Wikipedia

GoodTimes Entertainment

(Redirected fromGoodtimes Entertainment)
Not to be confused withGoodtimes Enterprises.

GT Media, Inc.was an Americanhome videocompany that originated in 1984 under the name ofGoodTimes Home Video.Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and classics. The founders for the company were the brothers Kenneth, Joseph and Stanley Cayre (often referred to and credited simply as the "Cayre Brothers" ) ofSalsoul Records.Its headquarters were inMidtown Manhattan,New York City.The company had a distribution facility inJersey City, New Jerseyand a duplication facility inBayonne, New Jersey,known asGTK Duplicating Co..[1]

GT Media, Inc.
Formerly
  • GoodTimes Home Video Corp. (1984–1993)
  • GoodTimes Entertainment Ltd. (1993–2003)
  • GT Brands Holdings LLC (2003–2005)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryHome videocompany
Founded1984;40 years ago(1984)
Defunct2009;15 years ago(2009)
FateFolded intoGaia, Inc.
HeadquartersMidtown Manhattan,New York City
Key people
Products
Parent

Following the bankruptcy, GoodTimes' parent company was sold toYoga-focused content companyGaiamin September 2005.

History

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GoodTimes began with the distribution of copies ofpublic domaintitles. Though the company also produced and distributed many low-pricedfitnessvideos such as the29 Minute Workoutvideo series, its most recognized line of products were the series of low-budgettraditionally animated filmsfrom companies such asJetlag Productions,Golden Films,and Blye Migicovsky Productions, as well as a selection of the works ofBurbank Films Australia.Many of its home-video titles—such asAladdin,Beauty and the Beast,Pinocchio,Sinbad,The Little Mermaid,The Three MusketeersandThumbelina—were named similarly or identically to big-budget animated films from other studios[2](though their plots were sometimes very different), and GoodTimes would often release these films close to the theatrical/home-video releases of other studios. This was largely legal, as the stories of the big-budget films were based on folk tales that had long been in thepublic domain,and the major studios had little room to claim exclusive rights to the stories or the main characters.The Walt Disney Companysued GoodTimes in 1993, because the videotape packaging closely resembled Disney's, allegedly creating the potential of confusing consumers into unintentionally purchasing a GoodTimes title, when they instead meant to purchase a film from Disney.[3]As a result of this lawsuit, GoodTimes was required by law to print its name atop all of its futureVHScovers, in order to clearly demonstrate to the public at large that this was not the "blockbuster"title that they would be purchasing. Despite these changes, however, GoodTimes continued to produce animated films based on public domain" knockoff "titles.[4]At theSummer CES 1985,GoodTimes launched a home video label Kids Klassics Home Video, which was specifically designed for a children's audience.[5]The first Kids Klassics videos were 52 different cartoons, which were all meant to be in color and received a 50-50 joint venture with Remco to market theMel-O-Toonscartoons byStorer Broadcasting.[6]The company made its first licensed client in 1986, by signing a deal withWorldvision Home Videoto reissue titles on videocassette, through the Kids Klassics label, which was mostly onHanna-Barberacartoons.[7]This was followed in 1987 by signing a deal with major video distributorMCA Home Videoto license these titles to videocassette, mainly theUniversal Picturescatalog for a price of $15.[8]That year, Goodtimes and Kids Klassics merged their distribution arms to form Goodtimes/Kids Klassics Distribution Corp.[9]In the 1990s they expanded the company into GT Publishing, a division of the company that published children's books under the Inchworm Press imprint.[10]Expanding fromhome videodistribution, GoodTimes founded its spin-off,GT Interactiveas a way to distributevideo games.[11]This company was sold to the French game publisherInfogramesin 1999. At different times, GoodTimes contracted withColumbia Pictures,NBC,HBO,Worldvision Enterprises,Hanna-Barbera,[7]Orion Home Video,[12]Universal Pictures[8]andParamount Picturesto release inexpensive tapes of many of their films and TV series. In addition, GoodTimes released several compilations assembled from public domain films, film trailers, earlier television programs and newsreels. Most of these were credited to Film Shows, Inc.

On February 10, 2003,[13]Quadrangle Capital Partnerspurchased GoodTimes Entertainment for $90 million plus $160 million in debt,[14]and rebranded the company as GT Brands.[13]

Bankruptcy and sale to Gaiam

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On July 11, 2005, GT Brands Holdings filed forChapter 11 Bankruptcyprotection.[15]A day later,Gaiamannounced to acquire all of GoodTimes' assets for $40 million.[16]The deal was closed in September 2005[17]and GT Brands Holdings LLC was renamed as GT Media, Inc.,[18]becoming Gaiam's general-interest label that released films and animation fromDIC EntertainmentandmockbustersfromThe Asylum.

