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DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and
television programs A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
and is a subsidiary of
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, a division of
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primar ...
, which is itself a division of
Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
. The studio has released 43 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. The studio's first film, '' Antz'', was released on October 2, 1998 and its latest film was '' Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'', which was released on December 21, 2022; their upcoming slate of films includes '' Trolls 3'' on November 17, 2023 and '' Kung Fu Panda 4'' on March 8, 2024. Additionally, two untitled films are scheduled to be released on February 9, 2024 and September 27, 2024. Formed as a division of DreamWorks Pictures in 1994 with alumni from Amblin Entertainment's former animation branch Amblimation, it was spun off into a separate company in 2004. NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks Animation at a cost of $3.8 billion in 2016. The studio originally made some traditionally animated films, as well as two
stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...
co-productions with Aardman Animations, but now exclusively relies on
computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...
. Its productions, including ''
The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The first feature film from DreamWorks to be traditionally animated, it is an adaptation of the B ...
'', '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', and the '' Shrek'', ''
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
'', '' Kung Fu Panda'', and '' How to Train Your Dragon'' franchises, have received several accolades, including three
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, 41
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s, numerous
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...
s, and multiple
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
and BAFTA nominations. Films produced by DreamWorks Animation were originally distributed by DreamWorks Pictures until 2005.
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
distributed its releases from 2006 through 2012, and
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
from 2013 through 2017. All DWA films have since been released through Universal Pictures, which also owns most of the rights to its back catalogue.


History


DreamWorks SKG era (1994–2004)

On October 12, 1994, a trio of entertainment players, film director and producer
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
, former
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, and music executive David Geffen, founded
DreamWorks SKG DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
(the three letters taken from the surnames of the founders). To build the talent base, Spielberg brought over artists from his London-based studio, Amblimation, while Katzenberg recruited some of the top animation staff from Disney. Some of Amblimation's artists came to DreamWorks in 1995, when the studio's last feature, '' Balto'', was completed, with the rest doing so following the studio's closure in 1997. In 1995, DreamWorks signed a co-production deal with Pacific Data Images to form subsidiary PDI, LLC (PDI owned 60% of PDI, LLC, while DreamWorks SKG owned 40%). This new unit would produce computer-generated feature films, beginning with '' Antz'' in 1998. In the same year, DreamWorks SKG produced ''
The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The first feature film from DreamWorks to be traditionally animated, it is an adaptation of the B ...
'', which used both CGI technology and traditional animation techniques. In 1997, DreamWorks partnered with British
stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...
animation studio Aardman Animations to co-produce and distribute '' Chicken Run'' (2000), a stop-motion film already in pre-production. Two years later they extended the deal for an additional four films. With Aardman doing stop-motion and the existing traditional and computer productions, they covered all three major styles of animation. This partnership had DreamWorks participating in the production of stop-motion films in Bristol, and also had Aardman participating in some of the CGI films made in the United States. Three years later, DreamWorks SKG created DreamWorks Animation, a new business division that would regularly produce both types of animated feature films. The same year DW acquired majority interest (90%) in PDI, and reformed it into PDI/DreamWorks, the Northern California branch of its new business division. In 2001, '' Shrek'' was released and went on to win the first
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Animated Feature Film. Due to the success of CGI animated films, DWA decided the same year to exit hand-drawn animation business after their next two films, '' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'' (2002) and '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'' (2003), making a total of four hand-drawn films. Beginning with '' Shrek 2'' (2004), all released films, other than some co-produced with Aardman, were expected to be produced with CGI. The releases of ''Shrek 2'' and '' Shark Tale'' also made DWA the first animation studio to produce two CGI animated features in a single year.


