Soup2Nuts (sometimes referred to as Soup2Nuts Studios, and formerly part of Tom Snyder Productions) was an American animation studio founded by Tom Snyder. The studio is known for its animated comedy series, its use of Squigglevision, a technique of animation that reuses frames to make the animation look more kinetic, and for its style of improvisation in voice acting.
History Tom Snyder, a teacher at Shady Hill School, began designing computer programs in the 1970s to enhance his 4th to 8th grade classes' learning environments. In 1980, Jere Dykema, the parent of one of Snyder's Shady Hill students, gave Snyder $30,000 to establish Computer Learning Connection (later renamed Tom Snyder Productions) for a 30% equity stake. Dykema also loaned CLC $100,000, which they paid back.
Tom Snyder Productions created and produced its first TV show, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist in 1995 for Comedy Central. On February 23, 1996, the company announced it would be acquired by Torstar Corporation for more than $10 million. Torstar would provide Tom Snyder with additional cash to expand its education and television operations. Later, the company created and produced Home Movies which aired originally on UPN, but after cancellation, continued on Adult Swim. In 2001, Snyder's television division was renamed Soup2Nuts, named after the company's involvement in the production of programs from beginning to end. Soup2Nuts also produced shorts, book adaptations, commercials, and interactive online series. Tom Snyder Productions and Soup2Nuts were purchased by Scholastic Corporation on December 21, 2001. Tom Snyder Productions continued to develop educational products under Scholastic until 2015.
Soup2Nuts began work on WordGirl, a superhero educational show for PBS Kids, in 2007. It had won numerous national awards including Best Direction for an Animated Children's Program and Outstanding Writing in Animation.
On March 13, 2015, Scholastic announced that they were closing the studio. According to Kyle Good, the senior vice president of corporate communications for Scholastic, the decision was made to shut down Soup2Nuts as part of an overall restructuring of the parent company. Good commented, "We are restructuring that part of the business closer to our core businesses which are children's publishing and education. We have other options to continue television programming." Scholastic had cut the number of employees to just nine people earlier in 2015.
Astroblast! was Soup2Nuts' final production. Scholastic closed Tom Snyder Productions on December 31, 2015; the company's FASTT Math product was acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Productions Video games Personk (1978) The Search Series (1980) Snooper Troops: Case #1: The Granite Point Ghost (1982) Snooper Troops: Case #2: The Case of the Disappearing Dolphin (1982) In Search of the Most Amazing Thing (1983) Agent USA (1984) Run for the Money (1984) American Challenge: A Sailing Simulation (1986) Sub Mission (1986) Our Town Meeting (1987) Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams (1988) Lane Mastodon vs. the Blubbermen (1988) Decisions, Decisions (1988) ZorkQuest: Assault on Egreth Castle (1988) ZorkQuest: The Crystal of Doom (1989) Fizz & Martina (1992) Math Mysteries (2000) Science Seekers (2000)
Animation +TitleCreatorCo-produced byYear(s)NetworkDr. Katz, Professional TherapistJonathan KatzHBO Downtown Productions1995–1999; 2002Comedy Central Tom SnyderHow Do You Spell God? ("The Tale of the Watch" sequence)1996HBOScience CourtTom SnyderBurns & Burns Productions1997–2000ABCCosby ("A Very Nice Dance" and "War Stories" animated sequences)1999CBSHome MoviesBrendon SmallLoren BouchardBurns & Burns Productions2001–2004Adult SwimThe Dick & Paula Celebrity SpecialTom SnyderFX Productions1999FXThe Lewis Lectures 2000; released in 2002Adult SwimPops! An Animated Musical Adventure (pilot)Candy AltmanAltman/Mugar Productions2001WGBH-TVWatering Hole (interstitial series)Williams Street2002Adult SwimHey Monie! Dorothea Gillim2003Oxygen BETFridays (Show & Tell segments)Various2004Cartoon NetworkO'Grady Tom SnyderCarl W. AdamsHolly SchlesingerNoggin, LLC2004–2006Noggin (The N)Time Warp Trio Jon SciezskaWGBH Boston2005–2006NBCDiscovery KidsSunday Pants (Thadlow's Driving School segments)Sven GordonStuart Hill2005Cartoon Network Assy McGee Matt HarriganCarl W. Adams Williams Street 2006–2007 (Season 1 only) Adult Swim WordGirl Dorothea Gillim Scholastic Media 2007–2015 PBS Kids Go! Weston Woods (various shorts) Various Weston Woods 2009–2015 Between the Lions (animated sequences) WGBH-TVSirius Thinking 2009–2010PBS Kids Go!SciGirls (replaced by Curious Media)Twin Cities PBS2010–2015Chuck Vanderchuck's 'Something Something' Explosion 2011–2015Sesame Street ("4307" and "4504" animated sequences)Joan Ganz CooneyLloyd MorrisettSesame Workshop2012, 2014PBS KidsAstroblast! Bob KolarScholastic Media2014–2015SproutNBC
References
External links Official website