{{Short description|American animation studio}} {{Use American English|date=October 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox company | type = | name = Jay Ward Productions, Inc. | logo = File:Jay Ward Productions end card 2015.png | logo_size = 250px | logo_caption = Jay Ward's Bullwinkle logo used since 2015 | founded = {{start date and age|1948}} | defunct = | industry = Animation | fate = | founder = Jay Ward | key_people = {{ubl|Tiffany Ward (president)|Amber Ward (vice president)}} | hq_location_city = Costa Mesa, California | hq_location_country = U.S. | products = | owner = | parent = | subsidiaries = {{ubl|Bullwinkle Studios (50%)<ref name="latimes">{{cite news |last=Verrier |first=Richard |title=DreamWorks Animation buys 'Casper,' 'Lassie' parent Classic Media |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2012-jul-23-la-et-ct-dreamworks-animation-20120722-story.html |access-date=August 31, 2013 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=July 23, 2012 |archive-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025220954/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/23/entertainment/la-et-ct-dreamworks-animation-20120722 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt"/>}} }} '''Jay Ward Productions, Inc.''' (sometimes shortened to '''Ward Productions''') is an American animation studio based in Costa Mesa, California. It was founded in 1948 by American animator Jay Ward. As of 2022, the studio is headed by Ward's daughter, Tiffany Ward, and granddaughter, vice president Amber Ward.
Before 2022, when the studio signed a distribution deal with WildBrain, the Jay Ward catalogue was managed by '''Bullwinkle Studios''', a joint venture between Jay Ward Productions and the DreamWorks Animation subsidiary of NBCUniversal.
==History== The company was based on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, across Sunset Boulevard from the Chateau Marmont.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/21577 |title=Roadside America.com: "20-Foot-Tall Rocky and Bullwinkle (In Transition)" |access-date=July 22, 2016 |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331091949/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/21577 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Jay Ward Productions today=== By 2002, Jay Ward Productions had formed Bullwinkle Studios LLC, a joint venture with Classic Media (then an Entertainment Rights subsidiary), to manage the Jay Ward characters. Bullwinkle Studios's first production was ''George of the Jungle'' with Studio B Productions, a unit of DHX Media. The series was broadcast on Teletoon, then added to Cartoon Network. Jay Ward's daughter, Tiffany Ward, is the president of Ward Productions and Bullwinkle Studios.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last1=Elliot |first1=Stuart |title=A Classic Series, Retooled and Swingin' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/business/media/16adco.html?_r=0 |access-date=August 3, 2016 |work=The New York Times |date=January 16, 2008 |archive-date=January 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105212654/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/business/media/16adco.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=7774296 |title=Businessweek: Private company information for Bullwinkle Studios, LLC |website=Bloomberg News |access-date=March 8, 2017 |archive-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007082239/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=7774296 |url-status=live}}</ref> Classic Media was acquired in 2012 by DreamWorks Animation,<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 23, 2012 |title=DreamWorks Animation buys 'Casper,' 'Lassie' parent Classic Media |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2012-jul-23-la-et-ct-dreamworks-animation-20120722-story.html |access-date=September 10, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920151046/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2012-jul-23-la-et-ct-dreamworks-animation-20120722-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> which was later purchased by the Comcast-owned NBCUniversal in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bishop |first=Bryan |date=August 22, 2016 |title=DreamWorks Animation is now owned by Comcast |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/22/12594168/dreamworks-animation-comcast-deal-closed-shrek |access-date=September 10, 2020 |website=The Verge |language=en |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108104208/http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/22/12594168/dreamworks-animation-comcast-deal-closed-shrek |url-status=live}}</ref>
On February 3, 2022, Jay Ward Productions signed a deal with WildBrain to produce new content based on its portfolio.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wildbrain.com/newsreleases/hokey-smokes-bullwinkle-wildbrain-and-jay-ward-productions-join-forces-on-legendary-classics-george-of-the-jungle-mr-peabody-sherman-dudley-do-right-rocky-bullwi/ |title="HOKEY SMOKES, BULLWINKLE" - WILDBRAIN AND JAY WARD PRODUCTIONS JOIN FORCES ON LEGENDARY CLASSICS: GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE, MR. PEABODY AND SHERMAN, DUDLEY DO-RIGHT, ROCKY & BULLWINKLE, SUPER CHICKEN AND MORE |publisher=WildBrain |date=February 3, 2022 |access-date=February 6, 2022 |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205194908/https://www.wildbrain.com/newsreleases/hokey-smokes-bullwinkle-wildbrain-and-jay-ward-productions-join-forces-on-legendary-classics-george-of-the-jungle-mr-peabody-sherman-dudley-do-right-rocky-bullwi/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The agreement also includes distribution rights to the entire Jay Ward Productions library. However, DreamWorks retains the distribution rights to its co-productions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kidscreen.com/2022/02/04/wildbrain-to-refresh-classic-jay-ward-animation |title=WildBrain to refresh classic Jay Ward animation |access-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223235413/https://kidscreen.com/2022/02/04/wildbrain-to-refresh-classic-jay-ward-animation/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Television programs==
