Kurtz & Friends is an American animation studio founded by Bob Kurtz. Based in Burbank, California, the studio is known for producing short films, title sequences, and television commercials.
Kurtz & Friends has created/produced animated theatrical titles for most major studios including the Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, MGM, Sony Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group and Warner Bros. Titles include: The Pink Panther, Are We Done Yet?, Four Rooms, George of the Jungle and City Slickers.
The company also created animated sequences for Jurassic Park and Minority Report, as well as for HBO's Carlin on Campus. In addition, Kurtz & Friends developed The Way Things Work, a three-screen, 3-D multimedia film for Sony's San Francisco Metreon complex, and the "Crocodile" anti-smoking films and print campaign for the California Department of Public Health.
Kurtz & Friends created the animation for the Emmy-winning specials David Macaulay: Roman City and Edith Ann's Christmas (Just Say Noël) which won a Peabody Award. The company's films are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the ASIFA Archive in Germany.
Filmography Title Year(s) Notes Client Sesame Street 1970–711975 animated sequences in "43", "85", "294", "303", "769", "772", "784" (produced at FilmFair) Children's Television Workshop A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy 1982 title sequence Orion Pictures Max Dugan Returns 1983 title animation 20th Century Fox One to Grow On opening and closing animation NBC Carlin on Campus 1984 'Drawing on My Mind' animated sequences Carlin Productions Harold and His Amazing Green Plants EPCOT Educational Media TGIF 1989 animation ABC Jetsons: The Movie 1990 "You and Me" Universal Pictures Taking Care of Business title sequence Hollywood Pictures City Slickers 1991 title sequence Castle Rock Entertainment Straight Talk 1992 title sequence Hollywood Pictures Honey, I Blew Up the Kid title sequence Walt Disney Pictures Honeymoon in Vegas title sequence Castle Rock Entertainment Jurassic Park 1993 Mr. DNA sequence Universal Pictures City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold 1994 title sequence Castle Rock Entertainment David Macaulay: Roman City Unicorn Projects Casper 1995 teaser trailer Universal Pictures Four Rooms title sequence Miramax Kingpin 1996 title sequence Rysher Entertainment A Very Brady Sequel animation Paramount Pictures Edith Ann's Christmas (Just Say Noël) Television special created by Lilly Tomlin Tomlin and Wagner Theatricalz George of the Jungle 1997 title sequence Walt Disney Pictures Durango 1999 animation Hallmark Hall of Fame The Way Things Work – In Mammoth 3D Sony Metreon God, the Devil and Bob 2000 additional character design The Carsey-Werner Company Major Flake Cartoon Network Josie and the Pussycats 2001 animated sequence Universal PicturesMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Family Guy "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas" (storyboards and animatic editing) Fox Television Animation Minority Report 2002 Pine & Oats animation DreamWorks PicturesAmblin Entertainment Scooby-Doo unused animated opening titles Warner Bros. Ask Rita 2003 opening titles Litton Entertainment Son of the Mask 2005 digital paint New Line Cinema The Pink Panther 2006 title sequence Columbia PicturesMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Are We Done Yet? 2007 title sequence Revolution Studios Schoolhouse Rock! Earth 2009 "A Tiny Urban Zoo" and interstitials ABC Gambit 2012 title sequence FilmNation Entertainment
Commercials
Acura Integra (1994) AirTouch Cellular Alpha-Bits Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau (1981) Brown & Polson (1980s) Bullwinkle's Vitamin Soda Pop (1992) Burger King (2002) Cadillac Catera California Department of Public Health (1984, 1990, 2000, 2011, 2013) CenTrust Bank (1980s) Chef Jr. (1997) Chevron (1977) Coca-Cola Europe (2002) Comcast (1999) Cold Turkey (1996) Crunchi-O's (1970s) Drug Emporium (1990s) Einstein Bros. Bagels Energizer (2001) Fingos (1993) First Interstate Bank (1987) FOX (station ID; 1990s) Gallo (1980s) The Gas Company (1980s) Group W (1970s) Happy Carob (1970s) Honda UK (2005) Honey Smacks I Wink Lashes Idaho Potato Commission (2000s) In Step (1970s) Juicy Fruit (1990s) Junior (1996) Just Pants (1970s) Kemps (2001) Ken-L Ration (1980s) Kirin Company Kitty Salmon (1970s) Klondike (1980s) Knudsen (1970s) Kraft Singles (1992) Kroger (1980s) Laura Scudder Inc. (1986) Levi's (1974, 1978) Lincoln Park Zoo (1987) Lincoln Savings and Loan Association (1980s) Lipton (1970s) Log Cabin syrup (1970s) Louisiana Lottery (1990s) Mazda (1995) McDonald's (1984) Moore Syndication (1984, 2013) MultiGroup Health Plan (1980s) NBC Online Nesbitt's New Hampshire Office of Travel & Tourism Development (1980s) Parco (1990s) Rolling Thunder (1995) Raid (1990s) Sparkletts (1970s) Sunbeam Products (1973) Taco Bell (1990s) Toshiba (2011) United States Forest Service (1972, 1995) United States Postal Service (1990) Van de Kamp's (1970s) Wild World Films
References
External links