Universal Animation Studios

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Wikipedia

Universal Animation Studios LLC
FormerlyUniversal Cartoon Studios (1990–2005)
Company typeDivision
IndustryAnimation
PredecessorStudio:
Universal Cartoon Studios
Library:
Sullivan Bluth Studios
Amblimation
Founded1990; 35 years ago (1990)[1]
FounderJeff Segal[2]
Headquarters
Number of locations
2
Key people
Margie Cohn (president)[6]
ProductsAnimated films
Animated television shows
ParentUniversal Pictures and Universal 1440 Entertainment[7]
Websiteuphe.com

Universal Animation Studios LLC,[8] formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios, is an American animation studio and a unit of Universal Pictures and Universal 1440 Entertainment, a home entertainment division of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, which in turn is owned by NBCUniversal (later Versant), the entertainment and mass media division of Comcast. It has produced direct-to-video sequels to Universal-released feature films, such as An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), Balto (1995), and Curious George (2006), as well as other films and television series. This studio rarely made theatrically-released films, focusing instead on direct-to-video/streaming films and TV shows.[9][10]

The actual animation production is mostly done overseas, usually by foreign animation studios such as AKOM, Wang Film Productions, and Rough Draft Studios, while pre-production and post-production are United States–based. On August 23, 2016, after Universal completed its acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, the division was merged with DreamWorks Animation Television, which began producing a majority of Universal Pictures' family-friendly TV shows.[6][11] The studio is one of Comcast's three animation studios, alongside DreamWorks Animation and Illumination.

History

Universal Animation Studios was established in 1990 as Universal Cartoon Studios, the animation division of MCA Inc., to produce television shows.[12][13] It was originally a subsidiary of Universal Family Entertainment, which was headed by former Hanna-Barbera employee Jeff Segal.[14] Its debut work was Back to the Future: The Animated Series, which was announced on March 22, 1991, and premiered on CBS on September 14 the same year.[15][16]

In 1993, Universal Cartoon Studios was transferred as a joint-venture between Universal Family Entertainment and MCA/Universal Home Video, due to the tremendous growth in the children's home video market.[17]

In 1995, the company partnered with Harvey Comics to launch a new subsidiary, Universal/Harvey Animation Studios, to produce animated series based on Harvey Comics' properties.[18]

In 1996, the two groups Universal Family Entertainment and its subsidiary Universal Cartoon Studios were absorbed into MCA Television Entertainment.[19]

In 1998, Universal Cartoon Studios was later transferred to Universal Family & Home Entertainment Production (later renamed as Universal Home Entertainment Productions), as first mentioned in An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island.[20][21]

In 2005, Universal Cartoon Studios was absorbed into Universal Studios Family Productions, and later on, it was renamed to Universal Animation Studios.[22]

In 2006, they produced and animated the film Curious George in-house in Los Angeles, along with several animation studios around the world.[23]

In 2007, Chris Meledandri founded Illumination with a deal was announced positioning Illumination as Universal's family entertainment arm, that would produce one to two films a year starting in 2010, while Universal Studios Family Productions acts as Universal Animation Studios' animation home-video arm.[24] As part of the deal, Illumination retains creative control and Universal Pictures exclusively distributes the films.[25]

In 2016, Universal Pictures acquired DreamWorks Animation, making it one of the two theatrical animation divisions of Universal Pictures, alongside Illumination. With this acquisition, it was merged with DreamWorks Animation Television, who began to produse shows based on Universal franchises, such as Fast & Furious: Spy Racers and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.[6]

Franchises

This is not including the original films of An American Tail, The Land Before Time and Balto made by either Hanna-Barbera (formerly), Sullivan Bluth Studios or Amblimation.

Titles Release dates Movies TV Seasons
Woody Woodpecker 1991–present1 2 6
An American Tail 1986–2000 4 1
The Land Before Time 1988–2016 14 2
Balto 1995–2004 3 0
Alvin and the Chipmunks 1999–2000 2
Curious George 2006–2022 6 15

1:The date reflects the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker in a production from Universal Cartoon Studios rather than the date when the character was originally created in 1940 by Walter Lantz Productions.

