Universal Animation Studios

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.

Universal Animation Studios LLC
FormerlyUniversal Cartoon Studios (1990–2005)
TypeDivision
IndustryAnimation
PredecessorWalter Lantz Productions
Founded1990 (1990)[1]
Headquarters
Number of locations
2
ProductsAnimated films
Animated television shows
OwnerNBCUniversal
(Comcast)
ParentUniversal Pictures

The actual animation production is done overseas, usually by either Wang Film Productions or 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]

History

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]

Franchises

This is not including the original films of Charlotte's Web, 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–present 1 6
An American Tail 1986–1999 4 1
The Land Before Time 1988–2016 14 2
Balto 1995–2004 3 0
Alvin and the Chipmunks 1999–2000 2 0
Charlotte's Web 2003 1 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.

Filmography

Theatrical feature films
# Title Release date Director Writer(s) Producer(s) Co-production with
Story Screenplay
1Curious GeorgeFebruary 10, 2006 (2006-02-10)Matthew O'CallaghanKen Kaufman
Mike Werb		Ken KaufmanRon Howard
David Kirschner
Jon Shapiro		Imagine Entertainment
2Woody Woodpecker[R]October 5, 2017 (2017-10-05)Alex ZammWilliam Robertson
Alex Zamm
Daniel Altiere
Steven Altiere		William Robertson
Alex Zamm		Mike ElliottUniversal 1440 Entertainment
3Untitled Woody Woodpecker sequel[14]TBAJon RosenbaumTBATBAJon Kuyper
R Not released theatrically in the United States
Children's feature films
# Title Release date Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley AdventureDecember 13, 1994 (1994-12-13)N/A
2The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great GivingDecember 12, 1995 (1995-12-12)
3The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the MistsDecember 10, 1996 (1996-12-10)
4The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious IslandDecember 9, 1997 (1997-12-09)
5Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount OlympusJanuary 6, 1998 (1998-01-06)Renaissance Pictures
6The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus RockDecember 1, 1998 (1998-12-01)N/A
7Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet FrankensteinSeptember 28, 1999 (1999-09-28)Bagdasarian Productions, LLC.
8An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan IslandFebruary 15, 2000 (2000-02-15)N/A
9An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night MonsterJuly 25, 2000 (2000-07-25)
10Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the WolfmanAugust 29, 2000 (2000-08-29)Bagdasarian Productions, LLC.
11The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold FireDecember 5, 2000 (2000-12-05)N/A
12The Land Before Time VIII: The Big FreezeDecember 4, 2001 (2001-12-04)
13Balto II: Wolf QuestFebruary 19, 2002 (2002-02-19)
14The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big WaterDecember 10, 2002 (2002-12-10)
15Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great AdventureMarch 18, 2003 (2003-03-18)Paramount Pictures
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
16The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck MigrationDecember 2, 2003 (2003-12-02)N/A
17Balto III: Wings of ChangeSeptember 30, 2004 (2004-09-30)
18The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the TinysaurusesJanuary 11, 2005 (2005-01-11)
19The Adventures of Brer RabbitMarch 21, 2006 (2006-03-21)
as Universal Animation Studios
20The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the FlyersFebruary 27, 2007 (2007-02-27)N/A
21The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of FriendsNovember 27, 2007 (2007-11-27)
22Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey![R]July 10, 2009 (2009-07-10)Imagine Entertainment
23The Little Engine That CouldMarch 22, 2011 (2011-03-22)Crest Animation Productions
24Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle[15]June 23, 2015 (2015-06-23)Imagine Entertainment
Universal 1440 Entertainment
25The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave[16]February 2, 2016 (February 2, 2016)Universal 1440 Entertainment
26Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is YouNovember 14, 2017 (2017-11-14)Universal 1440 Entertainment
Splash Entertainment
Telegael
Magic Carpet Productions
27Curious George: Royal Monkey[17]September 10, 2019 (2019-09-10)Imagine Entertainment
Universal 1440 Entertainment
28Curious George: Go West, Go Wild[P][18]September 8, 2020
29Bobbleheads: The MovieDecember 8, 2020Threshold Animation Studios
Universal 1440 Entertainment
30Curious George: Cape Ahoy[P][19]September 30, 2021Imagine Entertainment
Universal 1440 Entertainment
Adult animated short films
# Title Release date Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1Van Helsing: The London Assignment[A] May 11, 2004 (2004-05-11)N/A
2The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury[A] June 15, 2004 (2004-06-15)
P Released on Peacock.
A Adult animated production.

