Streamline Pictures
 Original logo (c.1989–1993) | |
|
Private company (1989–1997) Name-only unit (1997–2002) | |
| Industry |
Anime dubbing Film and television distribution |
| Fate | Disbanded |
| Founded | 1989[1] |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Products |
TV series Theatrical films Original Video Animations |
Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation.[4][5]
History
Founding
Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1989, Streamline Pictures was one of the first North American companies that was created primarily with the intention of distributing translated anime uncut and faithful to the original content.[6] The founders of Streamline were Carl Macek, who had worked for Harmony Gold USA during the mid-1980s, most notably on the series Robotech, and Jerry Beck, an animation historian and film distribution veteran who had worked at MGM/UA, Orion and Expanded Entertainment. At one point or another, Gregory Snegoff, Steve Kramer, Ardwight Chamberlain, Tom Wyner, and Mike Reynolds, all of whom served as series staff writers (and voice actors) on Robotech, worked as independent writers and voice actors for Streamline.[7]
High profile products
The first high-profile product distributed by Streamline was its December 1988 release of the anime film Akira. The company was also known for its 1989 theatrical distribution of the film Laputa: Castle in the Sky directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and its 1992 video dubbing of The Castle of Cagliostro. Streamline also dubbed My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service, both adapted and directed by Gregory Snegoff, in 1988 for Tokuma Shoten, although these were only used as in-flight films by Japan Airlines at the time. As a fan of Miyazaki's films, Macek did not think Laputa (of which Streamline was the distributor) had received the quality of dubbing that a Miyazaki film deserved. He thought that it could have been done better, so Tokuma Shoten gave him the opportunity to prove his words. For his first project, he asked to dub My Neighbor Totoro, one of his favorite Miyazaki works. The Streamline dub of My Neighbor Totoro was released theatrically in the U.S. by Troma Films in 1993; but its dub of Kiki's Delivery Service appeared only on the 1990s Japanese laserdisc release of that title. (Since then, however, all three afore-mentioned films by Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli have been redubbed by Disney.)
Tokuma Shoten was pleased with the quality of the initial work, and it immediately hired Streamline to produce the English language version of Kiki's Delivery Service. Soon after its release, the film was bought by Japan Airlines, who showed it during their flights between Japan and the U.S. (the film has since been redubbed by Disney). Streamline also licensed and dubbed other popular anime series and movies such as Fist of the North Star, Wicked City, Lensman, Vampire Hunter D and The Professional: Golgo 13.
Home video market
Streamline, in being the first company dedicated to making anime accessible to the English speaking world, was notable for releasing a wide variety of anime that fit in a wide variety of genres, many of which do not fit completely in any genre such as Twilight of the Cockroaches. During the 1990s VHS era, before the common availability of hybrid DVDs, anime distributors released anime via subtitled or dubbed tapes with the subtitled editions being noticeably more expensive than the dubs which were expected to sell better. Streamline is also notable in being the only such company to eschew this practice and release only dubs of its anime. The only exceptions were the later Akira subtitled release and their Robotech Collection, which included episodes of the original Macross, Southern Cross and Mospeada episodes on the same tape along with their Robotech counterparts. (Since then, these three titles were re-released by ADV Films through Harmony Gold.)
Criticism
Because of Macek's notoriety with a certain branch of fandom, Streamline became one of the early catalysts of the sub vs. dub debate.[8] Macek's philosophy towards anime dubbing, as stated in several interviews, most notably published Protoculture Addicts and Animag, has become largely synonymous with the negative connotation concerning "Americanized dubs".
Later years
Streamline Pictures stopped producing new anime releases in 1997 but continued to distribute its complete library in North America. In 1996 the company began to release foreign films under its "Independent Filmworks" label until 2000 when the company closed. The company's Modelworks division was sold in 1998 and the "Streamline Pictures Modelworks" division became a separate company operating under the name, "Avatar Creations."
Today, rights to much of the Streamline film and television library (such as Akira and The Castle of Cagliostro) have either reverted to the Japanese rights holder and licensed to other companies; while others such as Zillion have never been re-released due to licensing issues and lack of demand.
