Michael Hirsh

Michael Hirsh

Birth : 1948-04-07, Brussels, Belgium

History

Michael Hirsh is a Canadian producer born in Brussels, Belgium to Polish parents. His parents met at a dance in Brussels after the Holocaust. His family relocated to Canada when he was three year old. He attended York University in Toronto, Ontario. In 1971, Hirsh co-founded the animation studio Nelvana. In 2000, Nelvana was purchased by Corus Entertainment. Hirsh held the position CEO of Nelvana until 2002. In 2003, he led a group which purchased the animation company Cinar Corporation, rebranding it Cookie Jar Entertainment. In 2012, DHX Media acquired Cookie Jar and appointed Hirsh as Executive Chairman and a board member. He stayed at the company until late 2015. In 2016, Hirsh launched a new animation-focused entertainment company, Wow! Unlimited Media.

Profile

Michael Hirsh

Movies

Paddington
Executive Producer
A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a new home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family.
Lost Heroes
Himself (Interviewed guest)
Lost Heroes is the story of Canada's forgotten comic book superheroes and their legendary creators. A ninety-minute journey to recover a forgotten part of Canada's pop culture and a national treasure few have ever heard about. This is the tale of a small country striving to create its own heroes, but finding itself constantly out muscled by better-funded and better-marketed superheroes from the media empire next door.
The Truth Wears Side-Burns
Executive Producer
A film by Joan of Arc.
The Santa Claus Brothers
Executive Producer
This tale of Santa's 3 sons seeks the true meaning of Christmas. Kevin McDonald and Richard Kind add voices that instill a genuine comedy feel. With a southern California twist and unique animation, it's a great story for the whole family.
The Little Bear Movie
Executive Producer
Little Bear and Father Bear go camping in the wilderness where Little Bear encounters all kinds of new sights and sounds: an eagle's flight, a wolf's howl... and a wild little bear named Cub fishing in a stream. Even though they're from different worlds, Little Bear and Cub become fast friends.
Franklin's Magic Christmas
Executive Producer
Franklin and his family are off on a Christmas visit with Grandma and Grandpa at Faraway Farm. When a sudden ice storm hits and Grandpa takes a terrible tumble, Franklin and his baby sister Harriet begin a magical adventure as they journey home in search of help. With the aid of a mysterious flying creature and some very special new friends, the two manage to return with Doctor Bear and her family. Once back together, friends and family share an enchanted Christmas Ever and a memory they will hold forever of a magical Christmas night.
Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut
Executive Producer
It's the wildest, hairiest, most fur-ocious Donkey Kong adventure yet, as the popular Nintendo™ character swings into his own 3-D animated full-length feature! Legend says whoever holds the Crystal Coconut will get any wish granted. Now everybody on the island of Kongo Bongo is going bananas trying to get the coconut, including ruthless crocodile King K. Rool and notorious pirate Captain Scurvy. But our hero D.K. has a few surprises up his fur-covered sleeve! Brilliant 3-D animation, original songs and coconutty characters make this "rumble in the jungle" a great family video.
Pippi Longstocking
Producer
Pippi is a little girl who lives alone in her house, while her father is sailing the seas. With Pippi we meet her horse, her monkey and her two friends Tommy and Anika. Together they go on many journeys through the neighborhood.
Star Wars: Ewoks - Tales from the Endor Woods
Producer
Wicket remembers four memorable adventures from his youth: how he fixed up his great grandfather's battle wagon, the occasion when Latara ran away from the Ewok village to join the traveling Jindas, the time his father Deej fell terrible ill and the story of Kneesa's long lost sister, Asha.
Star Wars: Ewoks - The Haunted Village
Producer
Morag the Tulga Witch seeks revenge on her old enemy Logray, shaman of the Ewoks, who holds the magic Sunstar while she possesses it's darker half, the Shadowstone.
Babar: The Movie
Story
Children's book authors Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff's most beloved elephant comes to the big screen in this animated family tale. Elephant monarch King Babar tells the tale, that unfolds via flashback, of how a much-younger Barbar and his girlfriend Celeste save her village from the pugnacious rhinoceroses that have come to raid it.