Filmography

Feature films

Theatrical feature films

# Title Release date Director Writer(s) Producer(s) Co-production with
Story Screenplay
1Curious George February 10, 2006Matthew O'Callaghan Ken Kaufman
Mike Werb		 Ken KaufmanRon Howard
David Kirschner
Jon Shapiro		Imagine Entertainment
2Woody Woodpecker[R][S] October 5, 2017Alex Zamm William Robertson
Alex Zamm
Daniel Altiere
Steven Altiere		 William Robertson
Alex Zamm		Mike ElliottUniversal 1440 Entertainment
S Combines live-action with animation.
R Not released theatrically in the United States

Direct-to-video/streaming feature films

Children's feature films
# Title Release date Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley AdventureDecember 13, 1994N/A
2The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great GivingDecember 12, 1995
3The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the MistsDecember 10, 1996
4The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious IslandDecember 9, 1997
5Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount OlympusJanuary 6, 1998Renaissance Pictures
6The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus RockDecember 1, 1998N/A
7Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet FrankensteinSeptember 28, 1999Bagdasarian Productions, LLC.
8An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan IslandFebruary 15, 2000N/A
9An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night MonsterJuly 25, 2000
10Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the WolfmanAugust 29, 2000Bagdasarian Productions, LLC.
11The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold FireDecember 5, 2000N/A
12The Land Before Time VIII: The Big FreezeDecember 4, 2001
13Balto II: Wolf QuestFebruary 19, 2002
14The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big WaterDecember 10, 2002
15The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck MigrationDecember 2, 2003N/A
16Balto III: Wings of ChangeSeptember 30, 2004
17The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the TinysaurusesJanuary 11, 2005
18The Adventures of Brer RabbitMarch 21, 2006
as Universal Animation Studios
19The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the FlyersFebruary 27, 2007N/A
20The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of FriendsNovember 27, 2007
21Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey![R]July 10, 2009Imagine Entertainment
22The Little Engine That CouldMarch 22, 2011Crest Animation Productions
23Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle[26]June 23, 2015Imagine Entertainment
Universal 1440 Entertainment
24The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave[27]February 2, 2016Universal 1440 Entertainment
25Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is YouNovember 14, 2017Universal 1440 Entertainment
Splash Entertainment
Telegael
Magic Carpet Productions
26Curious George: Royal Monkey[28]September 10, 2019Imagine Entertainment
Universal 1440 Entertainment
27Curious George: Go West, Go Wild[P][29]September 8, 2020
28Bobbleheads: The MovieDecember 8, 2020Threshold Animation Studios
Universal 1440 Entertainment
29Curious George: Cape Ahoy[P][30]September 30, 2021Imagine Entertainment
Universal 1440 Entertainment
30Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp[N][S][31] April 12, 2024[32]Universal 1440 Entertainment
Adult animated short films
# Title Release date Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1Van Helsing: The London Assignment[A] May 11, 2004N/A
2The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury[A] June 15, 2004
P Released on Peacock.
N Released on Netflix.
A Adult animated production.

Short films

Television series

# Title Creator(s) / Developer(s) Original run Network Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1Back to the FutureRobert Zemeckis
Bob Gale		1991–1992CBSAmblin Television
Zaloom/Mayfield Productions
BIG Pictures
2Shelley Duvall's Bedtime StoriesShelley Duvall1992–1993ShowtimeThink Entertainment
3Fievel's American TailsDavid Kirschner1992CBSAmblin Television
Nelvana
4ExosquadJeff Segal
Eric Lewald
Michael Edens		1993–1994SyndicationN/A
5Problem ChildScott Alexander
Larry Karaszewski		USA NetworkD'Ocon Films Productions (season 1)
Lacewood Productions (season 2)
6Monster ForceMarv Wolfman1994SyndicationLacewood Productions
7BeethovenN/A1994–1995CBSNorthern Lights Entertainment
8Earthworm JimDoug TenNapel
Doug Langdale		1995–1996Kids' WBShiny Entertainment
9The Savage DragonDean Stefan
Bob Forward		USA NetworkLacewood Productions
(season 1)
Studio B Productions
(season 2)
P3 Entertainment
USA Studios
10The Spooktacular New Adventures of CasperSherri Stoner
Deanna Oliver		1996–1998Fox KidsAmblin Television
Harveytoons
11Wing Commander AcademyMichael Edens
Mark Edens		1996USA NetworkUSA Studios
12Vor-Tech: Undercover Conversion SquadN/ASyndicationEdition Dupuis France S.A.
Mediatoon
Lacewood Productions
13The New Woody Woodpecker ShowBob Jaques
Kelly Armstrong		1999–2002Fox KidsN/A
14The Mummy: The Animated SeriesThomas Pugsley
Greg Klein		2001–2003Kids' WBStudios USA Television (season 1)
The Sommers Company
as Universal Animation Studios
15Curious GeorgeJoe Fallon2006–2022PBS Kids (2006–2022)
Family Jr. (2018–2020)
Peacock (2020–2022)		Imagine Entertainment (seasons 1–9, 14–15)
WGBH Boston (seasons 1–12)
Universal 1440 Entertainment (seasons 10–15)
16The Land Before TimeFord Riley2007–2008Cartoon NetworkAmblin Entertainment
17Woody WoodpeckerAlex Zamm2018–2022YouTubeUniversal Pictures International
Universal 1440 Entertainment
Splash Entertainment