Public corporation (2004–2016)

The animation division was spun off into a publicly traded company named DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (doing business as DreamWorks Animation LLC) on October 27, 2004, and traded via the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
. Katzenberg headed the new division, while Spielberg and Geffen remained on board as investors and consultants. DWA also inherited interests in PDI/DreamWorks. They made an agreement with their former parent to distribute all of their films until they delivered twelve new films, or December 12, 2010, whichever came last. On January 31, 2006, DWA entered into a distribution agreement with
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, which recently acquired DWA's former parent and distribution partner, DreamWorks SKG. The agreement granted Paramount the worldwide rights to distribute all animated films, including all of their previously released animated films (''Antz'', ''The Prince of Egypt'', '' The Road to El Dorado'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shrek'', ''Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'', ''Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'', ''Shrek 2'', ''Shark Tale'', ''
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
'' and '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit''), until the delivery of 13 new animated feature films or December 31, 2012, whichever came last. ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' was the last film distributed by its former distribution arm and '' Over the Hedge'' was the first film distributed by Paramount. DWA's partnership with Aardman ended after the release of '' Flushed Away'' in November 2006, having delivered three out of five films. The announcement was made before the film's release, on October 3, citing "creative differences". DWA retained the co-ownership of rights to all films co-produced with Aardman, with an exception being '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' (2005), for which they only kept the worldwide distribution rights. On March 13, 2007, DreamWorks Animation announced it would release all of its films, beginning with '' Monsters vs. Aliens'' (2009), in stereoscopic 3D. Together with
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...
, they co-developed a new 3D film-making technology,
InTru3D InTru3DUS Patent no. 6,687,003 was a brand that identifies content that may be viewed in stereoscopic 3D. Motion pictures or other visual media bearing the brand are developed through animation technology developed by Intel Corporation in partner ...
. In 2008, DWA extended its production pipeline into
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, where they established a special unit within Technicolor, named DreamWorks Dedicated Unit. The unit is owned by Technicolor, but DreamWorks hires and trains the animators, who then contribute to DreamWorks projects. DDU at first worked only on TV specials, such as '' Merry Madagascar'' (2009), '' Scared Shrekless'' (2010), and DVD projects. Eventually they started contributing to DreamWorks' feature films as well, beginning with animating part of '' Puss in Boots'' (2011). Since 2009, the studio has been regularly listed in ''Fortune'' Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For". As the only entertainment company on the list, they ranked 47th in 2009, 6th in 2010, 10th in 2011, 14th in 2012, and 12th in 2013. Beginning in 2010, the studio had planned to release five feature films over the course of every two years, but the next year the studio revisited their plans, "but beyond 2012, Katzenberg said the studio will play it by year, even if that means abandoning his proclamation that DWA would try to release three pictures in a single year, every other year." In 2010, DWA became the first animation studio that released three feature-length CG-animated films in a year. The same year, the company purchased the film rights to the Trolls franchise.


Diversification and expansion (2012–2015)

