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 49 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, The Wild Robot, was released on September 27, 2024. They have an upcoming theatrical slate of films, which includes Dog Man on January 31, 2025, How to Train Your Dragon on June 13, 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.
Dean Allan DeBlois is a Canadian filmmaker and animator. He is best known for writing and directing the Oscar-nominated animated feature films Lilo & Stitch for Walt Disney Animation Studios, the How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy for DreamWorks Animation, and directing the documentary Heima about the Icelandic band Sigur Rós.
Mike Mitchell is an American film director, writer, producer, actor and animator. He is known for directing Sky High (2005), Shrek Forever After (2010), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), Trolls (2016), The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019), and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024).
Christopher Meledandri is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation, and has worked as the producer for the film series of Ice Age, Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing. In 2021, he joined Nintendo's board of directors after working with the video game company on The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Meledandri also collaborates with Illumination's corporate sibling DreamWorks Animation on reviving the Shrek franchise.
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.
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, 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.
Trolls World Tour is a 2020 American animated jukebox musical fantasy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls created by Thomas Dam. The sequel to Trolls (2016) and the second installment in the franchise, the film was directed by Walt Dohrn and co-directed by David P. Smith, from a screenplay by Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Elizabeth Tippet, and the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, and a story by Aibel and Berger. The film features 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. The film follows Poppy and Branch as they discover several more troll tribes that represent music genres other than their own. Troubles arise when the Queen of the Rock tribe Barb plans to overthrow the foreign music genres to unite the trolls under rock music.
Trolls: The Beat Goes On! is an American animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation. Based on the 3D computer-animated comedy musical film Trolls, the show premiered on Netflix on January 19, 2018, in the United States and takes place between the events of the first film and the sequel, Trolls World Tour. Amanda Leighton, Skylar Astin, Kari Wahlgren, Sam Lerner, David Kaye, David Fynn, Sean T. Krishnan, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Fryda Wolff provide the new voices for Princess Poppy, Branch, Bridget, King Gristle, King Peppy, Biggie and Mr. Dinkles, Guy Diamond, Smidge, DJ Suki and Satin & Chenille for this series respectively; only Ron Funches and Walt Dohrn reprise their roles as Cooper and Cloud Guy, also respectively. Matt Lowe also voices Creek in the series, who returns in "Creek Week".
Shrek 5 is an upcoming American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book Shrek! by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to Shrek Forever After (2010), it serves as the fifth main installment and the seventh overall installment in the Shrek film series. The film is directed by Walt Dohrn and co-directed by Brad Ableson from a screenplay written by Michael McCullers, and produced by Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri and Gina Shay. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz will reprise their respective voice roles as Shrek, Donkey, and Princess Fiona.
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.
Joel Crawford is an American film director and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the DreamWorks Animation films The Croods: A New Age (2020) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), with the latter nominated him for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
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, and written by Elizabeth Tippet.
The Bad Guys is a media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey. The franchise began with the 2022 film The Bad Guys, and has since grown to include two holiday specials, which were released on Netflix in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and a sequel, The Bad Guys 2, set for release on August 1, 2025.
