Michael Hirsh

Production

Michael Hirsh

Born 1948-04-07 · Brussels, Belgium

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.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Pippi Longstocking poster
5.8

Pippi Longstocking is an extraordinary little girl who lives alone in her house, while her father sails the seven seas. Pippi's irrepressibly fun nature makes her easy to befriend, as neighbors Tommy and Annika find, but can also earn ire, especially from social worker Mrs. Prysselius.

Pippi Longstocking

1997

Burglar poster
5.2

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.

Burglar

1987

The Care Bears Movie poster
6.3

The Care Bears team up with a troubled brother and sister who just moved to a new town to help a neglected young magician's apprentice whose evil spell book causes sinister things to happen.

The Care Bears Movie

1985

Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation poster
6.3

True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse touch down on Earth to boost the spirits of some unhappy kids at summer camp. But the evil Dark Heart has other plans, and convinces one of the campers to help him capture the Care Bears.

Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation

1986

Intergalactic Thanksgiving, or Please Don't Eat the Planet poster
7.0

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, or Please Don't Eat the Planet

1979

Star Wars: Ewoks - Tales from the Endor Woods poster
6.1

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 - Tales from the Endor Woods

1997

The Wild Puffalumps poster
4.7

In this animated children's feature, two kids find themselves in the strange and fascinating world of the friendly animals known as the Puffalumps.

The Wild Puffalumps

1988

Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep poster
6.2

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.

Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep

1986

Easter Fever poster
7.7

A jive-talking Easter Bunny named Jack decides to retire, so his friends throw him a crazy roast before he officially hangs up his basket. A series of kooky flashbacks tells of his life-story and career, but will all this reminiscing only convince him not to quit after all?

Easter Fever

1980

Star Wars: Ewoks - The Haunted Village poster
5.1

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.

Star Wars: Ewoks - The Haunted Village

1997

A Cosmic Christmas poster
5.8

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.

A Cosmic Christmas

1977

The Devil and Daniel Mouse poster
6.9

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.

The Devil and Daniel Mouse

1978

No artwork available
6.7

Shot primarily in a seedy bathroom, it's gross, outrageously blasphemous, trippy, campy and hilarious, esp. if seen very, very high. Sometime Village Fug Tuli Kupferberg plays a vulgar NY Jewish G*d who never gets out of the tub. The story line is the debate in an ecumenical trailer trash Heaven during Abraham's biblical trial of faith over the sacrifice of his son Isaac.

Do you want to sleep with God?

1972

Take Me Up to the Ball Game poster
NR

In this interplanetary baseball story, a group of friends are playing a sandlot game on Earth that is noticed by Irwin, an outer space promoter of baseball. The haphazard team consists of an eagle, a beaver, a bear, a kangaroo, and a mole. Irwin invites the Earth team to play against the Outer Space All-Stars, an awesome team that has never lost a game, of that matter, been scrored upon. Their secret: they are the biggest cheaters in the universe.

Take Me Up to the Ball Game

1980

Romie-0 and Julie-8 poster
7.0

Two rival robotics companies in the future release their latest creations at a robotics convention, claiming each to be the latest and greatest in technological advances. Mega Stellar Company's release is a robot boy named Romie-O, while Super Solar Cybernetics has released a girl robot named Julie-8. Unforeseen to each of the company's creators, is how each of the advanced robots soon falls in love with the other.

Romie-0 and Julie-8

1979

Madballs: Gross Jokes poster
4.0

It begins with a warning. It is said that the episode contains scenes that may offend viewers. It is also said that most viewers may experience nagging backache, rapid heartbeat, post-nasal drip and delerium, swelling of the nose, throat, and abdomen and loss of facial hair. Repeated viewing of the episode will result in the loss of one's bodily functions, redistribution of facial features, and a difficulty in forming simple sentences. The announcer concludes the warning by saying that you should definitely watch this episode if you really want to have a career as a lawn ornament. After the roll call(which curiously excludes Bash Brain), Bash Brain appears and says that he's never seen anything so awful in his life. He then reminisces about some time in a hosptial.

Madballs: Gross Jokes

1987

Madballs: Escape from Orb! poster
5.8

The Madballs are a zany animated rock band who rock and roll their way across the galaxy. Music is illegal on their home planet so they make a break for it on Earth.

Madballs: Escape from Orb!

1986

No artwork available
NR

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 Adventures of the Get Along Gang

1984

The Great Canadian Comic Books! poster
NR

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.

The Great Canadian Comic Books!

1971

Clifford's Fun with Letters poster
10.0

An animated film starring Clifford, the Big Red Dog. He and his pal, Emily Elizabeth, want to go to the circus but they have no money for tickets. They decide to earn money by opening a message service, but finding all the letters and spelling all the messages can be tricky. This program is designed to provide a child with some of the essential tools for learning to read.

Clifford's Fun with Letters

1988

Mister Pencil Draws The Line poster
NR

A guy dressed as a pencil goes to the Hospital for Sick Children to animate a nonsense story the kids make up on the spot. Directed by Nelvana co-founder Michael Hirsh.

Mister Pencil Draws The Line

No artwork available
NR

A film centered around Joe Nameth.

Super Joe

1971