In July 2012, DreamWorks Animation won a $155 million bid to acquire Classic Media, which has since been renamed to DreamWorks Classics. In August 2012, DreamWorks Animation formed a joint venture with Chinese investment companies to establish a
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
-based entertainment company, named
Oriental DreamWorks Shanghai Pearl Studio Film and Television Technology Co., Ltd, doing business as Pearl Studio, formerly known as Oriental DreamWorks, the trade name of Shanghai Oriental DreamWorks Film & Television Technology Co., Ltd., is a Chinese animation f ...
, to develop and produce original Chinese films and their derivatives. According to a ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' report, DreamWorks Animation was in talks with
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
to distribute its upcoming films, such as the 2013 releases of '' The Croods'' and ''
Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...
''. The report also mentioned a possibility where Sony would handle United States distribution while
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
would handle international distribution. Renewal of the deal with Paramount was also open, but only with more favorable terms for Paramount (they even offered a one-year extension of the deal, but Katzenberg desired to get a better deal). Around the same time, DreamWorks Animation entered talks with Warner Bros. for a potential distribution deal as well, only to be turned down by the studio. In August 2012, DreamWorks Animation signed a five-year distribution deal with 20th Century Fox for all territories. However, the deal did not include the distribution rights of previously released films, which DWA acquired from Paramount later in 2014. '' Rise of the Guardians'' (2012) was the last DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Paramount, and '' The Croods'' became the first DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Fox. On April 11, 2013, DreamWorks Animation announced that it has acquired the intellectual property for the Trolls franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things. DreamWorks Animation, which has "big plans for the franchise", has become the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights, except for Scandinavia, where Dam Things remains the licensor. On May 1, Katzenberg and DWA announced their intent to purchase
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel AwesomenessTV, which was finalized later in the month. The following month, DWA announced a multi-year content deal to provide 300 hours of exclusive original content to the
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
Internet
streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
provider,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
. Part of the intent of the deal was in part to establish a more reliable income for DWA to defray the financial risk of solely relying on the theatrical film market. The next day, DWA completed a five-year licensing agreement with Super RTL to start that September for the Classic Media library and the Netflix slate. With the Netflix and Super RTL deals in place for TV, DWA announced executive hiring for its new television group, DreamWorks Animation Television in late July. Former Nickelodeon senior executive Margie Cohn became Head of Television for the group. In September that same year, DreamWorks announced that it has acquired the TV library of London-based Chapman Entertainment with the programs to distributed through DWA's UK-based TV distribution operation. The next year, in February, DreamWorks announced the foundation of a new publishing division called DreamWorks Press, to publish books in print and digital form. In June, the rights to Felix the Cat were acquired by DreamWorks Animation from Felix the Cat Productions, owned by Don Oriolo. The same month,
DreamWorksTV DreamWorksTV (also stylized DreamWorks TV and Dtv) is a 2016 television series broadcast in Canada on both Family Channel and Family Chrgd. Each episode is a compilation of videos originally released as distinct YouTube videos from the YouTube ...
channel debuted on YouTube and operated by AwesomenessTV. DreamWorks Animation then purchased Paramount's distribution rights to the pre-2013 library in July, and since then, DreamWorks Animation's then-distribution partner 20th Century Fox has distributed the library on their behalf until 2018, in which DreamWorks Animation's sister studio
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
has assumed these responsibilities. The studio was reported to be acquired twice in the end of 2014. First, it was reported in September that the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank was in talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation for a price of $3.4 billion, but the next day, it was reported that SoftBank had withdrawn its offer. Next on November 12, it was reported that Hasbro was in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation in November. The proposal reportedly calls for the combined company to take the name "DreamWorks-Hasbro" and for Jeffrey Katzenberg to become its chairman, but as a matter of policy, neither Hasbro nor DWA publicly comment on mergers and acquisitions. Two days later, the talks were reported to have fallen through. DreamWorks Animation announced their launch into the television broadcasting business on December 9, 2014, by creating their own channel called the DreamWorks Channel. With HBO Asia handling affiliate sales, marketing and technical services, the network will launch in several Asian countries (except China and Japan) in the second half of 2015. The channel first premiered in English on August 1, 2015, and a Thai-dubbed channel launched in September 2015. Also in December, DWA sold a 25% stake in AwesomenessTV for $81.25 million to the Hearst Corporation. On January 5, 2015, DreamWorks Animation announced that Bonnie Arnold, producer of the '' How to Train Your Dragon'' series and Mireille Soria, producer of the ''
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
'' series were named co-presidents of the studio's feature animation division. At the same time, it was also announced that Bill Damaschke will step down from his position as Chief Creative Officer. So far, under Arnold and Soria's current tenure they signed
Jason Reitman Jason R. Reitman (; born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian-American actor and filmmaker, best known for directing the films '' Thank You for Smoking'' (2005), '' Juno'' (2007), '' Up in the Air'' (2009), '' Young Adult'' (2011), and '' Ghostbuste ...
and
Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...
to work on their own animation debuts. Two weeks later, PDI/DreamWorks completely shut down as part of its parent company's larger restructuring efforts.


