Disney Channel announced today that Fonda Snyder has been named Vice President, Original Movies responsible for supervising the development of all Disney Channel Original Movies.
She joins Disney Channel from Cookie Jar Entertainment where she served as Senior Vice President of Creative Development and U.S. Sales. There, she oversaw the development of more than 50 properties for multiple platforms, selling preschool, comedy and boys action animated series to networks including Disney Channel (for Playhouse Disney), Kids WB and Cartoon Network.
"Fonda's experience with children's programming makes her a perfect fit to help lead the charge for Disney Channel's enormously successful original movie division," said Senior Vice President Original Movies Michael Healy. "Her creativity and good taste will help us create and entertaining movies."
Snyder co-founded Storyopolis and was President of Storyopolis Productions, a franchise-oriented family entertainment company encompassing production, book publishing, art gallery, exhibition space and retail outlets. She also created Storyopolis children's book publishing division; an imprint which, to-date, has generated more than $2 million in sales.
She has developed more than 25 projects for major television networks and film studios including an overall deal with Warner Bros where she set up an animated feature adaptation of William Joyce's "Nicholas Cricket" written by "Chicken Run" screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick and starring Sandra Bullock; a live action feature film adaptation of Norton Juster's classic children's chapter book, "The Phantom Tollbooth"; and a feature length adaptation of Steve Seagle's DC/Vertigo comic book "House Of Secrets".
Under a subsequent overall producing deal with the Weinstein Company, Snyder set up the animated movie "Opus the Penguin" based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Berkeley Breathed's best known cartoon strip character; as well as an additional Breathed project at 20th Century Fox; a feature film adaptation of his picture book "Red Ranger Came Calling."
With her sister and partner in Storyopolis, Snyder produced a Harcourt Brace celebrity children's book featuring contributions by Steven Spielberg, Madonna, Harrison Ford, and John Lithgow, among others, to benefit the Starbright Foundation.
In addition, she developed a feature length adaptation of Staton Rabin's book Betsy and the Emperor for director Patrice Chereau ("Queen Margot") and Al Pacino; produced the darkly magical film "Photographing Fairies" starring Ben Kingsley with the BBC and Polygram Filmed Entertainment and oversaw the development of Sony Pictures' "The Black Panther" and "Charlie Chan" while working with Brad Weston's Merlin Entertainment.
Snyder was President of Production for Martin Short's first look producing deal at Touchstone/Disney, where she built a development slate of films and book adaptations including "So, I Married an Axe Murderer," "Monopoly" and "Tooth Fairy." She began her career working with Sandra Marsh Management in London representing Academy Award-winning and world renowned cinematographers, production designers, costume designers and editors.
Snyder, a Golden Key Scholar from Boston University is a recipient of Boston University's distinguished achievement Alumni Award.