List of Universal Pictures theatrical animated features

Last updated

This list of theatrical animated feature films consists of animated films released by Universal Pictures.

Contents

Universal Pictures releases films from Universal-owned and non-Universal owned animation studios. Most films listed below are from Illumination Entertainment which began as the feature animation department of Universal, producing its first feature-length animated film Despicable Me in 2010. Beginning with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World in 2019, Universal also released animated films by DreamWorks Animation, which was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2016. [1] [2] [3]

Other studio units have also released films theatrically, primarily Universal Animation Studios which produced a few theatrical animated films before focusing on animating television shows and direct-to-video films, and the studio's distribution unit, which acquires film rights from outside animation studios to release films under the Universal Pictures or Focus Features film labels. For example, Laika's stop-motion animated features were released by Universal through its Focus Features label. Other studios globally have released films through Universal Pictures which maintains distribution rights in certain territories.

Films

Released

Color legend
Universal Animation Studios  
Illumination Entertainment  
Amblin Entertainment  
DreamWorks Animation  
Other Universal studio 
Third-party studio 
TitleOriginal theatrical release date [rls 1] Animation studio
The Snow Queen [R] [S] November 20, 1959 [rls 2] Soyuzmultfilm  
Pinocchio in Outer Space December 22, 1965 Belvision Studios
An American Tail November 21, 1986 Amblin Entertainment
Sullivan Bluth Studios 		 
The Land Before Time November 18, 1988
Jetsons: The Movie [R] July 6, 1990 Hanna-Barbera  
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West November 22, 1991 Amblimation  
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story November 24, 1993
Balto December 22, 1995
The Abrafaxe – Under The Black Flag [R] October 25, 2001(German) [st 1] Abrafaxe Trickfilm 
Momo [R] December 21, 2001(Italy) [st 1] Taurus Produktion
Curious George February 10, 2006 Universal Animation Studios  
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie [R] January 11, 2008 Big Idea Entertainment
Starz Animation 		 
The Tale of Despereaux December 19, 2008Universal Animation Studios 
Coraline [R] February 6, 2009 Laika [st 2]  
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! July 10, 2009(Denmark) [rls 3] Universal Animation Studios 
9 [R] September 9, 2009 Starz Animation [st 2]  
Nikté [R] December 18, 2009(Mexico) [st 1] Animex Producciones
Despicable Me July 9, 2010 Illumination Entertainment  
Hop [S] April 1, 2011
The Lorax March 2, 2012
ParaNorman [R] August 17, 2012Laika [st 2]  
Despicable Me 2 July 3, 2013Illumination Entertainment 
Underdogs July 18, 2013(Argentina) [st 1] Prana Studios  
Moshi Monsters: The Movie December 20, 2013 [st 1] Spider Eye Productions
The Boxtrolls [R] September 26, 2014Laika [st 2]
Yellowbird [R] October 11, 2014 [st 1] TeamTO
Minions July 10, 2015Illumination Entertainment 
Ratchet & Clank [R] April 29, 2016 Rainmaker Entertainment [st 3]  
The Secret Life of Pets July 8, 2016Illumination Entertainment 
Kubo and the Two Strings [R] August 19, 2016Laika [st 2]  
Ethel & Ernest October 28, 2016 [st 1] Cloth Cat Animation
Sing December 21, 2016Illumination Entertainment 
Despicable Me 3 June 30, 2017
Woody Woodpecker [S] October 5, 2017(Brazil) [rls 3] Universal Animation Studios 
The Boss Baby [R] March 21, 2018(Japan) [rls 4] [st 1] DreamWorks Animation  
The Grinch November 9, 2018Illumination Entertainment 
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World [R] February 22, 2019DreamWorks Animation 
The Secret Life of Pets 2 June 7, 2019 [4] Illumination Entertainment 
Abominable [R] September 27, 2019 [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] DreamWorks Animation 
The Addams Family [R] October 11, 2019 [st 1] Cinesite Studios  
Trolls World Tour [R] April 10, 2020 [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] DreamWorks Animation  
SLive-action/animation film
ROnly released by Universal, not produced by them

Upcoming

TitleIntended theatrical release date
by Universal Pictures 		Animation Studio
The Croods 2 [R] December 23, 2020 [16] [17] DreamWorks Animation 
The Boss Baby 2 [R] March 26, 2021 [18]
Spirit Riding Free [R] May 14, 2021 [19]
Minions: The Rise of Gru July 2, 2021 [4] [17] [20] Illumination Entertainment 
The Bad Guys [R] September 17, 2021 [19] DreamWorks Animation 
Sing 2 December 22, 2021 [4] [17] [20] Illumination Entertainment 
TBAApril 15, 2022 [21] DreamWorks Animation 
July 1, 2022 [22] Illumination Entertainment 
December 21, 2022 [22]
Untitled animated Mario film2022 [23] [24]
TBAApril 7, 2023 [21] DreamWorks Animation 
June 30, 2023 [22] Illumination Entertainment 

Highest-grossing films

RankFilmWorldwide grossStudioYearRef.
1 Minions $1,159,398,397 Illumination 2015 [25]
2 Despicable Me 3 $1,034,799,4092017 [26]
3 Despicable Me 2 $970,761,8852013 [27]
4 The Secret Life of Pets $875,457,9372016 [28]
5 Sing $634,151,679 [29]
6 Despicable Me $543,113,9852010 [30]
7 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World $519,758,180 DreamWorks Animation 2019. [31]
8 The Grinch $511,303,509Illumination2018 [32]
9 The Secret Life of Pets 2 $432,982,6782019 [33]
10 The Lorax $348,840,3162012 [34]

