Conrad Vernon is an American voice actor, director, producer, writer, and storyboard artist best known for his work on the DreamWorks animated film series Shrek as well as other films such as Monsters vs. Aliens, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, and Penguins of Madagascar. He also co-directed non-DreamWorks animated films such as Sony Pictures' Sausage Party and MGM’s The Addams Family.
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company in their copyright bylines.
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, Kung Fu Panda 4, was released on March 8, 2024. They have an upcoming theatrical slate of films, which includes The Wild Robot on September 27, 2024, Dog Man on January 31, 2025, The Bad Guys 2 on August 1, 2025, Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie on September 26, 2025, and Shrek 5 on July 1, 2026.
Pacific Data Images (PDI) was an American visual effects and computer animation production company based in Redwood City, California, that was bought by DreamWorks SKG in 2000. It was renamed PDI/DreamWorks and was owned by DreamWorks Animation.
Games Animation, Inc., d/b/a Nickelodeon Animation Studio, is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has created many original television programs for Nickelodeon, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Loud House, among various others. Since the 2010s, the studio has also produced its own series based on preexisting IP purchased by Paramount Global, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club. In November 2019, Nickelodeon Animation Studio signed a multiple-year output deal for Netflix, which will include producing content, in both new and preexisting IP, for the streaming platform.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a 2008 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to Madagascar (2005) and the second installment in the franchise. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath and written by Etan Cohen, Darnell, and McGrath. The film features Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Elisa Gabrielli, McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, and Conrad Vernon reprising their voice acting roles from the first film, joined by new cast members Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Sherri Shepherd, and will.i.am, as well as voice acting veteran John DiMaggio. In the film, the main characters, a party of animals from the Central Park Zoo whose adventures have taken them to Madagascar find themselves in the African savannas, where they meet others of their species and where Alex the lion reunites with his parents.
Eric Darnell is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, screenwriter, songwriter and occasional voice actor best known for co-directing Antz with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing and co-writing Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted with Tom McGrath, as well as the spin off Penguins of Madagascar (2014) with Simon J. Smith.
Peter A. Ramsey is an American illustrator, storyboard artist, and filmmaker. He is best known for directing DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians (2012), becoming the first African American to direct a major American animated film, and co-directing Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). For Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Bonnie Arnold is an American film producer and executive who has worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation. Arnold was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and rose to prominence in Hollywood during the initial wave of computer-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 also directed the DreamWorks animated films Megamind (2010) and The Boss Baby (2017), the latter of which received an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nomination. McGrath returned as director for its 2021 sequel.
Madagascar is a 2005 American animated survival comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks, and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath and written by Darnell, McGrath, Mark Burton, and Billy Frolick. The film stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter. It centers around a group of animals from the Central Park Zoo who find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar and must adjust to living in the wild.
Madagascar is an American media franchise owned and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are featured in the films. It began with the 2005 film Madagascar, the 2008 sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and the third film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012. A spin-off film featuring the penguins, titled Penguins of Madagascar, was released in 2014. A fourth main film, Madagascar 4, was announced for 2018, but has since been removed from its schedule indefinitely due to the studio's restructuring.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The third installment in the Madagascar franchise, it is the sequel to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), and was the first film in the series to be released in 3D. It was directed by Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath from a screenplay written by Darnell and Noah Baumbach. The film stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, John DiMaggio, and Vernon reprising their voice acting roles from the previous installments, alongside new cast members Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short and Frances McDormand. In the film, the main characters—a party of animals from the Central Park Zoo whose adventures have already taken them to Madagascar and Africa—attempt to return to New York City, and find themselves traveling across Europe with a circus while avoid being chased by a villainous French Animal Control officer.
Over the Hedge is a 2006 animated heist comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Based on the comic strip of the same name created by Michael Fry and T. Lewis, the film was directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick from a screenplay by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton and Kirkpatrick, and features the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes and Nick Nolte. Set in Indiana, the film centers on a raccoon named RJ, who is forced to deliver food to a bear named Vincent after accidentally destroying his stockpile of food, whereupon he manipulates a family of woodland animals who have recently awakened from hibernation into helping him steal food in order to speed up the process.
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.
David Soren is a Canadian director, writer, voice actor, and storyboard artist at DreamWorks Animation. His most notable work are TV specials based on the Madagascar film franchise: Merry Madagascar and Madly Madagascar. He directed the 2013 animated feature film Turbo, which is based on his own original concept, as well as the 2017 animated film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie based on Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants book series.
Ramsey Ann Naito is an American producer of animated films who currently serves as the president of Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation. She is best known for her 2017 production The Boss Baby; it earned her several awards and nominations including an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. Her mother was a painter and her Japanese father came from a long line of haiku artists.
