4Licensing Corporation (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that English-dubbed Japanese anime through its subsidiary 4Kids Productions between 1992 and 2012; it specialized in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States. The first anime that 4Kids Productions dubbed was the first eight seasons of Pokémon that aired on Kids' WB! in the United States. The company is most well known for its range of television licenses, which has included the multibillion-dollar Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Japanese anime franchises. They also ran two program blocks: Toonzai (originally The CW4Kids) on The CW, and 4Kids TV on Fox, both aimed at children. The 4KidsTV block ended on December 27, 2008; Toonzai block ended on August 18, 2012, which was replaced by Saban's Vortexx, which in itself was succeeded by One Magnificent Morning in 2014.
4Licensing Corporation has its world headquarters on Third Avenue in New York City, its former subsidiary, 4Kids Productions, had its headquarters in a separate building in Manhattan. The New York Stock Exchange delisted 4Kids (NYSE: KDE) on June 1, 2010. On April 6, 2011, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following a lawsuit concerning the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. On December 13, 2012, the company announced that it had emerged from bankruptcy. On September 21, 2016, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection once again. 4Kids' former CEO, Alfred R. Kahn, founded a successor company called Kidtagious Entertainment in 2019.
Dubs[]
Animation[]
Series[]
- Cubix (2001-2004)
- Funky Cops (2002-2004)
- Kikoriki (2004-2012)
- Winx Club (2004-2015) (Episodes 1-78)
- Tai Chi Chasers (2007-2008) (Episodes 1-26)
Anime[]
Series[]
- Tama & Friends (1993-1994)
- Pokémon (1997-2002)
- Pokémon Chronicles (1998-2003)
- Magical DoReMi (1999-2000)
- One Piece (1999-present) (Episodes 1-140)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! (2000-2004)
- Fighting Foodons (2001-2002)
- Kirby: Right Back At Ya! (2001-2003)
- Shaman King (2001-2002)
- Mew Mew Power (2002-2003) (Episodes 1-26)
- Pokémon Advanced Generation (2002-2006) (Episodes 1-145)
- Ultimate Muscle (2002)
- F-Zero: GP Legend (2002-2003)
- Sonic X (2003-2006)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (2004-2008) (Episodes 1-155)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters (2006)
- Dinosaur King (2007-2008)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (2008-2011) (Episodes 1-123)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (2011-2014) (Episodes 1-24)
OVAs/Specials[]
- Pikachu Shorts (1998-2015) (Episodes 2-3, 5-6, 7-9, 12)
- Pokémon: The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin (1999)
- Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns (2000)
Films[]
- Pokémon: the First Movie (1998)
- Pokémon: the Movie 2000 (1999)
- Pokémon 3: Spell of the Unknown (2000)
- Pokémon 4Ever (2001)
- Pokémon Heroes (2002)
- Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (2003)
- Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2004)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light (2004)
- Pokémon: Lucario & the Mystery of Mew (2005)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D: Bonds Beyond Time (2010)
Live-Action[]
Series[]
- Ultraman Tiga (1996-1997)
Video Games[]
- One Piece: Grand Battle (2005)
- One Piece: Pirate's Carnival (2005)
- Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) (for Sega)
- Sonic Rush (2005) (for Sega)
- Sonic Riders (2006) (for Sega)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) (for Sega)
- Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) (for Sega)
- Sonic Rush Adventure (2007) (for Sega)
- Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008) (for Sega)
- Sonic Unleashed (2008) (for Sega)
- Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) (for Sega)
Notes[]
- The majority of their dubs were recorded either in-house or at TAJ Productions, though some were recorded at Real Recording. NYAV Post and DuArt Film & Video state that they have done work for 4Kids, though no proof has been found for these claims.
Talent Pool[]
Voice Actors[]
† deceased
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Translators and Adapters[]
- Alan Kingsberg (only "Shaman King" and "Pokémon Chronicles")
- Arthur Murakami
- Barton Bishop
- Bree Sharp (only "Magical DoReMi")
- David Sartorius (only "Fighting Foodons")
- Gloria Lee (only "Tai Chi Chasers")
- James Carter Cathcart* (only "Pokémon" and "Pokémon Advanced Generation")
- Jim Malone (only "Magical DoReMi", "Fighting Foodons", "Shaman King" and "Mew Mew Power")
- Joseph Raso (only "Pokémon Chronicles" and "Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters")
- John Touhey
- Kathy Pilon
- Kaz Sano
- Mark Ryan (only "Pokémon Advanced Generation")
- Matthew Dredek
- Michael Haigney
- Michael Pecoriello (only "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX" and "Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters")
- Michele M. Dunn (only "Ultimate Muscle")
- Mizuho Murakami (only "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX")
- Norman J. Grossfeld
- Paul Taylor
- Roland Gonzalez (only "Tama & Friends")
- Scott DeSimon (only "Fighting Foodons")
- Shane Guenego
- Takashi Otani
- Ted Lewis
Directors[]
- Andrew Rannells (only "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!" and "Sonic X")
- Anthony Salerno (only "Cubix", "Shaman King", "Winx Club" and "Pokémon Chronicles")
- Brenda Dillon (only "Tama & Friends")
- Christopher Collet
- Darren Dunstan
- Eric Stuart
- Julie Rath
- Kathy Pilon
- Marc Diraison (only "Tai Chi Chasers")
- Michael Haigney
- Ron London (only "Sonic X")
- Tom Wayland (only "Magical DoReMi" and "Mew Mew Power")
External Links[]
- 4Kids Entertainment at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- 4Kids Entertainment at the CrystalAcids Anime Voice Actor Database