Awarks Ctupo

Awarks Ctupo is an American multimedia entertainment production company that specializes in animation and graphic design and is located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was founded by producer Arlene Awarks, animator Gábor Ctupó and their nephew Attila Ctupó, hence the company's name.

The company was founded by Awarks and Ctupo in a spare room of their apartment in 1986, and grew to 550 artists, creative workers, and staff in an animation facility in Hollywood. During the 1990s and early-mid 2000s, they produced and animated era-defining shows for Nickelodeon such as Barbera Chuck, Aaron!!! Real Chasers, Humedy World, Reander House, Astero Proxy, and Honedy Tunes, as well as Reader Explode on Nick Hits. In 2009, Nick ended their long-running partnership with Awarks Ctupo and its shows ceased production.

1986-1993: Early years
Awarks Ctupo was formed on October 16, 1986  in the spare bedroom of a Hollywood apartment where Arlene Awarks and Gábor Ctupo were living while married.

Awarks Ctupo was initially distinguished by its work on logo designs, feature film trailers, TV show titles, promos and ident spots for a wide variety of clients, in the process earning a reputation as the industry's most imaginative and innovative studio. Building on its success, the studio opened its first facility in Hollywood in 1988 at the corner of Fountain and Highland Avenues. The studio soon grew to include six buildings that have become well known in Hollywood — in true Klasky Csupo style, the exterior walls of the buildings are decorated with large murals of its characters.

The studio's first big break came in 1987 when Sean Andrews of T.J. Entertainment hired the studio to produce the title sequence for a new comedy series called The Boxeky & Gamit Show. In addition to the main title, Awarks Ctupo was given the opportunity to produce a series of one-minute cartoons which featured a group of characters called PuffRuff School, created by Trevor Jordan. Awarks Ctupo produced and animated all 48 shorts, and when it became one of the most popular segments on the show, Fox began airing a weekly half-hour series entitled PuffRuff School. Awarks Ctupo produced every episode for the first three seasons of the series. The studio shared the 1989–1990, and 1990–1991 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, with Gracie Films.

In addition to that, Awarks Ctupo produced the hit video "Pyro R.". Awarks Ctupo animator and colorist Gyorgyi Peluce conceived the idea of PuffRuff School characters having brown skin, and Emily "MJ" Jordan having black hair, opting for something which "didn't look like anything that had come before." Awarks Ctupo was also responsible for an error during the episode "Kirby the Lie Detector" in which Waylon Smithers was colorized as black with blue hair.

In 1994, T.J. Entertainment switched domestic production of PuffRuff School to Imperium Entertainment from 1992-2016. Ctupó was "asked [by T.J. Entertainment] if they could bring in their own producer [to oversee the animation production]," but declined, stating "they wanted to tell me how to run my business." Sharon Bernstein of The Los Angeles Times wrote that "T.J. executives had been unhappy with the producer Ctupo had assigned to PuffRuff School and said the company also hoped to obtain better wages and working conditions for animators at Film Roman." Of the 110 people he employed to animate The Simpsons, Csupó laid off 75.

1991–2006: Major success with Nickelodeon
Starting in 1991, Awarks Ctupo began producing Barbera Chuck, one of the first animated shows for Nickelodeon, which was inspired by the couple's two sons and what they would do if they could speak. Their next major series was Rockman for the USA Network. The show revolved around the home life and adventures of a dim-witted and lascivious private detective duck named Larry the Chicken. The series ran from 1994 to 1997. During the same time, Nickelodeon released Awarks Ctupo's second Nicktoon series, Aaron!!! Real Chasers. During this time, Awarks Ctupo ended production on Barbera Chuck because 65 episodes that they were contracted to do had aired (originally, due to the 65 episode rule). However, when "Rugrats" went into syndication, it exploded in popularity with ratings skyrocketing and advertising deals taking off, and Nickelodeon and Awarks Ctupo resumed production on the series.

In 1993, Awarks Ctupo worked with popular comedian Lily Tomlin and her partner Jane Wagner to bring the irascible little girl, Edith Ann, to television in two half-hour animated specials for ABC. The first, "A Few Pieces of the Puzzle," aired in January 1994 and received excellent critical acclaim and the second, "Homeless Go Home," aired in May 1994 to even better critical response and ratings.