Universal Pictures acquisition (2016–present)

On April 28, 2016,
Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
officially announced that its
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primar ...
division intended on acquiring DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, valuing the company at $41 per share. Jeffrey Katzenberg was to remain involved in the company as head of DreamWorks New Media, but was to cede control of the studio to Illumination's CEO
Chris Meledandri Christopher Meledandri (; born May 15, 1959) 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 of the ''Despicable Me'' franchise a ...
, who would oversee both. The sale was approved by board members, but subject to regulatory approval. At Guggenheim Partners' TMT Symposium, NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke discussed how the purchase of DWA would fit into its business strategies. Burke explained that Meledandri planned to "take a lot of the existing DreamWorks franchises and add value as we create new franchises", and that the main goal was to "
ake Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It's located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The n ...
the low-single-digit returns of the movie business and turn it into a different kind of business" by creating new
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
that can be merchandised and adapted into theme park attractions. Burke reaffirmed a commitment to animated features, stating that Universal would be able to release as many as four animated films per-year, divided between DreamWorks and Illumination. Burke also outlined that the purchase would be beneficial to Universal's expanding presence in China (where it is building a new Universal Studios park in Beijing). DreamWorks Animation's last film distributed by 20th Century Fox was '' Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'' (2017), and their first film distributed by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
was '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'' (2019) with '' Abominable'' (2019), '' Trolls World Tour'' (2020) and '' The Croods 2: A New Age'' (2021), ''
Spirit Untamed ''Spirit Untamed'' is a 2021 American computer-animated adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Elaine Bogan and co-directed by Ennio Torresan Jr. (in their feature dire ...
'' (2021), '' The Boss Baby: Family Business'' (2021), and '' The Bad Guys'' (2022) following afterwards, and with '' Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' (2022). On June 21, 2016, the acquisition was approved by the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
. The purchase was closed on August 22, 2016; the company now operates as a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. Although a spokesperson stated that Meledandri would work with Universal Pictures to determine "the most effective path forward for Illumination and DreamWorks Animation", he did not take over DreamWorks as was previously announced, and the two studios remain separate. Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria retained their positions as co-presidents of DreamWorks' Feature Animation division, while Margie Cohn will lead a television animation division for the entire Universal Pictures group. DreamWorks' digital, marketing, consumer products, and gaming divisions will be absorbed into NBCUniversal. On December 21, 2016, Mireille Soria stepped down from her position as co-president of DreamWorks' Feature Animation division. In January 2017,
Christopher DeFaria Christopher DeFaria (born May 20, 1959) is an American film producer. He served as president of animation and innovative technology at Warner Bros. Pictures for four years. In January 2017, he joined DreamWorks Animation in the newly-created po ...
joined DreamWorks Animation in the newly created position of president of the DreamWorks Feature Animation Group. As president, DeFaria will oversee all aspects of DWA's feature animation business, including slate strategy, development, production; innovation and technology; and business affairs. On August 1, 2017, it was announced that DreamWorks Animation and Blumhouse Productions would be working on Blumhouse's first animated film, ''Spooky Jack''. The film was initially set to be released on September 17, 2021, but was removed from the release schedule as '' The Bad Guys'' took over its release date. On October 6, 2017, it was announced that Abhijay Prakash would be COO of DWA. He was later promoted to president of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group in February 2019 following the release of ''How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'', and DreamWorks Animation subsequently hired former Sony Pictures Imageworks head Randy Lake as the new chief operating officer of the company three months later. On November 13, 2017, it was announced that DreamWorks Animation had started a shorts program, called DreamWorks Shorts, which will show original animated short films before DWA's feature films, much akin to what Pixar and
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fr ...
do for their feature films. The first short film to be produced under the program was ''
Bird Karma ''Bird Karma'' is a 2018 American animated short film written and directed by William Salazar and produced by DreamWorks Animation. It was the first short to come from DreamWorks' newly created shorts program, and the studio's first film to uti ...
'', which premiered in Spring 2018. On February 2, 2018, CMC Capital Partners bought DreamWorks', Shanghai Media Group's, and Shanghai Alliance Investment's stakes in Oriental DreamWorks, owning the studio in its entirety; Oriental DreamWorks was later renamed to Pearl Studio. Pearl Studio collaborated with DreamWorks to produce ''Abominable'', with the film's original director, Jill Culton, returning. On February 27, 2018, DreamWorks Animation announced that Kelly Betz has been promoted as Chief Financial Officer. On May 2, 2018,
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...
announced its first license deal with DreamWorks Animation, becoming the exclusive streaming home for future DWA feature films, as well as library films. DWA had streamed exclusively through Netflix since 2013. On July 25, 2018, Viacom Media Networks announced that it was in talks to acquire AwesomenessTV for a fraction of the company's $650 million valuation in 2016. Two days later on July 27, 2018, Viacom officially acquired AwesomenessTV for $25–50 million and integrated the company into Viacom Digital Studios. Jordan Levin will leave his position as CEO following the acquisition. However, the deal does not include the DreamWorksTV YouTube channel, which is still retained by NBCUniversal, where it will be integrated into NBCU Digital Enterprises Group, a new digital entertainment division led by President Maggie Suniewick. On July 30, 2018, '' Variety'' reported that the deal is worth at least $50 million. On January 9, 2019,
Christopher DeFaria Christopher DeFaria (born May 20, 1959) is an American film producer. He served as president of animation and innovative technology at Warner Bros. Pictures for four years. In January 2017, he joined DreamWorks Animation in the newly-created po ...
stepped down from his position as president of the company, with DreamWorks Animation Television head Margie Cohn promoted to oversee all film and television operations. On January 16, 2020, five new DreamWorks Animation shows were announced for Hulu and NBCUniversal's new video streaming service
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
. On August 5, 2022, DreamWorks announced plans to release their rendering software Moonray as an
open-source software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. ...
in late 2022.


