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Zodiac Entertainment

Zodiac Entertainment
Subsidiary
Industry Animation, television production and distribution
Fate Acquired by Carlton Communications
Founded 1989 (1989)
Founder Peter Keefe, Brian Lacey
Defunct 1994
Headquarters Studio City, California, USA
Products Television series
Parent Central Independent Television

Zodiac Entertainment was an American entertainment company that specialized in the production and distribution of animated cartoons. The company was founded in 1989 by Central Independent Television, a British media company that was aiming to establish a television production company in the United States. Two veterans of the animation industry, Brian Lacey and Peter Keefe helped establish and run the firm. The company's animation studio aimed to produce original television series that could easily be translated and broadcast around the world. To this end, its programs avoided overt Americanisms and references to U.S.-specific culture.

Despite finding ratings success and notoriety with its first two animated series, the environmentalism-themed Widget and the comedic Mr. Bogus, the company struggled to compete for timeslots and advertising money with larger companies. Its third and final original series was Twinkle, the Dream Being. In 1994, after its parent company was bought, Zodiac ceased producing original programming and announced that it would function exclusively as a distributor of television shows.

The company had its roots in British-based media company Central Independent Television. In 1987, company officials went to the United States with the aim of purchasing a television production company. The company did not find what it was looking for and instead founded its own company, Zodiac Entertainment. Brian Lacey and Peter Keefe, two veterans of the animation industry helped form that company and former Central Independent executive Kevin Morrison was placed as the company's managing director. Keefe served as director of production and creative development, while Lacey headed the company's marketing efforts.

Over the first three years of Zodiac's existence, Central Independent spent $26 million on the company. By 1992, the company had fifteen employees, including five in New York City, where its marketing department was headquartered. Its animation production was done in South Korea. Although one report claimed that the company would begin production on an outer space-based teen soap opera, the company's first television production was Widget, an environmentalism-themed animated series starring a shapeshifting purple alien who saves the earth from evil threats to the environment. The show started out being shown in syndication on weekends before being expanded to five days a week, eventually reaching 80% of the U.S. television market. In keeping with the company's aim of creating programs that could easily be translated and broadcast in other countries, the program was also shown in 90 countries around the world. It was also recognized as recommended viewing for children by the National Education Association.


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