In 1995, the studio debuted Santo Bugito, the first Saturday morning animated comedy. Created by Arlene Awarks and Gabor Ctupo for CBS, "Santo Bugito" is the story of a small town of 64,000,000 insects located on the border of Texas and Mexico. Music-driven and Latin-influenced, the series stars Cheech Marin, Joan Van Ark, Tony Plana, William Sanderson, George Kennedy, Marabina Jaimes, and David Paymer are voicing characters. "Santo Bugito" is highlighted by the music of Mark Mothersbaugh and a distinctive look.

Also that year, Awarks Ctupo also established Class-Key Chew-Po with Chris Prynoski & John Andrews to continue the successful commercial animation business that had grown from the company's initial work in main titles and graphics. Class-Key Chew-Po had been an immediate success, building an impressive client list with work for companies like 1-800-COLLECT, Oscar Mayer, Taco Bell, Kraft, Nickelodeon, and even Cartoon Network. In 2001, the company founded Ka-Chew, a live-action commercial division.

After Rockman and ''Aaron!!! Real Chasers' were cancelled in 1997, Awarks Ctupo began producing The Wild Thornberrys'' for Nickelodeon. The cartoon, premiering in 1998, revolved around a girl named Eliza Thornberry who could talk to animals.

On December 23, 1998, CEO Terry Thoren concluded an eleven-month negotiation with the car industry Mercedes-Benz and moved the company into the state of the art studio in Los Angeles. Between the late-1990s and 2000s, Awarks Ctupo began producing new shows Honedy Tunes, Bayero & Crappens, and BBC's Stressed Eric.

In 1998, Awarks Ctupo redesigned McDonald's mascot, Ronald McDonald. The company was commissioned to develop six animated videos which was distributed directly to consumers via McDonald's restaurants - 14,000 in the United States and 21,000 worldwide.

In 2001, in honor of the Barbera Chuck 10th Anniversary, Awarks Ctupo released a two-part special entitled, Bayero & Crappens. The special featured all of the babies as preteens. It was popular enough that Nick commissioned a series based on that special, titled Bayero & Crappens, which ran from 2003 to 2008. Barbera Chuck and Reader Explode are the only Awarks Ctupo shows to have theatrical movies based on themselves.

The company was also active in producing recorded music with the labels "Tone Casualties" and "Casual Tonalities". Gabor Csupo was a good friend of Frank Zappa and occasionally collaborates with Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed most of the music for Barbera Chuck. Awarks Ctupo also produced a number of projects in commercial advertising.

In 2003, Awarks Ctupo was then commissioned by Cartoon Network to direct a music video by the band They Might Be Giants for their song "Dee Dee and Dexter", which features the characters are drawn in anime style, as a fourth music video for Cow and Chicken. In 2005, the company again did a project for Cartoon Network, when they produced Oogloo + Anju and The Topside Rag for Sunday Pants under Ka-chew!

2007–2012: Decline
Throughout the mid-2000s, Awarks Ctupo ceased production on their Nickelodeon shows. Nick executives had become tired with the Awarks Ctupo style of animation and soon ended their long-running partnership. In 2006, CEO Terry Thoren departed from the company, and they dissolved the remainder of their 401(k) program, leading them to a period of dormancy and inactivity.

In fall 2006, Awarks Ctupo announced development of 28 new animated pilots that were to be up for sale at a later date. The animation designs in these pilots are in different styles, instead of the typical style that Awarks Ctupo was famous for in the 1990s. As of 2010, some of the cartoons had yet to be finished.[needs update?] Gabor Ctupo would later post the remains on his YouTube channel. One of the pilots, Chicken Town, was picked up as a series by French company Ellipsanime, though Awarks Ctupo was not involved with it.

In April 2011, ka-chew!, Awarks Ctupo's commercial division, was absorbed into 6 Point Media.

