Carmen Sandiego

Carmen Sandiego
A copy of the 1985 video game Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? in 5¼-inch floppy disk format for the Apple II Plus personal computer, with the franchise's logo.
Created by	Gene Portwood Dane Bigham Lauren Elliott
Original work	Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1985)
Owner	HarperCollins
Films and television
Film(s)	Where in the Universe Is Carmen Sandiego? (1999 planetarium film)
Short film(s)	Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal (2020)*
Television series	Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991–1995) Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996–1997)
Animated series	Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (1994–1999) Carmen Sandiego (2019–2021)[1]
Theatrical presentations
Play(s)	Where in the Universe Is Carmen Sandiego?
Musical(s)	Where in the World of Music Is Carmen Sandiego?
Games
Video game(s)	Computer game series (since 1985)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)	Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1992) Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World (1994)
Miscellaneous
Annual event	Carmen Sandiego Day
* Interactive short that is part of the 2019 Netflix animated series.

Carmen Sandiego (sometimes referred to as Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?) is a media franchise based on a series of computer video games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? video game was classified as a "mystery exploration" series by creators and the media,^[2] the series would later be deemed edutainment when the games became unexpectedly popular in classrooms. The franchise centers around the fictional thieving villain of the same name, who is the ringleader of the criminal organization V.I.L.E.; the protagonists (most often including the in-game character controlled by the computer user) are agents of the ACME Detective Agency who try to thwart the crooks' plans to steal treasures from around the world, while the later ultimate goal is to capture Carmen Sandiego herself.

The franchise primarily focuses on teaching children geography, but has also branched out into history, mathematics, language arts, and other subjects.^[3][4][5] An attempt was made to create a series of state-specific games in the 1980s, but the only prototype to be completed was in North Dakota. Beginning in 1988, Carmen Sandiego Days became popular across American public schools. In the 1990s, the franchise extended into three television shows, books and comics, board games, a concert series, two planetarium shows, and two music albums. By 1996, the Carmen Sandiego character and game concept had been licensed to over 20 companies including HarperCollins, University Games, Great American Puzzle Factory, DIC Entertainment, WGBH/WQED, Micro Games of America, Publications International and Troll Associates.^[6] Towards the turn of the 21st century, the Carmen Sandiego property passed through a series of five corporate hands: Broderbund (1985–1997), The Learning Company (1998), Mattel (1999), The Gores Group (2000), and Riverdeep (2001–present). Subsequent acquisitions and mergers of Riverdeep (licensed to Encore^[7]) led to the franchise currently being in the possession of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. For the next 15 years, the series would become mostly dormant despite a few licensed games. In 2017, soon after Netflix commissioned an animated show based on the property, HMH hired Brandginuity to reboot Carmen Sandiego through a licensing program built around the show and the franchise as a whole including toys, games, and apparel.^[8] HMH Productions, established in 2018, is currently the content incubator, production company, and brand manager for Carmen Sandiego. HMH Productions co-produced the animated Netflix TV series Carmen Sandiego, which ran for four seasons from 2019 to 2021 (including a 2020 interactive special), and is set to produce a live-action film as well.^[9] As of May 10, 2021, the franchise is owned by HarperCollins, which acquired HMH's trade division.^[10]

The franchise has become known for its ability to surreptitiously teach facts, breed empathy for other cultures, and develop logic skills, while creating detective mystery experiences intended to entertain.^[11] One aspect of the series that has received consistent praise by critics is its diverse representation of strong, independent, and intelligent minority women. Carmen Sandiego herself is Latina.^[12]

Carmen Sandiego has maintained a considerable popularity and commercial success over its history. Carmen Sandiego is one of the top 30 longest-running video game series, having existed for just over 30 years with the release of Returns in 2015. By 1997, Carmen Sandiego games had been translated into three different languages, and over 5 million copies had been sold into schools and homes worldwide.^[13] The three 1990s-airing television shows have together been nominated for 45 Daytime Emmy Awards (winning 8), while World also won a Peabody Award. They had a combined viewing audience of over 10 million viewers each week.^[13]