Notes

Release Notes

  1. ↑ Listed are the original theatrical release dates in the United States (or other non-U.S. territories) when the film was contributed by Universal. Different distributors are attributed and credited for distributing each film throughout the history of Universal.
  2. ↑ Original release date was November 15, 1957
  3. 1 2 Not released theatrically in the United States
  4. ↑ Original release date was March 31, 2017

Studio/Production Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Released by Universal outside North America
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Released by Focus Features.
  3. ↑ Released by Gramercy Pictures.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Illumination is an American film and animation studio founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007 and owned by Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. Meledandri produces the movies while Universal finances and distributes all the films. The studio is responsible for the Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets film series, and the film Sing. The Minions, characters from the Despicable Me series, are the studio's mascots.

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<i>Despicable Me 2</i> 2013 American 3D computer-animated comedy film

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<i>Trolls World Tour</i> 2020 animated film directed by Walt Dohrn

Trolls World Tour is a 2020 American computer-animated jukebox musical film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is a sequel to the 2016 film Trolls, directed by Walt Dohrn with co-direction by David P. Smith, produced by Gina Shay, and written by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Elizabeth Tippet, Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky, from a story by Aibel and Berger. The film stars the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom, James Corden, Ron Funches, Kelly Clarkson, Anderson Paak, Sam Rockwell, George Clinton and Mary J. Blige.

References

  1. ↑ "Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ "NBCUniversal Unveils New DreamWorks Annimation Senior Management". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  3. ↑ McNary, Dave (August 22, 2016). "Comcast Completes $3.8 Billion Purchase of DreamWorks Animation". Variety. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Kroll, Justin (January 25, 2017). "'Sing 2' Set for Christmas Day 2020 Release". Variety. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (March 26, 2014). "DreamWorks Adopts FLIX for Story Development". Animation Magazine. Retrieved March 27, 2014. Culton, who made her directorial debut with Sony's Open Season, is currently writing and directing a film about a young girl and a Yeti for DWA with the working title Everest.
  6. ↑ "Two in One Interview: NY Illustrators – Character Designers". ctnanimationexpo.com. CTN Animation Expo. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ Gachman, Dina (March 21, 2013). "Bringing 'The Croods' to Life: A Spotlight Interview with Producers Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell". Studio System News. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 5, 2016). "'How To Train Your Dragon 3' Flies To 2019; Uni's DWA To Scale'Treasure Island'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ McNary, Dave (18 May 2018). "DreamWorks-Pearl Studio Animated Movie 'Everest' Retitled 'Abominable' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "@Trolls". twitter.com.
  11. ↑ Lee, Ashley (February 28, 2017). "Universal Sets 'Trolls' Sequel for 2020 Debut". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 28, 2017). "Universal DreamWorks Animation Announces 'Trolls 2'; Sets for April 10, 2020". Variety.
  13. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 6, 2017). "'Fast & Furious 9' Drives To Easter Weekend 2020; 'Trolls 2' Moves To Spring 2020 – Update". Deadline.
  14. ↑ "Emmys: Trolls Light Up Animation Race With Holiday Special". Hollywood Reporter. June 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony; D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-03-04). "'Trolls World Tour' Fills Easter Void Left By 'No Time To Die'". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  16. ↑ Fuster, Jeremy (September 19, 2017). "Universal Revives 'Croods 2,' Sets DreamWorks Animation Sequel for 2020". The Wrap.
  17. 1 2 3 D'Alessandro, Anthony (12 April 2019). "'Sing 2' To Croon Summer 2021; 'The Croods 2' Moves To Holiday Season 2020". Deadline.
  18. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (May 25, 2017). "'Boss Baby 2' With Alec Baldwin to Hit Theaters in Spring 2021". Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  19. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (7 October 2019). "DreamWorks Animation & Universal To Release 'Spirit Riding Free' & 'The Bad Guys' In 2021". Deadline. Deadline. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  20. 1 2 Tartaglione, Nancy (April 1, 2020). "'Minions: The Rise Of Gru', 'Sing 2' Set New 2021 Release Dates; 'Wicked' Still Brewing Slot". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  21. 1 2 "DreamWorks Animation Stakes Release Dates For 2021 & Beyond". dealine.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  22. 1 2 3 Yee, Lawrence (February 2, 2017). "Illumination, Universal Add Four More Animated Films to Slate". Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  23. ↑ Pallotta, Frank (November 14, 2017). "'Super Mario Bros.' animated movie in the works at Illumination Entertainment". CNNMoney. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  24. ↑ Lang, Brent (6 November 2018). "Inside Illumination's Plans for Animated 'Super Mario Bros.' Movie". Variety. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  25. ↑ "Minions". Box Office Mojo.
  26. ↑ "Despicable Me 3". Box Office Mojo.
  27. ↑ "Despicable Me 2". Box Office Mojo.
  28. ↑ "The Secret Life of Pets". Box Office Mojo.
  29. ↑ "Sing". Box Office Mojo.
  30. ↑ "Despicable Me". Box Office Mojo.
  31. ↑ "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World". Box Office Mojo.
  32. ↑ "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch". Box Office Mojo.
  33. ↑ "The Secret Life of Pets 2". Box Office Mojo.
  34. ↑ "The Lorax". Box Office Mojo.
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