BRB Internacional

BRB Internacional S.A.U.
Company typeSociedad Anónima
IndustryAnimation, production, distribution, licensing
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972)
FounderTito Basto
José Rodriguez
Claudio Biern Boyd
Defunct2022; 2 years ago (2022)
FateBankruptcy and liquidation
Headquarters,
Spain
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jose Luis Ucha Lliviria
Total assetsCarlos Biern Enriquez
Number of employees
200
DivisionsApolo Films
Websitebrb.es

BRB Internacional S.A.U was a Spanish licensing and production company of animated television series such as Around the World with Willy Fog, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and The World of David the Gnome.[1][2] At the end of January 2018, WildBrain, a leading digital kids' network & studio, has been appointed as the exclusive global manager of BRB Internacional's extensive catalogue of kids' content on YouTube.[3] In 2022, the company closed after filing for bankruptcy.[4] DeAPlaneta acquired the company's library in January 2023.[5][6]

History

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The name BRB comes after its three founders: Títo Basto, José Rodriguez and Claudio Biern Boyd, who founded BRB Internacional SAU in 1972 as a merchandising agency in Spain where the company was headquartered in Alcobendas, Madrid. At first, BRB bought distribution rights in Spain to some of popular characters of foreign studios such as Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros., short film and television series as The Pink Panther, Tom and Jerry, The Muppets and Charlie's Angels.[7] In 1975, thanks to an agreement with the German company Merchandising München,[8] BRB began licensing and distributing animation series both domestically and worldwide, including The Wood of Tallac, Banner and Flappy and Tom Sawyer, all anime series made by Nippon Animation Co., Ltd. in Japan, to start beginning BRB's long relationship with the Japanese animation studio.

After seeing a steady growth in this sector, BRB decided to start producing their own cartoon series, but delegating the whole animation process to other companies, starting with Nippon Animation with Ruy, the Little Cid, premiering in 1980 on Televisión Española (in Japan in 1984). Other series co-produced with Nippon Animation were Dogtanian (MBS and TBS 1981, TVE 1982), Willy Fogg and Football in Action (with Naranjito, the official mascot of 1982 FIFA World Cup). In 1985, after the increase of the Japanese yen due to the price asset bubble,[8] BRB contracted Wang Films Productions in Taiwan their first international hit: The World of David the Gnome, which aired in the United States on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block two years later. The company continued to produce new cartoon series, including Iron Kid ("Eon Kid" in the United States), Suckers and Canimals.

After that, they continued licensing successful foreign properties' rights in Spain including Pokémon, Pepsi, and The Pink Panther. Their most recent project by Screen 21 SA was Super Bernard, a theatrical film based on their short-form series Bernard, but it fell to bankruptcy during the mid-2010s. BRB had a film division called Apolo Films. The studio's only film was a reboot of their Dogtanian series which was released in 2021.[9][10]

In 2023, the company's catalog was acquired by DeAPlaneta Entertainment.

Animated television programs

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Animated films

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  • Dogtanian: The TV Special (1981) (TV film based on the first series)
  • Dogtanian: One For All and All For One (1995)
  • Willy Fog
    • Around the World in 80 Days (1995)
    • Journey to the Center of the Earth (1995)
    • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1995)
  • Sandokan: The Princess and the Pirate (1995)
  • David the Gnome
    • The Tiny Little World of David the Gnome (1995)
    • The Gnomes' Great Adventure (1995 redub)
    • The Gnomes' Amazing Journeys (1997)
    • The Gnomes' Adventures in the Snow (1997)
  • Music For Your Eyes By The Mozart Band (1997)
  • Elliot Mouse: The Untouchables vs. Al Catone (1998)
  • Yolanda: Secret of the Black Rose (2000)
  • Fantaghirò: Quest for the Kuorum (2000)
  • Football Stories: The Official Rules of Football (2001)
  • Toonimals: Wild Records! The Greatest Animal Records (2001)
  • Ruy the Little Cid (2004)
  • Nicholas (or Nico): The TV Movie (2005)
  • Gladiator Academy: The Movie (2005)
  • The Adventures of Zip and Zap: Meet the Monsters (2005)

Live-action films

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  • La princesa de Kaphurtala
  • Marqués mendigo
  • Un difunto, seis mujeres y un taller
  • Atropello
  • Dentro del Paraiso
  • Los recuerdos de Alicia
  • Ambiciones'

Live-action TV

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  • Los Sabios ("The Wise Ones"), in Televisión Española (using characters and animation from the anime series Mīmu Iro Iro Yume no Tabi)
  • ¿Y tú bailas? ("And You Dance?", 1998), in Telecinco
  • Tentaciones ("Temptations"), in Antena 3
  • Gran Splash ("Great Splash"), in Televisión Española
  • Pokemanía, in Telecinco (using characters and animation from Pokémon)
  • La hora animada ("Animated Hour")

Feature films

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Awards

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  • BEST EUROPEAN PRODUCER-Nomination – CARTOON FORUM 2009
  • Best Agent of the Year (2009) for Cartoon Network Enterprises
  • Best Agent of the Year (2008) for Cartoon Network Enterprises
  • Nominated for "Best producer of the Year" Kidscreen magazine (2007)
  • Gran Vía Award (2008), for "Around the World with Willy Fog: The Musical"

References

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  1. ^ "Ship My Units: How European Animated Series Get on U.S. Channels | Animation World Network". Awn.com. 2005-10-31. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  2. ^ "Two BRB International Series Win Kids' Jury Awards at MIPJUNIOR | Animation World Network". Awn.com. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  3. ^ "WILDBRAIN APPOINTED EXCLUSIVE GLOBAL MANAGER OF BRB'S KIDS' CONTENT ON YOUTUBE". Archived from the original on 2021-07-15.
  4. ^ "B R B INTERNACIONAL SA: Phone number, VAT number, and Address". Infoempresa.com.
  5. ^ "DeaPlaneta Entertainment acquires BRB international full library". 23 January 2023.
  6. ^ Lang, Jamie (2023-01-24). "Deaplaneta Acquires BRB Internacional's Library of Animated Characters". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  7. ^ Hernández-Pérez, Manuel (June 24, 2019). Japanese Media Cultures in Japan and Abroad: Transnational Consumption of Manga, Anime, and Media-Mixes. MDPI. ISBN 9783039210084 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b Vicedo Rovira, Andreu (2019). "They were one, two and three... Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds" (PDF). BRB international co-productions in the 80s: From Ruy, the Little Cid to Around the World with Willy Fog (Bachelor thesis) (in Spanish). Polytechnic University of Valencia. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Apolo Films, el estudio de cine de BRB, se presenta en sociedad en Navarra - Cine y Tele". www.cineytele.com. May 17, 2018.
  10. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (February 11, 2020). "'Dogtanian' Animated Feature In The Works from Cosmos-Maya, Apolo (EXCLUSIVE)".
  11. ^ "Archive » Special Report: NATPE – Europeans now 'think American'". Kidscreen. 1996-01-01. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  12. ^ Bendazzi, Giannalberto (6 November 2015). Animation: A World History: Volume III: Contemporary Times - Giannalberto Bendazzi - Google Books. CRC Press. ISBN 9781317519881. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  13. ^ "The Present and Future of Audio Description and Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Spain | Érudit | Meta v54 n2 2009, p. 248-263 |". Erudit.org. doi:10.7202/037679ar. Retrieved 2016-10-01. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ New Dogtanian TV Series is in development
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ "Exclusive: First details on the Willy Fog movie". 18 November 2020.
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