By the end of the 2000s, the GT Media brand was no longer used by Gaiam, with the company solely distributing fitness and yoga media under the latter label. On April 3, 2012, the company acquired and merged withVivendi Entertainment,renaming the combined subsidiary Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment.[19]In October 2013,Cinedigmpurchased Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment for $51.5 million; after this Gaiam had exited the home video industry, with the subsidiary merging with Cinedigm'sNew Videoto form a standalone distributor under the Cinedigm name.[20][21]

Library

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Prior to the company's bankruptcy, GoodTimes Entertainment produced at that time a TV series calledWulin Warriors.The series was an edited version ofPili,produced byBroadway VideoandAnimation CollectiveforCartoon Network'sToonamiblock in 2006.

The company also produced the children's musical live action video seriesTreehouse Trolls Birthday DayandTreehouse Trolls Fun and Wonder(1992), the latter being remembered asRachael Harris's first contribution to the film industry.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Company Information".GoodTimes Entertainment.Archived fromthe originalon June 17, 2000.RetrievedMarch 15,2010.
  2. ^Edwards, C. (January 8, 2014)."The Ultimate Guide to Animated Mockbusters".Cartoon Brew.Archivedfrom the original on March 15, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 12,2016.
  3. ^Nichols, Peter M. (September 10, 1993)."Home Video".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on July 2, 2020.RetrievedNovember 4,2017.
  4. ^Nichols, Peter (September 17, 1993)."Disney loses suit over Good Times' 'Aladdin' video".Bangor Daily News.Bangor Publishing Company.Archivedfrom the original on July 4, 2020.RetrievedDecember 3,2013.
  5. ^"Heavy accent on video, CD, hardware at Summer CES"(PDF).Billboard.June 8, 1985. p. 96.Archived(PDF)from the original on December 27, 2021.RetrievedDecember 27,2021.
  6. ^"Firms toy with children's market"(PDF).Billboard.August 17, 1985. p. 27.RetrievedDecember 27,2021.
  7. ^abBessman, Jim (May 3, 1986)."Kids Klassics To Market Titles for Worldvision"(PDF).Billboard.p. 53.RetrievedDecember 27,2021.
  8. ^abStewart, Al (June 20, 1987)."Lorimar Drops KLV-TV Promotion"(PDF).Billboard.p. 71.Archived(PDF)from the original on December 27, 2021.RetrievedDecember 27,2021.
  9. ^"Goodtimes In A Merger With Kids Klassics; Will Keep Low Price Policy".Variety.July 22, 1987. p. 47.
  10. ^"Klusaritz Quits GT Publishing".Archivedfrom the original on July 2, 2020.RetrievedJuly 12,2017.
  11. ^"History of GoodTimes Entertainment Ltd. – FundingUniverse".fundinguniverse.Archivedfrom the original on November 7, 2017.RetrievedNovember 4,2017.
  12. ^30 Orion Pics to GoodTimes(PDF).Billboard. June 5, 1993. p. 102.
  13. ^abPeers, Martin (February 10, 2003)."Quadrangle Buys GoodTimes".The Wall Street Journal.p. B4.Archivedfrom the original on May 3, 2023.RetrievedMay 3,2023– viaProQuest.
  14. ^Del Franco, Mark (July 13, 2005)."Gaiam Buys Bankrupt Entertainment Firm".Multichannel Merchant.Penton Media. Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2010.RetrievedMay 3,2023.
  15. ^"Oak Point Partners, LLC acquires remnant assets of the GT Brands Holdings LLC, et al., Bankruptcy Estates".November 2021.Archivedfrom the original on March 22, 2023.RetrievedMarch 22,2023.
  16. ^"Gaiam grabs Goodtimes".July 12, 2005.Archivedfrom the original on March 22, 2023.RetrievedMarch 22,2023.
  17. ^"Gaiam closes GoodTimes Entertainment deal at $35M".Denver Business Journal.bizjournals. January 13, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon January 13, 2014.
  18. ^Gaiam to Acquire Assets of GoodTimes Entertainment
  19. ^"Gaiam completes acquisition of Vivendi Entertainment, the nation's largest independent content distributor".MarketWatch.April 3, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon May 5, 2012.
  20. ^"Cinedigm To Acquire Gaiam, Inc.'s Entertainment Unit, A Multi-Platform Content Licensor And Distributor".Archived fromthe originalon October 31, 2013.RetrievedOctober 20,2013.
  21. ^McNary, Dave (October 17, 2021)."Cinedigm Bulks Up With $51.1 Million Acquisition of Gaiam Vivendi".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on July 13, 2021.RetrievedJuly 13,2021.
  22. ^"How old was Rachael Harris in her first movie: The Treehouse Trolls: The Forest of Fun and Wonder (1992)?".In That Movie.RetrievedDecember 10,2023.
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