Buzzco Associates

Buzzco Associates, Inc.
Formerly
  • Perpetual Motion Pictures (1968–1982)
  • Perpetual Animation (1982–1984)
  • Buzzco Productions, Inc. (1982–1984)
  • Buzzco Associates, Inc. (1985 to present)
Company typePrivate
IndustryAnimated commercials and short films
Founded1968
Founder
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Key people
Candy Kugel
Marilyn Kraemer
Websitebuzzco.nyc

Buzzco Associates, Inc. is an animation studio that was founded in 1985 as an offshoot of Perpetual Motion Pictures and Buzzco Productions (as Perpetual Motion Pictures) by Buzz Potamkin[1] with Emmy Award winner, Candy Kugel and Vincent Cafarelli as co-creative directors and Marilyn Kraemer as executive producer. Buzzco Associates is the longest continually operating animation studio in New York's history.

History

Buzzco Associates, Inc., traces its lineage to Perpetual Motion Pictures, founded in 1968 by Buzz Potamkin and Hal Silvermintz. Early work of Buzzco included the "I Want My MTV" campaign, and the "Top of the Hour" network ID for Paramount's MTV.[2][3] The spots mixed live action with rock stars along music and animation. In 1982, Perpetual Motion Pictures split into Perpetual Animation and Buzzco Productions, Inc., and Vincent Cafarelli and Candy Kugel joined Buzzco. Potamkin left New York in 1984 to form Southern Star Productions[4] in Los Angeles. As part of the continuing partners' agreement in forming Buzzco Associates, Cafarelli, Kugel and Kraemer decided it was important for them to make independent films.

Buzzco continued with production of commercials, titles, insert programming, sales films and segments for such clients as Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, MTV, HBO Family and ABC, as well as for educational shows such as PBS's Sesame Street, Between the Lions and Square One Television. Commercial clients often come to Buzzco because of its ability to integrate different print styles into motion. They have often worked with humorous illustrator Norm Bendell, a designer of commercials for First Morris Bank and the flea-control program CIBA.

Talking About Sex: A Guide for Families, created and produced for Planned Parenthood, won the Educational Film Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 1997.[5]

It's Still Me: A Guide for People with Aphasia & Their Loved Ones, a 17-minute film from 2009, explains aphasia and offers ways of communicating without words. It was inspired by Kugel's mother, who was aphasic for twelve years after a massive stroke.

Filmography

Title Year(s) Notes Client
Scratch Harry 1969 animation Cannon Film Distributors
Weekend 1974–1979 animated sequences NBC
The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree 1979 TV special Joseph Cates Company
The Dough Nuts 1980–1981 interstitial series Greengrass Productions
The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw 1980 TV special Joseph Cates Company
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City 1981 TV special Muller Rosen Productions
The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise 1981 TV special Joseph Cates Company
The Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine 1982 TV special Joseph Cates Company
Willie Survive 1982 interstitial series Greengrass/Olin/Lawrence Productions
USA Cartoon Express 1982–1991 openings and bumpers USA Network
Calliope 1982–1983 animation USA Network
The Berenstain Bears Play Ball 1983 TV special Joseph Cates Company
Playboy's Hot Rocks 1983 graphics The Playboy Channel
Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls 1983 TV special NBC
Computer Critters 1984 interstitial series ABC
Zack Of All Trades 1984 interstitial series ABC
Sunday Showdown 1984 opening titles USA Network
Teen Wolf 1986 opening and end credits[6] Southern Star Productions
Munchies 1987 title sequence New Concorde
ABC Fun Facts 1988–1989 interstitial series ABC
Sesame Street 1988–1991
2005		 animated sequences Sesame Workshop
Playboy Late Night 1992 animation Playboy TV
Square One Television 1992 "The Further Adventures of Zook & Alison" Children's Television Workshop
Sports Illustrated for Kids: TV Sports Quiz 1993 Buzz Beamer animation HBO
Money Made Easy: The ABC Kids' Guide to Dollars and Sense 1994 animation Greengrass Productions
Square One TV Math Talk 1995–1996 animation Children's Television Workshop
Talking About Sex: A Guide for Families 1996 direct-to-video Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
AGTV 1998 opening, closing and bumpers American Girl
Nick Jr. Show and Tell 1998 interstitial series Nick Jr. Channel
Elmo's World 2001 "Birthdays, Games, & More!" segue sequences Sesame Workshop
Maya & Miguel 2004–2007 creative checking Scholastic
Between the Lions 2006–2010 animation WGBH/Sirius Thinking
Schoolhouse Rock: Earth 2009 "The Rainforest" ABC
TED-Ed 2012–2013 seven videos TED

Short films

  • Woman: Who Is Me? (1976)
  • Inbetweening America (1977)
  • Confessions of a Starmaker (technical assistance, 1978)
  • So What If It Rains? (1979) (animation; produced by Manno Productions and Alternate Choice)
  • Audition (1980)
  • My Film, My Film, My Film (1983)
  • A Warm Reception in L.A. (1987)[7]
  • Animated Self-Portrait (1988)
  • Snowie and the Seven Dorps (1990)
  • Fast Food Matador (1991)[8][9]
  • We Love It (1992)[10][11]
  • The Ballad of Archie Foley (1995)[12]
  • KnitWits (1997)
  • KnitWits Revisited (1999)
  • Life: A New York Ani-Jam (animated contribution, 1999)
  • (it was . . .) Nothing At All (2000)
  • Piscis (2001)
  • Juan Bobo's Birthday Party (2002)
  • Command-Z (2005)
  • What I Want (music video, 2005)
  • Right (2007)
  • dEVOLUTION (2008)
  • It's Still Me! A Guide For People With Aphasia & Their Loved Ones (2009)
  • The Last Time (2012)
  • iHeed: Two Simple Ways To Treat Water (2012)
  • iHeed: Access to Family Planning is a Human Right (2013)
  • Blessings of the Season (2013)
  • My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It) (2014) (animation)
  • Vashti (2018)
  • I, Candy (2018)

Commercials

Commissioned short films

References

  1. ^ Variety Staff (May 8, 2012). "Marshall 'Buzz' Potamkin Dies at 66". Variety. Reed Elsevier. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  2. ^ Prickett, Macon (February 15, 2018). "Award-Winning Animator Candy Kugel Joins The Black Maria Film Festival at the Madison Public Library". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  3. ^ "I Want My MTV". Museum of Modern Art. Archived from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  4. ^ "Buzzco Associates". Big Cartoon Database. Archived from the original on 2024-12-22. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  5. ^ "1997 Award Winners". Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  6. ^ Amidi, Amid (July 25, 2013). ""I Was a Guy Because I Used a Pencil": The Candy Kugel Interview". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  7. ^ The International Tournee of Animation. Volume 4 : Featuring the Best of the 22nd International Tournee of Animation (VHS). Expanded Entertainment. 1991. ASIN B0054E2MVW. OCLC 32670986.
  8. ^ Harrington, Richard (August 30, 1991). "Polity in Motion Fun & Foresight at the 'Tournee of Animation'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  9. ^ "The 23rd Tournee of Animation". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  10. ^ Sterritt, David (January 21, 1994). "Mixed Bag of Animation Shorts". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  11. ^ Featuring the Best of the 24th International Tournee of Animation (VHS). Expanded Entertainment. 1993. OCLC 222843065.
  12. ^ "Northampton Film Festival Schedule". Daily Hampshire Gazette. November 1, 1995. p. 19. Retrieved January 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.