Formerly | Universal Cartoon Studios (1990–2005) |
---|---|
Company type | Division |
Industry | Animation |
Predecessor | Studio: Walter Lantz Productions Library: Sullivan Bluth Studios Amblimation |
Founded | 1990[1] |
Headquarters |
|
Number of locations | 2 |
Products | Animated films Animated television shows |
Parent | Universal Pictures |
Universal Animation Studios LLC [5] (formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios) is an American animation studio and a division of Universal Pictures, which is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast. It has produced direct-to-video sequels to Universal-released feature films, such as The Land Before Time , An American Tail , Balto , and Curious George , as well as other films and television series.
The actual animation production is done overseas, usually by foreign animation studios such as AKOM, Wang Film Productions and Rough Draft Studios, while pre-production and post-production is United States–based.
The television animation divisions of Universal and DreamWorks merged on August 23, 2016, after Universal completed its acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, who began producing a majority of Universal Pictures' family-friendly TV shows. [6]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2021) |
Universal Animation Studios was established in 1990 as Universal Cartoon Studios, the animation division of MCA Inc. [7] It was originally a subsidiary of Universal Family Entertainment, which was headed by Jeff Segal. [8] 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. [9] [10]
In 1996, the two groups Universal Family Entertainment and its subsidiary Universal Cartoon Studios were absorbed into MCA Television Entertainment. [11]
In 2005, Universal Cartoon Studios was absorbed into Universal Studios Family Productions, and later on, it was renamed to Universal Animation Studios. [12] [13]
This is not including the original films of An American Tail , The Land Before Time and Balto made by either Hanna-Barbera Productions, Sullivan Bluth Studios or Amblimation.
Titles | Release dates | Movies | TV Seasons |
---|---|---|---|
Woody Woodpecker | 1991–present1 | 2 | 6 |
An American Tail | 1986–1999 | 4 | 1 |
The Land Before Time | 1988–present | 14 | 2 |
Balto | 1995–2004 | 3 | 0 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks | 1999–2000 | 2 | 0 |
Curious George | 2006–present | 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.
# | Title | Release date | Director | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Co-production with | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Story | Screenplay | ||||||
1 | Curious George | February 10, 2006 | Matthew O'Callaghan | Ken Kaufman Mike Werb | Ken Kaufman | Ron Howard David Kirschner Jon Shapiro | Imagine Entertainment |
2 | Woody Woodpecker [R] [S] | October 5, 2017 | Alex Zamm | William Robertson Alex Zamm Daniel Altiere Steven Altiere | William Robertson Alex Zamm | Mike Elliott | Universal 1440 Entertainment |
# | Title | Release date | Co-production with | |
---|---|---|---|---|
as Universal Cartoon Studios | ||||
1 | Van Helsing: The London Assignment [A] | May 11, 2004 | N/A | |
2 | The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury [A] | June 15, 2004 |
# | 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 |
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen, and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough. It is the first installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, and is based on Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp. The film is set on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, off Central America's Pacific Coast near Costa Rica, where a wealthy businessman John Hammond (Attenborough), and a team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of de-extinct dinosaurs. When industrial sabotage leads to a catastrophic shutdown of the park's power facilities and security precautions, a small group of visitors, including Hammond's grandchildren, struggle to survive and escape the now perilous island.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.
Modern animation in the United States from the late 1980s to 2004 is frequently referred to as the renaissance age of American animation. During this period, many large American entertainment companies reformed and reinvigorated their animation departments, following the dark age, and the United States had an influence on global and worldwide animation.
Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio that was active from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972. It was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures.
Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures since 1940. Woody's last theatrical cartoon was produced by Walter Lantz in 1972.
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.
Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor. It is the third installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the final film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, following The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). It is also the first film in the franchise not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as the first not to be based on a novel by Michael Crichton; however, the film features characters and ideas by Crichton. Sam Neill and Laura Dern reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan and Michael Jeter. The plot involves a divorced couple who, via subterfuge, enlist the help of paleontologist Alan Grant to find their son, who has gone missing on Isla Sorna.
Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are located in Bungalow 477 of the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, California. It distributes all of the films from Amblin Partners under the Amblin Entertainment banner.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 American science fiction action film, directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp. It is the second installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the original Jurassic Park trilogy. A sequel to 1993's Jurassic Park, it is loosely based on Michael Crichton's 1995 novel The Lost World. Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough reprise their roles from the original film with Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, and Arliss Howard joining the cast.