Logo

DreamWorks Animation may be best known for its logo, which is a boy fishing on the moon. The logo originated from DreamWorks Pictures, debuting in 1997. It was later used as the standard logo for DreamWorks Animation from '' Antz'' (1998) to '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'' (2003). In 2004, DreamWorks unveiled its own logo, in which the boy flies up to the moon via
balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or lig ...
s. It originally had music adapted from the track "Fairytale" for the film '' Shrek'' (2001), the logo was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, one of the co-composers of ''Shrek'' and the composer of the whole ''Shrek'' franchise as well as other DreamWorks films. The logo was used from '' Shrek 2'' (2004) to '' Monsters vs. Aliens'' (2009). In 2010, DreamWorks unveiled a new logo, this time with the boy fishing on the moon in space. An updated version of the fanfare accompanied this logo, and the logo would be used from '' How to Train Your Dragon'' (2010) to '' Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'' (2017). Two years after its acquisition by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
in 2016, a new logo was introduced. It is said that it pays homage to the evolution of animation. It received a new fanfare composed by John Powell, the other composer of the first ''Shrek'' and other DreamWorks films, adapting some cues from '' Shrek 2'' and tones from
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
' DreamWorks Pictures fanfare to create the music for the logo. The logo debuted on the first trailer of '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'' (2019) in 2018, but the full animated version and the new fanfare debuted on February 22, 2019, with the release of the film, for which Powell also composed the score. On November 25, 2022, a new logo was announced. The boy on the moon was redubbed as the Moon Child to relate to anyone. The logo showcases the Moon Child flying on the crescent moon, interacting with several DreamWorks characters before settling on the moon. It features characters from ''The Bad Guys'', ''How to Train Your Dragon'', ''Kung Fu Panda'', ''The Boss Baby'', ''Trolls'', and ''Shrek'', and a rearranged score by Harry Gregson-Williams, finally returning after making the fanfare for the 2010 logo, with elements of the previous fanfare by John Powell. The logo was created by production designer
Kendal Cronkhite Kendal Cronkhite was most recently the Production Designer for DreamWorks Animation's'' Trolls''. She started her career in film as the assistant art director for Disney's critical and commercial success, ''The Nightmare Before Christmas''. In ...
(the ''Trolls'' films), Suzanne Buirgy (''Home'' and ''Abominable'') and a team of 10–40 people, taking eight months to complete. The characters that appear in the logo also have different designs to better fit in the continuity, and character appearance is expected to vary with each film by 2023. It made its debut on November 22, 2022 as an unlisted video on DreamWorks' Youtube channel and made its on-screen debut on the sneak preview of '' Puss in Boots: The Last Wish''.


