russian Short Fairy-Tales	36	2	Andrey Bakhurin	Andrey Bakhurin, Valentin Vinogradov, Inga Kirkizh
2009-2019		32	2	Vladimir Ponomarev	Pavel Muntyan, Anatoly Dobrozhan, Vadim Demchog, Ivan Trofimov
2010	The Bump	3	1	Arthur Merkulov	Anatoly Dobrozhan
2011-2018		15	1	Владимир Пономарёв	Владимир Пономарёв, Павел Мунтян, Станислав Михайлов, Артур Меркулов, Дмитрий Горбунов, Алексей Минченок, Владимир Афанасьев, Алексей Котёночкин, Олег Ужинов, Наталья Румянцева
2017	Qumi-Qumi 360 VR	4	1	Vladimir Ponomarev	Vladimir Ponomarev, Pavel Muntyan
2010-2013	Shaman's Quest (1st season)	12	1	Arthur Merkulov	Arthur Merkulov
2011-2012	The Fixies (partly in 2D)	7	1	Vladimir Ponomarev	Aeroplan studio
2011-2014		28	3	Arthur Merkulov, Dmitry Gorbunov	Stanislav Mikhailov
2014-2015, 2017-2019		104	2	Vladimir Ponomarev	Michael Mennies,^[24] Mike de Seve,^[25] Jymn Magon,^[26] Susan Kim,^[27] Anne D. Bernstein ^[28]
since 2020	Bobby and the Bubble Bunch	TBA	TBA	Vladimir Ponomarev	Michael Mennies
since April 19, 2021	Take My Muffin	30	3	Basil Tailor	Stas Mikhailov-Norden, Vladimir Ponomarev, Pavel Muntyan

Animated short films

• The Hero as the Rock, 2010, directed by Alexandr Svirsky
• Word and Words, 2010, directed by Alexandr Svirsky
• The Magic Pot, 2010, directed by Andrey Bahurin
• Onotole, 2010, directed by Dmitry Gorbunov, Artur Merkulov
• Chepurnas, 2012, directed by Alexandr Svirsky

Awards

• Vinnician Festival, 2008, for the animated movie The Real Adventures of Belka and Strelka ^[29]
• Russian Flash Awards', 2009, for the animated movie Three Acrobat Brothers (Best Animation) ^[30]
• Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, 2010, for the animated movie The History Could Have Gone Differently (Best Applied Animation) ^[31]
• On April 15, 2010 Mr. Freeman was awarded as the best video blog at the international Weblog competition The Best of Blogs in Berlin^[32]
• VI Multimatograph, 2010, for the series Shaman's Quest (Grand Prix of the festival) ^[33]
• Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, 2012, for the animated movie The Berry Pie (Best Kids' Movie) ^[34]
• X Moscow Festival of Native Movies, 2012, for the movie The Berry Pie (Audience Award) ^[35]
• XXIV Animation Festival in Suzdal, 2019, for Qumi-Qumi series in an updated format (2D and 3D)

Links

• Toonbox Studio, official site
• Mr. Freeman, official site
• Qumi-Qumi, official site
• Shaman's Quest, official site
• Kit^n^Kate, official site

Notes and References

1. Web site: Развитие рынка анимации тормозит нехватка кадров и инвестиций.
2. Web site: YouTube.
3. Web site: Павел Мунтян - Анимация это сложно. Телеканал Дождь. 16 August 2011. YouTube.
4. Web site: Феномен персонажа "Mr.Freeman". Oboz. TV. 6 July 2016. YouTube.
5. Web site: Newsroom - Mr. Freeman 21/02/12. KontrTelevision. 12 March 2013. YouTube.
6. Web site: Все любят котиков. Анастасия. Гладильщикова.
7. Web site: Эксперты: реклама во время мультиков развивает анимационный жанр. 22 April 2014.
8. Web site: Mr. Freeman возвращается.
9. Web site: Карта презентаций Mr. Freeman 31 мая 2014 - VK.
10. Web site: Russia Brain Drain Saps Talent as Sanctions Hit Financing. 27 October 2014. www.bloomberg.com.
11. Web site: "Здесь всё проще": Павел Мунтян — о переезде на Кипр всей компанией.
12. Web site: Bloomberg: санкции привели к утечке мозгов из России.
13. Web site: Работа за границей. Часть 5: Азия.
14. Web site: MF-walking on by.
15. Web site: Watch: Banksy Dismaland Preview & Short Film Program. 26 August 2015.
16. Web site: Rovio takes on first new IP for CP business.
17. Web site: BLE: Rovio to Create 'Kit^n^Kate' Program - License! Global.
18. Web site: Rovio to create licensing program for Toonbox Animation's Kit^n^Kate. 12 October 2016. 30 December 2016. 14 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161014060523/http://www.rovio.com/rovio-create-licensing-program-toonbox-animations-kitnkate. dead.
19. Web site: Rovio Entertainment: Rovio to Create Licensing Program for Toonbox Animation's Kit^n^Kate - Business Wire. 13 October 2016.
20. Web site: Rovio teams with Toonbox Animation to launch consumer products push for Kit^n^Kate. 2016-12-30. 2016-10-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20161013125047/http://www.licensing.biz/news/read/rovio-teams-with-toonbox-animation-to-launch-consumer-products-push-for-kit-n-kate/044785. dead.
21. https://www.afp.com/en/news/1315/rovio-entertainment-rovio-create-licensing-program-toonbox-animations-kitnkate Rovio Entertainment: Rovio to Create Licensing Program for Toonbox Animation’s Kit^n^Kate
22. Web site: Rovio to create licensing program for Toon box Animation's Kit^n^Kate.
23. Web site: Павел Мунтян, Toonbox: "Сейчас в России нет сериалов, которые "порвут" мировой рынок".
24. Web site: Michael Mennies.
25. Web site: Mike de Seve.
26. Web site: Jymn Magon.
27. Web site: Susan Kim.
28. Web site: Anne D. Bernstein.
29. Web site: IІ Между Народный ВИННИЦианский фестиваль комедийного и пародийного кино. - Ха-Ха-Ха.
30. Web site: RFA Crisis: Russian Flash Awards. RFA. Team.
31. Web site: Открытый Российский фестиваль анимационного кино - Архив - Архивный фестиваль - Итоги. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160411110158/http://suzdalfest.ru/index.php?id=16&year=2010. 2016-04-11.
32. Web site: В число лучших блогов в мире вошли три русскоязычных дневника.
33. Web site: Мультиматограф VI: Победители и призы.
34. Web site: Открытый Российский фестиваль анимационного кино - Архив - Архивный фестиваль - Итоги. 2016-12-30. 2016-04-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20160412025031/http://suzdalfest.ru/index.php?id=16&year=2012. dead.
35. Web site: Московская премьера. 8 February 2013. bot: unknown. https://archive.today/20130208120614/http://www.mospremiera.com/. 8 February 2013.