Universal Animation Studios
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2007) |
| File:Universal Animation Studios.jpg Company logo post-2006 | |
| Formerly | Universal Cartoon Studios (1991–2006) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Animation |
| Predecessor | Walter Lantz Productions |
| Founded | 1991[1] |
| Headquarters |
|
Number of locations | 2 |
Key people | Margie Cohn (Head of DWA Television) |
| Products | Animated films Animated television shows |
| Owner | NBCUniversal |
| Parent | Universal Pictures |
Universal Animation Studios, formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios, is an American animation studio that is a subsidiary of Comcast's NBCUniversal and a division of Universal Pictures. It has produced sequels to Universal-released feature films, such as The Land Before Time, An American Tail, Balto, as well as other films and television series.
The actual animation production is done overseas, usually by either Wang Film Productions or Rough Draft Studios, while pre-production and post-production is United States-based.
On August 22, 2016, the television animation divisions of Universal and DreamWorks merged after Universal completed its acquisition of DreamWorks Animation.[5]
History
Universal Animation Studios was established in 1991 as Universal Cartoon Studios.
Franchises
| Titles | Release dates | Movies | TV Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woody Woodpecker | 1999–present | 1 | 4 |
| An American Tail | 1992–1999 | 2 | 1 |
| The Land Before Time | 1994–present | 13 | 2 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | 1999–2000 | 2 | - |
| Balto | 2002–2004 | 2 | - |
| Curious George | 2006–present | 5 | 13 |
Filmography
Feature films
Theatrical feature films
| Title | Release date | Co-production with |
|---|---|---|
| Curious George | February 10, 2006 | Imagine Entertainment |
| The Tale of Despereaux | December 19, 2008 | Relativity Media |
| Woody Woodpecker[R] | October 5, 2017 | Universal 1440 Entertainment |
- R Not released theatrically in the United States
Direct-to-video feature films
- A An adult animated production.
Television series
Short films
- Fractured Fairy Tales: The Phox, the Box, & the Lox (1999)
Television specials
- A Wish for Wings That Work (1991)
- Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas (2009)
- How Murray Saved Christmas (2014)
Miscellaneous work
- 63rd Academy Awards (1991) - animation for Woody Woodpecker presenting the award for Best Animated Short Film[10]
- Kids WB! promos - Earthworm Jim segments.
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster (1999-2015 version) - traditionally animated introduction.
- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (1999) - traditionally-animated introduction[11]
- Dudley-Do Right’s RipSaw Falls (1999) - traditionally-animated queue video.
Cancelled projects
- Escape from Jurassic Park, an animated TV series that takes place after the first Jurassic Park film and before The Lost World: Jurassic Park. While a pitchfilm was made and character designs, outlines and backgrounds had been created, Steven Spielberg never saw it and cancelled it after the storyboards were finished.
- Crash Bandicoot cut scenes, cut scenes that were unused for the first Crash Bandicoot video game due to Sony wanting to push the 3D graphics. It has been theorized that these were going to be used as the basis for a Crash Bandicoot animated series.
- Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect, another animated Jurassic Park TV series which takes place after The Lost World and before Jurassic Park III. It would also be accompanied by the toy series under the same name by Kenner Toys. It would've involved a group of scientists having created dinosaur hybrids consisting of DNA from different creatures. However, like its predecessor series, its production was cancelled.
See also
- Illumination Entertainment
- DreamWorks Animation
- Universal Interactive Studios
- List of Universal Pictures theatrical animated feature films
- List of unproduced Universal Pictures animated projects
References
- ^ "Registration Certificate". United States Patent and Trademark Office. October 6, 1992. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
First use 4-5-1991, in commerce 4-5-1991.
- ^ "Animation Production Companies". June 8, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Backstage.com.
- ^ "Motion Picture Almanac". June 6, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ "2017 Studio List" (PDF). August 29, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Animationguild.org.
- ^ Rainey, James (23 August 2016). "NBCUniversal Sets New DreamWorks Animation Chain of Command".
- ^ "Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle". Universal Studios Entertainment. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ "Rawr: Reba's Voice Will Be In The Next Land Before Time Movie". US99.5. August 18, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- ^ "Curious George: Royal Monkey - Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ White, Peter (2020-09-03). "'Curious George: Go West, Go Wild' Film Heads To Peacock As Part Of Kids' Slate". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ Oscars (7 July 2015). "Short Film Winners: 1991 Oscars" – via YouTube.
- ^ "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (1999) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
External links
Categories:
- Universal Animation Studios
- 1991 establishments in California
- American companies established in 1991
- Mass media companies established in 1991
- Universal Pictures subsidiaries
- American animation studios
- Television production companies of the United States
- Companies based in Glendale, California
- Universal City, California