Animation process

Many of DreamWorks Animation's films are animated internally at their Glendale campus, but some of their films were animated by Pacific Data Images, a subsidiary of DreamWorks, until its closure in 2015, in a somewhat similar fashion to Illumination, which has most of its films animated by
Illumination Mac Guff Illumination Studios Paris (formerly known as Illumination Mac Guff) is a French animated feature production company owned by Illumination, a division of Universal Pictures. Based in Paris, France, the company was created in 2011 as part of Univ ...
. Films include '' Shrek'' and its two sequels, the ''Madagascar'' film series, and ''
Megamind ''Megamind'' is a 2010 American computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, the film stars ...
''. '' Puss in Boots'' and '' Penguins of Madagascar'' were partially animated at its
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
campus. Additionally, DreamWorks occasionally outsources its animation production to other studios. For example, '' Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'' was animated by
Mikros Image Mikros Image is a French company specializing in the creation of digital visual effects, post-production and animation. With studios in Paris, London, Brussels, Liege, and Montreal, the company was acquired by Technicolor SA in 2015. Portfolio ...
alongside Technicolor Animation Productions and ''
Spirit Untamed ''Spirit Untamed'' is a 2021 American computer-animated adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Elaine Bogan and co-directed by Ennio Torresan Jr. (in their feature dire ...
'' and production assets for '' The Boss Baby: Family Business'' and '' The Bad Guys'' were provided by Jellyfish Pictures who also did the marketing custom animation for '' Trolls World Tour'' alongside Minimo VFX who provided rigging for ''Spirit Untamed''. Most of DreamWorks' films tend to cost between $125–165 million, but '' Monsters vs. Aliens'' is the studio's most expensive film to date, with a budget of $175 million. After the release of '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'', DreamWorks films started to have much lower costs in the $65–100 million range, similar to its sister studio, Illumination.


Partnerships

DreamWorks Animation has an ongoing partnership with
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
that has been active since 2002, and the studio exclusively uses HP workstations and servers. In 2005, DWA partnered with HP to introduce HP Halo Telepresence Solutions, technologies that allow people in different locations to communicate in a face-to-face environment in real time. In 2005, AMD signed a three-year deal to provide Opteron processors to the studio. This relationship ended in 2008, and DreamWorks announced that they would use
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...
Xeon Xeon ( ) is a brand of x86 microprocessors designed, manufactured, and marketed by Intel, targeted at the non-consumer workstation, server, and embedded system markets. It was introduced in June 1998. Xeon processors are based on the same ar ...
processors for all future productions. The same year, both companies announced a technology called
InTru3D InTru3DUS Patent no. 6,687,003 was a brand that identifies content that may be viewed in stereoscopic 3D. Motion pictures or other visual media bearing the brand are developed through animation technology developed by Intel Corporation in partner ...
that allows DreamWorks to produce all of their future films in 3D, beginning with '' Monsters vs. Aliens''. DreamWorks also has a partnership with
NetApp NetApp, Inc. is an American hybrid cloud data services and data management company headquartered in San Jose, California. It has ranked in the Fortune 500 from 2012–2021. Founded in 1992 with an IPO in 1995, NetApp offers cloud data service ...
in order to supply cloud-based storage that allows the company to complete its films.


The DreamWorks Experience: Royal Caribbean Cruiseline

The DreamWorks Experience is a package of
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
interactions and experiences, including shows: Ice shows, Aqua shows, Sailaway parties, parades, wow moments, meet and greets, and character dining, featuring from the Shrek franchise: Shrek, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots,
Kitty Softpaws This is a list of characters that appear in the '' Shrek'' franchise and spin-offs from it. Main characters Shrek Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers, Michael Gough as his official voice in the video games) is the lead character in all of the film ...
. The Kung Fu Panda Franchise: Po the Panda, Tigress the Tiger. The Madagascar franchise:
Alex the Lion This is a list of characters from the DreamWorks Animation franchise of ''Madagascar'' films, and the TV shows. Concept and creation Tom McGrath explained in an interview that the intention of ''Madagascar'' was not to take a political stance ...
, Gloria the Hippo, King Julien the Ringtail Lemur, Mort the goodman Lemur, The Penguins: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private. How to Train your Dragon franchise: Toothless, Meatlug, Stoick, Valka, Gobber, and other DreamWorks Animation characters. The DreamWorks Experience was announced for Royal Caribbean cruise ships, including ships of the
Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...
Class : Freedom and Liberty,
Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...
Class : Voyager of the Seas
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
Class: Oasis, Allure, Harmony, and
Quantum In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity ( physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizat ...
Class: Quantum, Anthem, Ovation, in June 2010. On April 11, 2019, the DreamWorks program was removed from all ships due to DreamWorks and Royal Caribbean not renewing their contract.