===Animation===
====Jay Ward Productions (pre-Classic Media)==== * ''Crusader Rabbit'' (1950–1959) (owned by 20th Television) * ''Rocky and His Friends''/''The Bullwinkle Show'' (1959–1964) ** ''Fractured Fairy Tales'' ** ''Aesop and Son'' ** ''Bullwinkle's Corner'' ** ''Mr. Know-It-All'' ** ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Fan Club'' ** ''Peabody's Improbable History'' ** ''Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties'' * ''Hoppity Hooper'' (1964–1967) ** ''Uncle Waldo's Cartoon Show'' * ''The Dudley Do Right Show'' (1964–1966) * ''George of the Jungle'' (1967) ** ''Super Chicken'' ** ''Tom Slick''
====Bullwinkle Studios==== * ''George of the Jungle'' (2007–2008, 2016–2017) * ''The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show'' (2015–2017) * ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2018–2019)
====Jay Ward Productions (post-2022)==== * ''George of the Jungle'' (reruns only) * ''The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show'' (reruns only) * ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (reruns only)
===Live-action=== * ''Fractured Flickers'' (1962–1964)
==Commercials==
===General Mills=== * Cheerios, using characters Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1970), Boris Badenov (1959–1970), Aesop and Son (1960–1970), Dudley Do-Right (1961–1970), and Hoppity Hooper (1961–1972) * Trix, using characters Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1970) along with Hoppity Hooper (1961–1972) * Cocoa Puffs, using characters Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1970) along with Hoppity Hooper (1961–1972) * Jets, using characters Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1970) along with Hoppity Hooper (1961–1972) * Wheat Hearts, using characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman (1959–1970) * Frosty O's, using characters Dudley Do-Right (1961–1970) and Hoppity Hooper (1961–1972) * Lucky Charms, using characters Boris and Natasha (1964–1970) along with Hoppity Hooper (1964–1972)
===Quaker Oats Company=== * Cap'n Crunch (1963–1984) * Quisp and Quake (1965–1973) * Monster Munch (1966) * Aunt Jemima (1968–1973) * King Vitaman (1968) * Frosted Oat Flakes (1968–1969) * Fudge Town Cookies (1968) * Mr. Chips Cookies (1968–1969) * Scooter Pie Cookies (1968) * Cinnamon Bear Cereal (1969) * Cinnamon Flakes (1969) * Crackles (1969) * Gauchos Cookies (1969) * Mister E (1969) * Pronto (1969) * Scooter Pies (1969) * Vitaman the Great (1969) * King Vitaman (1970–1971) * Halfsies (1979–1982) * Hi-Lo's (1980)
==Films==
===Live-action=== * ''Boris and Natasha'' (1992) (TV film) * ''George of the Jungle'' (1997) * ''Dudley Do-Right'' (1999) * ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2000) (live-action/animated) * ''George of the Jungle 2'' (2003) (direct-to-video)
===Animation===
====Jay Ward Productions (pre-Classic Media)==== *''Snidley's Monster'' (1961) (short film)<ref name="cartoonresearch.com">{{Cite web |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1961/ |title=Cartoons Considered for an Academy Award – 1961 | |access-date=December 31, 2019 |archive-date=October 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020200013/https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1961/ |url-status=live}}</ref> *''Sleeping Beauty'' (1961) (short film)<ref name="cartoonresearch.com"/> * ''The Phox, The Box, and The Lox'' (1999) (short film)
====Bullwinkle Studios==== * ''Mr. Peabody & Sherman'' (2014) * ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2014) (direct-to-video short film)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |last1=Collier |first1=Kevin Scott |title=Jay Ward's Animated Cereal Capers |date=2017 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=978-1976576843 |language=en}} * {{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Keith |title=The Moose That Roared: The Story of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, a Flying Squirrel, and a Talking Moose |date=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=0312283830 |language=en}} * {{cite book |last1=Citters |first1=Darrell Van |title=The Art of Jay Ward Productions |date=2013 |publisher=Oxberry Press, LLC |isbn=978-0615847863 |language=en}}
{{Animation industry in the United States}} {{DreamWorks Animation}} {{NBCUniversal}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Jay Ward Productions Category:American animation studios Category:Television production companies of the United States Category:Cinema of Southern California Category:Entertainment companies based in California Category:Mass media companies established in 1948 Category:1948 establishments in California Category:Companies based in Costa Mesa, California Category:DreamWorks Classics Category:Universal Pictures subsidiaries Category:NBCUniversal Category:General Mills Category:WildBrain