The term independent animation refers to animated shorts, web series, and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry.
Cool World is a 1992 American live-action/adult animated fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi and written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor. Starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne and Brad Pitt, it tells the story of a cartoonist who finds himself in the cartoon-like universe he thinks he created, but has existed long before. In this world, he is seduced by one of the characters, a femme fatale who wants to become human.
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA) (also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio owned by Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The studio has released a total of 48 feature films, including several of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, with Shrek 2 (2004) having been the highest at the time of its release. Its first film, Antz, was released on October 2, 1998, and its latest film was Kung Fu Panda 4 on March 8, 2024; their upcoming theatrical slate of films includes The Wild Robot on September 20, 2024, Dog Man on January 31, 2025, and The Bad Guys 2 on August 1, 2025. Additionally, DreamWorks has reserved a release date for an untitled animated film on September 26, 2025
Last Days of Coney Island is a 2015 American adult animated short film written, produced, directed and animated by Ralph Bakshi. The story concerns a NYPD detective, the sex worker he alternately loves and arrests, and the seedy characters that haunt the streets of New York City's run-down amusement district. It is notable for being the last film that Bakshi directed and animated before he retired from animation.
Thomas McGrath is an American voice actor, animator and filmmaker. He is known for the DreamWorks animated film Madagascar, which he co-wrote and directed with Eric Darnell while voicing the character of Skipper the Penguin. The film spawned two direct sequels. along with a spin-off animated series and film based on the penguins in which McGrath reprised his role as Skipper. McGrath has also directed other DreamWorks animated films such as Megamind and The Boss Baby and its 2021 sequel.
Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the box office success of Paramount's own Rango and the end of their distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation in 2012.
Trolls is a 2016 American animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls created by Thomas Dam. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Walt Dohrn, from a screenplay by the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, based on a story by Erica Rivinoja. It stars the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Baranski, Russell Brand, James Corden, John Cleese, and Gwen Stefani. The film follows two trolls named Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) who go on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Bergens, giant creatures who eat Trolls to be happy.
Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia is an American animated fantasy television series created by Guillermo del Toro and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and Double Dare You Productions for Netflix, based on the 2015 novel Trollhunters by del Toro and Daniel Kraus. It follows the story of James "Jim" Lake Jr., a teenage boy who finds a mysterious amulet and stumbles across a secret realm inhabited by trolls and other magical creatures. Soon afterward, he and his friends are charged with protecting the world from the dangerous monsters that lurk in the shadows of their small suburban town.
Amanda Moreno Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series The Powerpuff Girls, Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, and Polly Plantar in the 2019 Disney Channel animated series Amphibia. She is also known for her recurring role as Emma in the Freeform drama series The Fosters.
The Boss Baby is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name written by Marla Frazee, it was directed by Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Michael McCullers, and stars the voices of Alec Baldwin as the title character, along with Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Miles Bakshi, and Tobey Maguire. The first installment in The Boss Baby franchise, the plot follows a 7-year-old boy named Tim helping his baby brother who is a secret agent in the war for adults' love between babies and puppies.
Dave Pressler is an American illustrator, animator, sculptor, character designer and painter based in Los Angeles. Much of his work focuses on whimsical portrayals of robots and strange, fantastical creatures. He is perhaps best known for his Emmy-nominated, short-lived Nickelodeon series Robot and Monster, which he created and produced with Joshua Sternin and Jennifer Ventimilia.
Home: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the 2015 animated film Home, based on the 2007 children book The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. It features songs recorded by Rihanna, Clarence Coffee Jr., Kiesza, Charli XCX, Jacob Plant, and Jennifer Lopez. It was released on March 13, 2015 through Westbury Road and Roc Nation. Following the announcement that Rihanna would star in the film, it was revealed she would release a concept album based on the animated film. As the executive producer of the soundtrack, she called on various artists to feature on the album. Rihanna's "Towards the Sun" and Jennifer Lopez's "Feel the Light" were released as singles to promote the album and movie.
Harvey Girls Forever! is an American animated comedy television series produced by Brendan Hay and Aliki Theofilopoulos for DreamWorks Animation Television, and is based on comic book characters from Harvey Comics. It premiered on June 29, 2018, on Netflix and concluded on January 10, 2020.
The Boss Baby: Family Business, known in other territories as The Boss Baby 2, is a 2021 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book The Boss Baby and its 2016 sequel The Bossier Baby by Marla Frazee, it is the second installment in The Boss Baby franchise and the sequel to The Boss Baby (2017). The film was again directed by Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Michael McCullers, and a story by McGrath and McCullers. It stars the voices of James Marsden, Amy Sedaris, Ariana Greenblatt, Jeff Goldblum, and Eva Longoria, while Alec Baldwin, Jimmy Kimmel, and Lisa Kudrow reprise their roles from the first film.
Trolls is an American animated media franchise created by DreamWorks Animation, inspired by the successful line of Troll doll toys created by Thomas Dam. It follows the adventures of a pair of trolls named Poppy and Branch as they live among their village of pop-singing trolls. The franchise consists of three feature films, Trolls, released in 2016, Trolls World Tour, released in 2020, and Trolls Band Together, released in 2023. The franchise has been supplemented by two holiday television specials titled Trolls Holiday and Trolls: Holiday in Harmony, and two animated series: Trolls: The Beat Goes On! on Netflix, and Trolls: TrollsTopia on Hulu and Peacock. The Trolls franchise made $5 billion in retail sales by 2005.
The Boss Baby is an American media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee. The franchise began with the 2017 film The Boss Baby and has since grown to include a sequel, Family Business; two television series, Back in Business and Back in the Crib, and two television specials, The Boss Baby: Get That Baby, and The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus.
Trolls: TrollsTopia is an animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation based on the 3D computer-animated comedy musical films Trolls and Trolls World Tour, and the sequel to Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, taking place between World Tour and Trolls Band Together. The series premiered on Hulu and Peacock on November 19, 2020. A second season was released on March 18, 2021, a third season was released on June 10, 2021, a fourth season was released on September 2, 2021, a fifth season was released on December 9, 2021, a sixth season was released on February 17, 2022, and a seventh and final season was released on August 11, 2022.
John Paul Karliak is an American actor and comedian.
Trolls Band Together is a 2023 American animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls from Thomas Dam. It serves as the sequel to Trolls World Tour (2020), and the third installment in the Trolls franchise. The film was directed by Walt Dohrn and co-directed by Tim Heitz, from a screenplay written by Elizabeth Tippet. Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who wrote the screenplays for the previous installments, returned to serve as executive producers alongside Dannie Festa. Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Icona Pop, Anderson .Paak, Ron Funches, Kenan Thompson, Kunal Nayyar and Dohrn reprise their voice roles from previous films, with newcomers Eric André, Kid Cudi, Daveed Diggs, Troye Sivan, Camila Cabello, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, RuPaul and Zosia Mamet joining the ensemble voice cast. In the film, Branch (Timberlake) and Poppy (Kendrick), who are officially a couple, attempt to rescue Floyd (Sivan) while reuniting Branch's brothers after the boyband phenomenon, BroZone, was disbanded.