The Land Before Time is a 1988 animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Stu Krieger and a story by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. It is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall. The film stars the voices of Judith Barsi, Burke Byrnes, Gabriel Damon, Bill Erwin, Pat Hingle, Candace Hutson, Will Ryan and Helen Shaver. It is the first film in the Land Before Time franchise.
Film Roman, LLC, is an American animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and currently by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of producer Steve Waterman.
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated Western musical adventure film directed by Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells, with producer Steven Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment and animated by his Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. A sequel to 1986's An American Tail, the film follows the story of the Mousekewitzes, a family of Russian-Jewish mice who emigrate to the Wild West. In it, Fievel is separated from his family as the train approaches the American Old West; the film chronicles him and Sheriff Wylie Burp teaching Tiger how to act like a dog.
Jurassic World is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the Jurassic World series and the fourth installment overall in the Jurassic Park film series, following Jurassic Park III (2001). The film stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, and Irrfan Khan. Wong reprised his role from the original Jurassic Park film. Set 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, Jurassic World takes place on the same fictional island of Isla Nublar, located off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. A successful theme park of cloned dinosaurs, dubbed Jurassic World, has operated on the island for years, bringing John Hammond's dream to fruition. The park plunges into chaos when a transgenic dinosaur escapes from its enclosure and goes on a rampage, while a conspiracy orchestrated by the park's staff creates more dangers.
Phil Tippett is an American film director and visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, he has assisted ILM and DreamWorks, and in 1984 formed his own company, Tippett Studio.
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a 1993 animated adventure comedy film directed by Dick Zondag, Ralph Zondag, Phil Nibbelink, and Simon Wells from a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley. Based on the 1987 Hudson Talbott children's book of the same name, it tells the story of three dinosaurs and one pterosaur who travel to the present day and become intelligent by eating a "Brain Grain" cereal invented by scientist Captain Neweyes. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation studio and features the voices of John Goodman, Felicity Kendal, Charles Fleischer, Walter Cronkite, Jay Leno, Julia Child, Kenneth Mars, Yeardley Smith, and Martin Short.
Don Bluth Entertainment was an Irish-American animation studio established in 1979 by animator Don Bluth. Bluth and several colleagues, all of whom were former Disney animators, left Disney on September 13, 1979, to form Don Bluth Productions, later known as the Bluth Group. This studio produced the short film Banjo the Woodpile Cat, the feature film The Secret of NIMH, a brief animation sequence in the musical Xanadu, and the video games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. Bluth then co-founded Sullivan Bluth Studios with American businessman Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy and Morris Sullivan in 1985.
Jurassic Park, later also referred to as Jurassic World, is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment bought the rights to Crichton's novel Jurassic Park before it was published. The book was successful, as was Steven Spielberg's 1993 film adaptation. The film received a theatrical 3D re-release in 2013, and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Crichton's 1995 sequel novel, The Lost World, was followed by a 1997 film adaptation, also directed by Spielberg. Crichton did not write any further sequels in the series, although Spielberg would return as executive producer for each subsequent film, starting with Jurassic Park III (2001).
Production of the 2015 film Jurassic World was stalled for years in development hell while the film's storyline underwent numerous revisions. Development of the film, known then as Jurassic Park IV, began in 2001. William Monahan was announced as screenwriter in 2002, and the film was scheduled for a 2005 release. When Monahan left to work on another project, he was replaced in 2004 by John Sayles. By 2005, the start of production had stalled, as executive producer Steven Spielberg was not satisfied with any of the script drafts. In 2006, Jurassic Park III director Joe Johnston was set to direct the film. After missing a 2008 release, Johnston and Spielberg intended to work on the film following the completion of their own respective film projects. Writer Mark Protosevich was hired in 2011, although two story treatments by him were rejected.
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous is an American science fiction action-adventure animated television series developed by Zack Stentz for Netflix and is the first television series in the Jurassic Park franchise, set before, during, and after the events of the film Jurassic World (2015). Aaron Hammersley and Scott Kreamer serve as showrunners and executive produce the series along with Lane Lueras, Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow, and Frank Marshall. The main cast features the voices of Paul-Mikél Williams, Sean Giambrone, Kausar Mohammed, Jenna Ortega, Ryan Potter, and Raini Rodriguez as a group of teenage campers who become stranded on Isla Nublar after multiple dinosaurs escape their habitats.
First use 4-5-1991, in commerce 4-5-1991.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)