Television specials

# Title Release date Network Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1 A Wish for Wings That Work December 18, 1991 CBS Amblin Television
as Universal Animation Studios
2 Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas November 25, 2009 PBS Kids Imagine Entertainment
WGBH Boston
3 Curious George Swings Into Spring April 22, 2013
4 Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest October 28, 2013
5 How Murray Saved Christmas December 5, 2014 NBC Universal Television

Miscellaneous work

Cancelled projects

  • Escape from Jurassic Park,[35] an animated TV series that takes place after the first Jurassic Park film, was confirmed to be in development and awaiting Steven Spielberg's approval in June 1993.[36] The series would have centered on John Hammond's attempts to finish Jurassic Park and open it to the public, while InGen's corporate rival Biosyn is simultaneously planning to open their own dinosaur theme park in Brazil, which ultimately ends with their dinosaurs escaping into the jungles.[37][38][39] Artist William Stout was hired to work on the series and subsequently made a trailer to demonstrate how the series would look, and how it would combine traditional animation with computer animation. The series required Spielberg's final approval before it could go into production. However, Spielberg had grown tired of the massive promotion and merchandise revolving around the film, and never watched the trailer.[40] On July 13, 1993, Margaret Loesch, president of the Fox Children's Network, confirmed that discussions had been held with Spielberg about an animated version of the film. Loesch also said, "At least for now and in the foreseeable future, there will not be an animated Jurassic Park. That's Steven Spielberg's decision, and we respect that decision."[41]
  • A pair of traditionally animated cutscenes were produced for the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot to serve as the game's intro and outro, as well as act as source material for a potential animated series if the game was well-received and commercially successful. The hand-drawn cutscenes were dropped after Sony Computer Entertainment picked up Crash Bandicoot for publication, as Sony desired to push the PlayStation's 3D polygonal graphics. The cutscenes were uploaded to YouTube by producer David Siller in 2015.[42][43]
  • Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect, an animated television series based on The Lost World: Jurassic Park, was confirmed to be in development within the third part of a four-part comic adaptation of the film published by Topps Comics in July 1997.[44][45] In November 1997, it was reported that the cartoon would be accompanied by Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect, a series of dinosaur toys produced by Kenner and based on a premise that scientists had created dinosaur hybrids consisting of DNA from different creatures.[46][47] That month, it was also reported that the cartoon could be ready by March 1998, as a mid-season replacement.[46] The Chaos Effect toyline was released in June 1998,[47] but the animated series was never produced, for unknown reasons.[48]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "Universal opens new toon town" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 27, 1991. p. 39. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Animation Production Companies". June 8, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Backstage.com.
  4. ↑ Motion Picture Almanac. Quigley Publishing Company. June 6, 2008. ISBN 9780900610806. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "2017 Studio List" (PDF). August 29, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Animationguild.org.
  6. 1 2 3 Rainey, James (August 23, 2016). "NBCUniversal Sets New DreamWorks Animation Chain of Command".
  7. ↑ Wolfe, Jennifer (September 10, 2014). "Threshold Signs First Look Deal with Universal's Home Ent Production Unit". Animation World Network. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Universal Animation Studios LLC". OpenCorporates. April 12, 2002. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  9. ↑ Sandler, Adam (July 14, 1993). "U Cartoon arm moves focus to kidvid titles". Variety. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  10. ↑ Gallo, Scott Hettrick,Eliza; Hettrick, Scott; Gallo, Eliza (March 7, 2005). "U homevid units in family way". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (April 23, 2018). "'Fast & Furious' Animated Series Set At Netflix Based On Universal Movies As Deal With DreamWorks Animation TV Expands". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Orlando theme park features characters". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. July 19, 1991. p. 35. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ Sandler, Adam (July 14, 1993). "U Cartoon arm moves focus to kidvid titles". Variety. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Universal opens new toon town" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 27, 1991. p. 39. