Sony Pictures Animation Burbank Division

Sony Pictures Animation Burbank Division (formerly Robert Heartler Productions and then Time-Life Animation, Columbia Feature Animation and Columbia TriStar Feature Animation) was the animation production arm of Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures. The studio was shut down in 2005 and some of the animation staff went on to join Sony Pictures Animation, respectively.

1967-1978: Beginnings
In 1967, Robert Heartler, a CalArts graduate decided to start his own production company after completing his short film Moon in 1967. He hired a few of the selected Hanna-Barbera and UPA employees to join the company, and secured a deal with Columbia Pictures to distribute its projects. Its first project, Beauty and Pock Face was released in 1970, and it was an instant hit, setting the way for Columbia's feature animated films.

The company continues to release films, and Heartler continues to run the company, following the success, making its expansion onto television.

1978-1981: Time-Life acquisition
In 1977, Time-Life announced that they will acquire its animation company and decided to place it under the Time-Life Films portfolio. The merger was completed on January 13, 1978, and in the next few days, it was announced that it was renamed to Time-Life Animation, to reflect the acquisition. Only two films were released under the Time-Life name, were The Forest Bride in 1979 and The Pig That Warms the Ocean in 1980, both of these films were produced in association with Time-Life Films.

1981-1989: Columbia and Coca-Cola era
In 1981, it was announced that Time-Life Films was sold to Columbia Pictures, and to reflect the acquisition, it was renamed to Columbia Feature Animation. The first project under the name were The Mermaid and the Boy, released in 1982, and it was an instant success. In 1982, when Tri-Star Pictures was established, they did not have an animated production label, instead animated productions released by Tri-Star went to the Columbia Feature Animation studio. A few of Tri-Star's films were produced at Columbia's studios.

During the time, Columbia produced some of the best hits during the Coke era, such as The Good Woman and As Pretty as Seven, both of them received the critical heights Disney did. In 1987, Coke spunoff its assets to Tri-Star Pictures, who was formally renamed into Columbia Pictures Entertainment and its animation unit was renamed into Columbia TriStar Feature Animation in 1988.

1989-2002: Sony era
In 1989, Sony announced its plans to acquire Columbia Pictures Entertainment from Coca-Cola, and subsequently acquired its remaining shares. During the time, Sony prepared its plans to have a bold move, with much of the staff remaining intact. In 1991, Sony signed a deal with Zoetrope Feature Animation, thus boosting up access to Sony's feature animation slate.

In 1993, Adelaide Productions was established as a television subsidiary of the studio to produce animated television series. The studio managed through a series of prolific hits throughout the 1990s, like The Wretched Stone and The Blue Boy. During the time, Sony brought out a number of acquistions, like The Kidriends from Mala Miles and international rights of Ghost Vision from Multimedia (Universal ended up buying the rights of the Ghost Vision franchise once MCA bought out Multimedia Animation in 1996).

In 1999, Sony signed a deal with Morlus Animation, and its previous deal with Zoetrope Feature Animation was collapsed in 1998. The Sony-Morlus partnership didn't last well after a few films.

2002-2006: End of studio
In 2001, Sony Pictures Imageworks announced plans to becoming an animation studio. Plans fell through, and then in 2002, Sony Pictures Animation was launched, with the Burbank studio becoming Sony Pictures Animation Burbank Division, and announced plans to move to CGI production. In 2004, Robert Heartler, the founder of the company, passed away due to cancer complications.

The last features were made in 2005, with the Burbank studio collapsed in 2006.

Direct-to-video films
Coming soon!

Television
See Adelaide Productions