Creatures
of Delight Cartoon
Creatures of Delight Cartoon Trailer
By the mid nineties T. Oliver Kopian had gotten his rubber plush characters into shops and galleries world-wide, and found himself creating specialty pieces for the Washington National Cathedral, Universal Studios and even Walt Disney World theme parks. Things were going great, but the workload was incredible. Noticing an ad in search of emerging properties for licensing in the back of a trade publication, Kopian decided to give it a shot. He made a submission and set up a meeting.
Storm, a licensing and media distribution company based in London was setting up offices in New York, and in search of fresh properties to develop. Creatures of Delight had the whole package- fresh designs, new patented material, and proven sales record thanks to years of hard work. A deal was signed and the multi-national development of the property was underway.
Thanks in large part to a hard working junior agent who fell in love with the property and showed it to every client at every meeting, Creatures started to create a quick buzz. Licenses were signed and momentum built until creatures of Delight had an impressive list of top notch licenses in dozens of product categories.
At this time Storm was in the process of working a separate distribution deal with a media broker out of Los Angeles who was starting a fledgling cartoon and animation division. Intrigued by the look of the new line and more importantly by the merchandising program that was already building, a deal was offered.
Work was begun on the cartoon and just as the merchandise program seemed to come together like a dream, so did the animation project. Top Disney animators were hired on as was Bruce Talkington, famous for his work on the Winnie the Pooh, as the head writer. As production began even the characters were getting top notch voices- Sylvia was voiced by Tress MacNeille (Simpsons), Weatherwax by Frank Welker (Scooby Doo), Wannabee was EG Dailey (RugRats) and Scourge was voiced by Mark Hamill (Star Wars).
The crowning glory of the whole cartoon was the theme song which was written and performed by Eric Troyer of Electric Light Orchestra. All was good in the world of Delight.
As you might have guessed by the fact that Creatures of Delight is not a household name, things didn't continue on this wonderful path. as the prospects skyrocketed and it looked as if the property would take off, legal wrangling and backroom deals led to a quick demise- with only a handful of episodes actually being finished and aired. It was not a happy time.
With lessons learned and a little bit of money earned, Creatures picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and went back to work!