Hot Animation
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Media, Television Production & Distribution |
| Founded | 1990; 26 years ago |
| Founder |
Jackie Cockle Brian Little Joe Dembinski |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Key people |
Jackie Cockle Brian Little Joe Dembinski |
| Products | Children's Animation, Stop motion |
| Total assets | $1,119 million |
| Owner | Mattel |
Number of employees | 188+ |
| Parent | Mattel Creations |
| Website | http://www.hotanimation.com/ |
HOT Animation is a United States stop motion animation & Computer animation studio based in Los Angeles, California, USA. It was established in 1998 by Jackie Cockle, Brian Little, and Joe Dembinski.
Worldwide success followed with Bob the Builder, a show for pre-school children about a builder and his talking machines. In 2000, the theme tune was released as a single, Can We Fix It? with an accompanying promo produced at HOT, which beat Kylie Minogue's "Please Stay", Eminem's Stan and Westlife's "What Makes a Man" to become the Christmas number-one single.
Next came Brambly Hedge, a series of 30-minute specials based on the illustrated books for children by Jill Barklem, and Rubbadubbers, a series about bath toys that come alive. Pingu, a Swiss series about a family of penguins, was recreated with great success in 2003. The company also provided the CGI for the twelfth season of Thomas & Friends.
HOT Animation is a subsidiary of HIT Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Mattel Creations, a division of Mattel. Because Bob The Builder was switched to a new look and a different company called Brown Bags who produced it. It is unknown if Hit Entertainment or Mattel's Subsidiary "Mattel Creations" do Hot Animation anymore or not. Pingu discontinued, and Rubbadubbers discontinued as of 2009. Although Rubbadubbers usually aired on Sprout but it no longer does as of 2013. Bob the Builder no longer airs on Sprout as with Thomas & Friends, & Barney & Friends since 2015. The only shows Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder air on PBS Kids. Barney & Friends on PBS Kids discontinued on 2016 due to their contract expires with one on Hit Entertainment Shows. Barney & Friends is the only show that has reruns and full songs on YouTube as of 2006 while the other Hit Entertainment shows air on PBS Kids and Youtube. Thomas & Friends did previous seasons reruns such as Series 13- Present on PBS Kids one of the most previous seasons than Bob the Builder. Series 19 of Thomas & Friends aired Oct. 20th 2016 on PBS Kids.
