(Canon to Fox Kids Lives!!! AU) Press space or click the logo. Nelvana was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in January 1946 by local French-Canadian media producers & animator Jean-Luc Levesque. Operating with a fully bilingual production pipeline, the studio initially focused on classroom audio-visual aids. By 1947, Nelvana became the primary media contractor for the Canadian government & regional school boards, producing hundreds of 16mm & 35mm educational film reels split between scientific documentaries & social guidance shorts. In 1953, Nelvana expanded into commercial animated films with strong Eastern Canadian success. After a financial boycott from conservative school boards, the studio relocated its headquarters to Toronto in 1966. Control shifted to Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith in 1970. Marc Levesque launched Nelvana Video in 1977, later introducing a polar bear logo by 1974 & developing proprietary software like the GraphiSys OS and N-Dream OS. Nelvana Communications was incorporated in 1981, achieving major success in the 1980s with shows like Babar & Beetlejuice. The 1990s featured digital growth, blocked takeover attempts by Golden Books, executive entry by Sylvie Levesque in 1998, & early digital platform launches. Corus Entertainment acquired Nelvana in 2000 for $540 million, before Sylvie Levesque led a CA$235 million spin-off in 2003 to restore independence. She later steered the company toward streaming & cloud consoles, celebrating Nelvana's 70th anniversary in 2016 with hardware lines.