Babar: The Movie
Executive Producer
Children's book authors Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff's most beloved elephant comes to the big screen in this animated family tale. Elephant monarch King Babar tells the tale, that unfolds via flashback, of how a much-younger Barbar and his girlfriend Celeste save her village from the pugnacious rhinoceroses that have come to raid it.
Burglar
Producer
Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr is a burglar by trade, and she runs a bookstore as well. Her friend Carl Hefler is a dog groomer. After a successful burglary, it's discovered that a dead body was in the house she burgled. As she's the only one who can be placed at the scene of the crime, she has to use her criminal skills to clear her name of the murder AND avoid getting charged with the burglary.
Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep
Producer
C-3PO and R2-D2 are on their way to Biitu to meet their new master, Mungo Baobab, when their ship is attacked and they are taken prisoner. Biitu has been taken over by the giant mechanical Great Heep who works with the Empire, enslaving the natives by using droid enforcers and draining R2 units to keep up his strength. Meanwhile Mungo has been imprisoned to be handed over to his arch enemy Admiral Screed.
The Care Bears Movie
Producer
The Care Bears have their work cut out for them, because Nicolas, a lonely magician's assistant, is about to fall under the evil influence of a bad spirit who lives in an ancient magic book -- it seems Nicolas will do just about anything for friends. Aside from Nicolas, Kim and Jason are in trouble because they are starting not to trust people after suffering many disappointments.
The Adventures of the Get Along Gang
Producer
The Gang participates in the annual scavenger hunt to win their own ice cream flavor but the stakes are made even higher when Bingo makes a bet with Catchum that if he wins, he and Leland get the Gang's clubhouse.
The Making of Rock & Rule
Self
Documentary on the making of the cult classic Nelvana animated film, "Rock & Rule." Featuring interviews with Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Iggy Pop, Maurice White, and Director Clive Smith.
Intergalactic Thanksgiving
Producer
With a new twist on an old holiday, Intergalatic Thanksgiving or Please Don't Eat the Planet is a delightful animated special combining space age fantasy with the old and revered traditions that make Thanksgiving a great festive holiday.
Intergalactic Thanksgiving
Story
With a new twist on an old holiday, Intergalatic Thanksgiving or Please Don't Eat the Planet is a delightful animated special combining space age fantasy with the old and revered traditions that make Thanksgiving a great festive holiday.
The Devil and Daniel Mouse
Producer
When a young female mouse makes a deal with the devil to become a rock star and learns the price, her boyfriend has to help her avoid damnation.
A Cosmic Christmas
Producer
Three aliens from an unknown planet, who bear a strong resemblance to the Biblical Magi, visit earth to know the true meaning of Christmas. Peter, a young boy, and Lucy, his goose, are the first to encounter them. Unable to find the true meaning of Christmas in town, Peter takes them to his family's house in the woods. While Peter's grandmother tells the aliens about her memories of Christmas, Marvin, one of the town's bullies, steals Lucy. In the chase to rescue Lucy, Marvin falls through the ice in a lake. Peter attempts to rescue him but falls into the lake as well. The townsfolk, who were out searching for the aliens, attempt to save the boys but their human chain isn't long enough to reach them. The three aliens, who had sworn not to interfere with events on earth, decide to help in order to learn the meaning of Christmas.
The Great Canadian Comic Books!
Director
Film accompanying the book of the same name by Nelvana Enterprises founders Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, with partner Clive Smith as designer and illustrator. It looks at the "Canadian Whites" series of comic books made during World War II, with some focus on Nelvana of the Northern Lights, the genre's first superheroine, and Johnny Canuck. It was accompanied by a two-year travelling tour of the art, the National Gallery of Canada's "Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941–45". This is Nelvana Enterprises' first film.