HOT Animation

HOT Animationwas a British stop-motionanimation studioowned byHIT Entertainmentthat specialised instop motion animation.The studio was first incorporated in September 1997, and was officially established on 1 April 1998 byJackie Cockle,Brian Little, and Joe Dembinski.

HOT Animation

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Media Television production
Founded	16 September 1997(1997-09-16)
Founder	Jackie Cockle Brian Little Joe Dembinski
Defunct	18 August 2012(2012-08-18) (14 years, 11 months and 2 days)
Fate	Liquidation
Headquarters	Manchester,England
Key people	Jackie Cockle Brian Little Joe Dembinski
Products	Children's television series Stop motion
Total assets	$1,119 million
Number of employees	67 (2007)
Parent	HIT Entertainment

They started with producing the later four episodes ofBrambly Hedge,a series of 25-minute episodes based on the eight illustrated children's books byJill Barklem.

Their worldwide success did not follow until the creation ofBob the Builder,a Britishanimated television serieswhich followsgeneral contractorBoband the Can-Do-Crew of building vehicles. The theme tune was released as a single, "Can We Fix It?"with an accompanying promo produced at HOT, which beatKylie Minogue's "Please Stay",Eminem's "Stan",andWestlife's "What Makes a Man"among others to become theChristmas number-one single.

The company then madeRubbadubbers,a series about bath toys that come alive.Pingu,a Swiss-British animated series about a family of penguins, was recreated with great success from 2003 to 2006.

HOT ceased to produce the main series ofBob the Builderafter 2008 when the studio announced that jobs would be cut, and opted to produce a direct-to-DVD series calledBob the Builder: On Site,using stop motion from Bob's world andlive actionfrom real world construction sites. The studio closed prior to HIT's purchase by Mattel, but was fully dissolved on 18 August 2012.

Productions

Television

• Brambly Hedge(1998–2000, episodes 5–8 only)
• Bob the Builder(1999–2008, seasons 1–16 only)
• Rubbadubbers(2002–2005)
• Pingu(2003–2006, seasons 5–6 only)
• The Pingu Show(2006–2007)

Feature-length specials

• Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember(2001)
• Bob the Builder: The Knights of Can-A-Lot(2003)
• Bob the Builder: Snowed Under - The Bobblesburg Winter Games(2004)
• Bob the Builder - Project Build It: When Bob Became a Builder(2005)
• Bob the Builder - Project Build It: Built to Be Wild(2006)
• Bob the Builder - Project Build It: Scrambler to the Rescue(2007)
• Bob the Builder - Project Build It: Race to the Finish(2008)

Direct-to-home video

• Bob the Builder: On Site(2008–2011)

Music videos

• "Can We Fix It?"(2000)
• "Mambo No. 5"(2001)
• "Eskimo Disco - 7-11" (2006)
• "Big Fish, Little Fish"(2008)

Other

• Dinosaur Roar(1999, pilot forHIT Entertainment)
• Gina and Stella(2001, short film)
• Bitziboos(2004, pilot for HIT Entertainment)
• Life on Mars(2007,Camberwick Greenparody sequence for season 2 episode 5)

UK Commercials

• Nestle Smarties(1999, Trip To The Zoo)
• Nestle Smarties(1999-2001, All The Various Sponsorship Sting IdentDiGGiTGMTV)

External links

• Official website(archived)