List of titles dubbed and/or released
| Year Dubbed/Released | Title | Previous/Last/Current Licensee or Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Laputa: Castle in the Sky | Tokuma Shoten; Walt Disney Company (as Castle in the Sky) |
| 1989 | Twilight of the Cockroaches | Out of print |
| 1989 | My Neighbor Totoro | Tokuma Shoten; Troma Films/50th Street Films; Walt Disney Company |
| 1989 | Kiki's Delivery Service | Tokuma Shoten; Walt Disney Company |
| 1989 | Akira | Geneon Entertainment; Bandai Entertainment; Funimation |
| 1990 | Akira Production Report | Geneon Entertainment; out of print |
| 1990 | Lensman | Harmony Gold; out of print |
| 1990 | Robot Carnival | Discotek Media |
| 1990 | Neo Tokyo | ADV Films; out of print |
| 1990 | Zillion | Out of print |
| 1991 | The Castle of Cagliostro | TMS Entertainment; Manga Entertainment; Discotek Media/Walt Disney Company |
| 1991 | Clutch Cargo | Cambria Productions; BCI Eclipse |
| 1991 | Colonel Bleep | Alpha Video; Public domain |
| 1991 | Space Angel | Cambria Productions; BCI Eclipse |
| 1991 | Comic Book Confidential | The Voyager Company; Home Vision Entertainment; Strand Releasing |
| 1991 | Fist of the North Star | Image Entertainment; Discotek Media |
| 1991 | Zillion: Burning Night | Out of print |
| 1991 | Mr. Happy | Playboy TV; out of print |
| 1992 | Planet Busters | ADV Films (as Birth); out of print |
| 1992 | Robotech II: The Sentinels | Palladium Books; ADV Films; A&E Networks Home Entertainment through Harmony Gold |
| 1992 | Nadia | ADV Films (as Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water); Sentai Filmworks |
| 1992 | Windaria | Harmony Gold; ADV Films (as Once Upon a Time); out of print |
| 1992 | Vampire Hunter D | Urban Vision; Sentai Filmworks |
| 1992 | David Hand’s Animaland | Image Entertainment; out of print |
| 1992 | The Professional: Golgo 13 | Urban Vision; Discotek Media |
| 1992 | 3×3 Eyes | Geneon Entertainment; out of print |
| 1992 | Robotech | Family Home Entertainment; ADV Films; A&E Networks Home Entertainment through Harmony Gold |
| 1992 | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross | ADV Films; A&E Networks Home Entertainment through Harmony Gold |
| 1992 | Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross | ADV Films; A&E Networks Home Entertainment through Harmony Gold |
| 1992 | Genesis Climber MOSPEADA | ADV Films; A&E Networks Home Entertainment through Harmony Gold |
| 1992 | Silent Möbius | Bandai Entertainment; out of print |
| 1993 | Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia | ADV Films; Nozomi Entertainment |
| 1993 | The Speed Racer Show | Trans-Lux/Speed Racer Enterprises; Lionsgate/Family Home Entertainment |
| 1993 | Doomed Megalopolis | ADV Films; out of print |
| 1993 | Wicked City | Urban Vision; Discotek Media |
| 1993 | Lupin III: Tales of the Wolf (Lupin III's Greatest Capers) | Geneon Entertainment; Discotek Media |
| 1994 | Crying Freeman | ADV Films; Discotek Media |
| 1994 | Megazone 23, Part 1 | Image Entertainment; ADV Films; out of print |
| 1994 | Megazone 23, Part 2 | ADV Films; out of print |
| 1994 | Dirty Pair: Project Eden | ADV Films; Nozomi Entertainment |
| 1994 | Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms | Out of print |
| 1994 | Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy | ADV Films; Nozomi Entertainment |
| 1994 | 8 Man After | Image Entertainment; Discotek Media |
| 1994 | Lily C.A.T. | Discotek Media |
| 1994 | Cyber Ninja | Fox Lorber Home Video; out of print |
| 1994 | Zeram | Fox Lorber Home Video; Image Entertainment; out of print |
| 1995 | Crimson Wolf | Image Entertainment; out of print |
| 1995 | Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo | Toho; Image Entertainment; Geneon Entertainment; Discotek Media |
| 1995 | Casshan: Robot Hunter | ADV Films through Harmony Gold; Discotek Media |
| 1995 | Babel II | Image Entertainment; out of print |
| 1995 | Barefoot Gen | Geneon Entertainment; out of print |
| 1995 | Space Adventure Cobra | Tara; Urban Vision; Discotek Media |
Notes
- 1 2 Patten, Fred (April 19, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 1". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ↑ "PASSINGS: Carl Macek". Los Angeles Times. April 24, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ↑ Beck, Jerry (August 1996). "Anime: Hollywood's Invisible Animation Genre". Animation World Magazine. 1 (5). Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ↑ Bertschy, Zac; Sevakis, Justin (January 15, 2010). "Macek Training". Anime News Network. ANNcast (podcast). Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ↑ Yang, Jeff (May 6, 2010). "The 'Robotech' master". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
- ↑ Melrose, Kevin (April 19, 2010). "American anime pioneer Carl Macek passes away". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ↑ Matsumoto, Jon (January 14, 1996). "Tooning in to Japanimation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ↑ "Interview With Carl Macek!". Anime Today. Episode 32. Right Stuf. January 19, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
References
- Streamline Pictures Review Index and Company Info—Akemi's Anime World
Further reading
- Patten, Fred (April 26, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 2". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved May 5, 2015. A series of columns detailing the history of the company by its first employee (not counting the founders).
- Patten, Fred (May 10, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 4". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- Patten, Fred (May 17, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 5". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- Patten, Fred (May 24, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 6". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved May 27, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Akira to Crying Freeman).
- Patten, Fred (May 31, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 7". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved June 2, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Dirty Pair to Fist of the North Star).
- Patten, Fred (June 7, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 8". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved June 8, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Great Conquest: Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Lapüta: Castle in the Sky).
- Patten, Fred (June 14, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 9". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved June 16, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Lensman to Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo).
- Patten, Fred (June 21, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 10". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved June 22, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Megazone 23, Part 1 to Nadia).
- Patten, Fred (June 28, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 11". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved June 30, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Neo-Tokyo to Planet Busters).
- Patten, Fred (July 5, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 12". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved July 6, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (The Professional: Golgo 13 to Robot Carnival).
- Patten, Fred (July 12, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 13". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved July 13, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Robotech to 3×3 Eyes).
- Patten, Fred (July 12, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 14 'Twilight Of The Cockroaches'". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved July 20, 2015. Reviews of Streamline's release of Twilight of the Cockroaches.
- Patten, Fred (July 16, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 15: 'Vampire Hunter D'". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved July 27, 2015. Reviews of Streamline's release of Vampire Hunter D.
- Patten, Fred (August 2, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 16: 'Wicked City'". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved August 4, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Wicked City).
- Patten, Fred (August 9, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 17". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved August 10, 2015. Reviews of Streamline releases (Windaria to Zillion: Burning Night, plus the book Tainted Treats).
- Patten, Fred (August 16, 2015). "Streamline Pictures – Part 18". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- Patten, Fred (November 8, 2015). "Streamline Anime Titles That Never Were". Cartoon Research. Funny Animals and More (column). Retrieved November 9, 2015.