GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was an American home video company founded in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Its main purpose was to release inexpensive VHS releases to take advantage of the growing video collector's market. It started out releasing public domain films, then gravitated to reissues of films and TV programs licensed from RCA/Columbia, MCA/Universal, Orion, Worldvision, and Hanna-Barbera, among others.
But perhaps its biggest claim to infamy was when they distributed Direct to Video animated films from Golden Films and Jetlag Productions. Many of these works were adapted from public domain stories and fairy tales, most infamously ones similar or identical in name and/or plot to bigger-budget films made by Disney, with their releases timed similarly to the Disney home media releases in order to cash in. Disney eventually took notice, however, and sued GoodTimes, alleging that GoodTimes' similar boxarts were made to trick customers. As a result, GoodTimes was forced to clearly print its name on its home media releases. The company also went into the video game publishing business through the creation of GT Interactive Software in 1993.
In 2005, the company went bankrupt, and its assets were purchased by Gaiam, which continues to distribute and release new films. GT Interactive Software meanwhile was sold to Infogrames Entertainment SA were they remain to this day as Atari, Inc.
Works made or distributed by GoodTimes:
- The Christmas Tree (1991)
- Aladdin (1992)*
- Beauty and the Beast (1992)*
- The Little Mermaid (1992)*
- Pinocchio (1992) (1992)*
- Thumbelina (1992) (1992)*
- David Copperfield (1993)
- The Adventures of Pocahontas: Indian Princess (1994)**
- Cinderella (1994)**
- Sleeping Beauty (1994)**
- Alice in Wonderland (Jetlag Productions) (1995)**
- Magic Gift of the Snowman (1995)**
- An Angel for Christmas (1996)
- Call of The Wild (1996)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1996)
- Jungle Boy (1996)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1998)
- Miracle in Toyland (2001)*
- Quigley (2003)
- Little Angels: The Brightest Christmas (2004)*