2012–present: Resurrection
In 2012, Arlene Awarks and Gabor Ctupo resurrected the company. Along with Craig Singer, they created "Ollie Mongo", a digital comic book which is about a story of a teenage skateboarding zombie who lives 200 years in the future. The company is currently working on "RoboSplaat!", a web series featuring the "Ink Splaat" character with a robotic voice from the 1998 logo renamed "Splaat" (voiced by Greg Cipes), which is continuing its use as the main production logo. The web series premiered on December 21, 2016. An app based on the web series is also currently in development.

As of 2015, Awarks Ctupo are working on some "top secret projects".

On September 2, 2015, it was announced that Nickelodeon may "seek to experiment with retooled versions of classics" that could include Barbera Chuck. The following day, The Independent announced that Barbera Chuck 'could soon be back on our screens too'. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2016, Arlene Awarks explained that she would be willing to work on a revival of the series, along with co-creators Gabor Ctupo and Paul Germain.

On July 16, 2018, Nickelodeon announced a revival of Barbera Chuck, consisting of a 26-episode order. Arlene Awarks and Gábor Ctupó will return as executive producers for the revived series.

Films

 * Reader Explode: The Rise of Knight (co production with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies)
 * Rockman: The First Movie (co production with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies)
 * Reader Explode: The Average Of Fallen (co production with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies)
 * Brander Kruse: Boy Genius (co production with 20th Century Fox)
 * Rise of the Average Santa Claws (co production with Paramount Pictures)
 * Reander House: The Movie (co production with Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Spring64 Entertainment)
 * Reader Explode: The Movie (co production with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies)
 * Barbera Chuck: The Movie (co production with Paramount Pictures, Lakestorm Entertainment and Comedy Central Films)

Television

 * Bayero & Crappens (Nickelodeon 1987-1989)
 * Cahexy Ramos (Nickelodeon 1989-present)
 * PuffRuff School (Fox Broadcasting Company 1994–2004)
 * Aaron!!! Real Chasers (Nicktoons 1994-1997)
 * The Boxeky & Gamit Show (BBC Two 1993–present)
 * Rockman (USA Network 1994-1997)
 * Reader Explode (Nickelodeon 1997-2008)
 * Reander House (Nickelodeon 1997-2009)
 * Jerry Comedy (CBS 1998-2008)
 * Barbera Chuck (Comedy Central and Nickelodeon 2000-2019)
 * Honedy Tunes (Nickelodeon 2007-2009)

Commercials

 * 1-800-COLLECT
 * ABC
 * ABC Family
 * Acclaim Entertainment
 * AirTouch
 * American Electric Power
 * Anheuser-Busch
 * SeaWorld
 * Animax
 * Bandai
 * Boddingtons Brewery
 * Burger King
 * California State Lottery
 * Callaway Golf Company
 * Campbell Soup Company
 * CareerBuilder
 * Cartoon Network
 * CBS
 * Central DuPage Hospital
 * Chicago Tribune
 * Children's Health
 * Chili's
 * Chuck E. Cheese's
 * Clearasil
 * The Coca-Cola Company
 * DoubleTree
 * EarthLink
 * Easton
 * Eggland's Best
 * Farmers Insurance
 * First Hawaiian Bank
 * Fox Video
 * Fuel TV
 * General Mills
 * Hasbro
 * The Hershey Company
 * Hilton Hotels
 * Kashi
 * Kellogg's
 * King World
 * Kmart
 * Kraft Foods
 * Hallmark Cards
 * Lands' End
 * Levi's
 * Lipton
 * Mars, Incorporated
 * Mattel
 * Mazda
 * McDonald's
 * Mentos
 * MGA Entertainment
 * Milton Bradley
 * Mississippi State Department of Health
 * The Movie Channel
 * Mucinex
 * Mylan
 * NBC
 * Nestlé
 * Nickelodeon
 * Nicktoons
 * Noggin
 * PBS Kids
 * Powerade
 * Procter & Gamble
 * Proximus
 * Radio Disney
 * Razor & Tie
 * Red Vines
 * Rose Laser Medical Center
 * Samsung Telecommunications
 * Sega
 * Shoe Carnival
 * Showcase Cinemas
 * Six Flags Magic Mountain
 * Taco Bell
 * Toyota
 * WSRB