Two companies that sought investment for Gummy Bears 3D, an animated film supposedly starring John Travolta, have gone out of business after being accused of “misleading” the public.

Spice Factory (UK) Ltd and Gummy Bear Films Ltd were shut down by the high court following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. According to the court, the two companies took £3m from members of the British public but “failed to provide any returns”. The court also considered that the companies “spent, at most, 11% of funds received from the public on film production”. Moreover, the promised movie, Gummy Bears 3D, has not been made.

Activities surrounding a purported Gummy Bears 3D project have been on the media radar for some time, with Daily Mirror investigative reporter Andrew Penman establishing that Travolta’s representatives had “no information” about it. Penman also reported that Gummy Bears 3D’s “producers” were claiming projected returns for the film would be £260m over three years, and that investors could expect a 25% return on their money.

The court ruled that “the public had been misled into making investments which they would not have made had they known the truth, which was that around 89% of their investment was not going to film production costs”.