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Future Has a Future". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. March 22, 1991. p. 480. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  16. ↑ Boyar, Jay (September 6, 1991). "Short Subjects". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. 68. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  17. ↑ Sandler, Adam (July 14, 1993). "U Cartoon arm moves focus to kidvid titles". Variety. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  18. ↑ Natale, Richard (May 26, 1995). "COMPANY TOWN : Friendly Takeover : How a USC Grad Scared Up the Means to Buy Casper". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Fisher gets expanded role at MCA" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 22, 1996. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  20. ↑ "An American Tail The Treasure of Manhattan Island (1998)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  21. ↑ Gallo, Scott Hettrick,Eliza; Hettrick, Scott; Gallo, Eliza (March 7, 2005). "U homevid units in family way". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ Gallo, Scott Hettrick,Eliza; Hettrick, Scott; Gallo, Eliza (March 7, 2005). "U homevid units in family way". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ↑ Strike, Joe (February 10, 2006). "'Curious' & Curiouser". Animation World Network. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  24. ↑ Snyder, Gabriel; Fritz, Ben (January 18, 2007). "Family films for Universal". Variety. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  25. ↑ Fleming, Michael (March 6, 2008). "Meledandri, Universal team on deals". Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle". Universal Studios Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Rawr: Reba's Voice Will Be In The Next Land Before Time Movie". US99.5. August 18, 2015. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  28. ↑ Milligan, Kaitlin (July 24, 2019). "Curious George Royal Monkey arrives on DVD, Digital 9/10". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  29. ↑ White, Peter (September 3, 2020). "'Curious George: Go West, Go Wild' Film Heads To Peacock As Part Of Kids' Slate". Deadline. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  30. ↑ Nash, Anthony (September 30, 2021). "Exclusive Curious George: Cape Ahoy Clip From Peacock's Animated Film". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  31. ↑ Slatter, Sean (September 12, 2021). "Universal 1440 Entertainment's 'Woody Woodpecker' sequel filming in Victoria". IF Magazine. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  32. ↑ Lang, Jamie (February 1, 2024). "Netflix Announces New Hybrid 'Woody Woodpecker' Feature, Coming April 12". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  33. ↑ Oscars (July 7, 2015). "Short Film Winners: 1991 Oscars" – via YouTube.
  34. ↑ "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (1999)". IMDb – via www.imdb.com.
  35. ↑ Pugh, Chris (June 1, 2016). "Escape from Jurassic Park – 1993 animated series detailed". JurassicOutpost.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  36. ↑ "'Jurassic' series?". The San Bernardino Sun. June 17, 1993. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  37. ↑ Squires, John (December 6, 2016). "Art and Story Details from Cancelled 'Jurassic Park' Animated Series Finally Surface". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  38. ↑ Scott, Ryan (December 6, 2016). "Canceled Jurassic Park Animated Series Full Season Details Revealed". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  39. ↑ Pugh, Chris (December 5, 2016). "The Entire First Season of the Cancelled Jurassic Park Television Series Revealed (Exclusive)". Jurassic Outpost. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  40. ↑ Stout, William (April 26, 2014). "My Top Ten Favorite Dinosaur Films – Part One". WilliamStout.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  41. ↑ Duffy, Mike (July 15, 1993). "Dinosaur TV 'toons are extinct for now". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  42. ↑ Fahey, Mike (July 19, 2015). "Crash Bandicoot Could Have Had These Sweet Animated Cutscenes". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  43. ↑ Good, Owen S. (July 19, 2015). "Long-lost Crash Bandicoot animation was for the game first, a cartoon series second". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  44. ↑ Finkelstein, Dan (July 20, 1997). "What's New". Dan's The Lost World Page. Archived from the original on June 3, 2000.
  45. ↑ Finkelstein, Dan (July 22, 1997). "What's New". Dan's The Lost World Page. Archived from the original on June 3, 2000.
  46. 1 2 Finkelstein, Dan (November 11, 1997). "Chaos Effect". Dan's The Lost World Page. Archived from the original on September 9, 1999.
  47. 1 2 "Chaos Effect". JPToys.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Interview With Tim Bradley". JPToys.com. March 1, 2008. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.