The DreamWorks Experience: Gaylord Hotels (2011–2015)

In April 2011, the DreamWorks Experience was announced for resorts owned by
Gaylord Entertainment Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. () is a hotel, resort, entertainment, and media company named after National Historic Landmark the Ryman Auditorium, built as a tabernacle by Captain Thomas G. Ryman in 1892 and later the home of the Grand Ole Op ...
in Nashville, Orlando, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. for a four-year contract ending January 1, 2015. After Gaylord was bought out by
Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hot ...
, Marriott owners did not renew the contract.


DreamPlay by DreamWorks: City of Dreams Manila

The world's first indoor interactive play and creativity center theme park located within City of Dreams Manila opened on June 12, 2015.


DreamWorks Water Park

On July 11, 2012, then CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg announced it would build the
DreamWorks Water Park DreamWorks Water Park is an indoor water park within the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The park opened on October 1, 2020. The water park inclu ...
, an indoor water park at American Dream in
East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.
. The park would have attractions from '' Shrek'', ''
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
,'' '' Kung Fu Panda'' and '' How To Train Your Dragon'' franchises. On November 21, 2019, days before the planned opening, it was delayed to March 19, 2020. However, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the park officially opened on October 1, 2020.


Filmography


Franchises


Notable people

*
Alessandro Pepe Alessandro Pepe (born 10 January 1972), better known as the "Fog Man", is an Italian FX Artist, currently working for DreamWorks Animation. Pepe was born in Rome, but moved to Genoa in his childhood years. His interest for Computer Graphics eme ...
, FX Animator


See also

* List of unproduced DreamWorks Animation projects * List of unproduced Universal Pictures animated projects * List of Paramount Pictures theatrical animated feature films * List of 20th Century Studios theatrical animated feature films * List of Universal Pictures theatrical animated feature films *
List of DreamWorks Pictures films This is a list of feature films produced and/or released by DreamWorks Pictures. 1997–1999 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–present Upcoming releases Notes * Films released by Touchstone Pictures were distributed through Walt ...
* DreamWorks Pictures * Illumination * Universal Animation Studios * Amblimation * Aardman Animations * Pacific Data Images * Pearl Studio *
List of animated feature films of the 1990s Lists of animated feature films released in the 1990s organized by year of release: * List of animated feature films of 1990 * List of animated feature films of 1991 * List of animated feature films of 1992 * List of animated feature films o ...
*
List of animated feature films of the 2000s Lists of animated feature films released in the 2000s organized by year of release: *List of animated feature films of 2000 * List of animated feature films of 2001 * List of animated feature films of 2002 * List of animated feature films of 2003 ...
*
List of animated feature films of the 2010s The following are lists of animated feature films first released in the 2010s. * List of animated feature films of 2010 * List of animated feature films of 2011 * List of animated feature films of 2012 * List of animated feature films of 2013 ...
*
List of animated feature films of the 2020s This is a list of animated feature films planned for release in the 2020s. 2020 See List of animated feature films of 2020 2021 See List of animated feature films of 2021 2022 See List of animated feature films of 2022 2023 See List of a ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreamworks Animation 1994 establishments in California Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange American animation studios Film production companies of the United States Companies based in Glendale, California American companies established in 1994 Mass media companies established in 1994 Entertainment companies established in 1994 Steven Spielberg Jeffrey Katzenberg David Geffen Universal Pictures subsidiaries Former Viacom subsidiaries NBCUniversal 2004 initial public offerings 2016 mergers and acquisitions Corporate spin-offs American corporate subsidiaries Comcast subsidiaries