Short films

Television series
# Title Creator(s) / Developer(s) Original run Network Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1Back to the FutureRobert Zemeckis
Bob Gale		1991–1992CBSAmblin Television
Zaloom/Mayfield Productions
BIG Pictures
2Shelley Duvall's Bedtime StoriesShelley Duvall1992–1993ShowtimeThink Entertainment
3Fievel's American TailsDavid Kirschner1992CBSAmblin Television
Nelvana
4ExosquadJeff Segal
Eric Lewald
Michael Edens		1993–1994SyndicationN/A
5Problem ChildScott Alexander
Larry Karaszewski		USA NetworkD'Ocon Films Productions (season 1)
Lacewood Productions (season 2)
6Monster ForceMarv Wolfman1994SyndicationLacewood Productions
7BeethovenN/A1994–1995CBSNorthern Lights Entertainment
8Earthworm JimDoug TenNapel
Doug Langdale		1995–1996Kids' WBShiny Entertainment
9The Savage DragonDean Stefan
Bob Forward		USA NetworkLacewood Productions
(season 1)
Studio B Productions
(season 2)
P3 Entertainment
USA Studios
10The Spooktacular New Adventures of CasperSherri Stoner
Deanna Oliver		1996–1998Fox KidsAmblin Television
Harveytoons
11Wing Commander AcademyMichael Edens
Mark Edens		1996USA NetworkN/A
12Vor-Tech: Undercover Conversion SquadN/ASyndicationEdition Dupuis France S.A.
Mediatoon
Lacewood Productions
13The New Woody Woodpecker ShowBob Jacques
Kelly Armstrong		1999–2002Fox KidsN/A
14Dora the ExplorerChris Gifford
Valerie Walsh Valdes
Eric Weiner		2000-2006Nick Jr Nickelodeon Animation StudioN/A
15The Mummy: The Animated SeriesThomas Pugsley
Greg Klein		2001–2003Kids' WBStudios USA Television (season 1)
The Sommers Company
as Universal Animation Studios
16Curious GeorgeJoe Fallon2006–2022PBS Kids (2006–2022)
Family Jr. (2018–2020)
Peacock (2020–2022)		Imagine Entertainment (seasons 1–9, 14–15)
WGBH Boston (seasons 1–12)
Universal 1440 Entertainment (seasons 10–15)
17The Land Before TimeFord Riley2007–2008Cartoon NetworkAmblin Entertainment
18Woody WoodpeckerAlex Zamm2018–2022YouTubeUniversal Pictures International
Universal 1440 Entertainment
Splash Entertainment

Television specials
# Title Release date Network Co-production with
as Universal Cartoon Studios
1 A Wish for Wings That Work December 18, 1991 (December 18, 1991) CBS Amblin Television
as Universal Animation Studios
2 Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas November 25, 2009 (November 25, 2009) PBS Kids Imagine Entertainment
WGBH Boston
3 Curious George Swings Into Spring April 22, 2013 (April 22, 2013)
4 Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest October 28, 2013 (October 28, 2013)
5 How Murray Saved Christmas December 5, 2014 (December 5, 2014) NBC Universal Television

Miscellaneous work

Cancelled projects
  • Escape from Jurassic Park,[22] an animated TV series that takes place after the first Jurassic Park film, was confirmed to be in development and awaiting Steven Spielberg's approval in June 1993.[23] The series would have centered on John Hammond's attempts to finish Jurassic Park and open it to the public, while InGen's corporate rival Biosyn is simultaneously planning to open their own dinosaur theme park in Brazil, which ultimately ends with their dinosaurs escaping into the jungles.[24][25][26] Artist William Stout was hired to work on the series and subsequently made a trailer to demonstrate how the series would look, and how it would combine traditional animation with computer animation. The series required Spielberg's final approval before it could go into production. However, Spielberg had grown tired of the massive promotion and merchandise revolving around the film, and never watched the trailer.[27] On July 13, 1993, Margaret Loesch, president of the Fox Children's Network, confirmed that discussions had been held with Spielberg about an animated version of the film. Loesch also said, "At least for now and in the foreseeable future, there will not be an animated Jurassic Park. That's Steven Spielberg's decision, and we respect that decision."[28]
  • A pair of traditionally animated cutscenes were produced for the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot to serve as the game's intro and outro, as well as act as source material for a potential animated series if the game was well-received and commercially successful. The hand-drawn cutscenes were dropped after Sony Computer Entertainment picked up Crash Bandicoot for publication, as Sony desired to push the PlayStation's 3D polygonal graphics. The cutscenes were uploaded to YouTube by producer David Siller in 2015.[29][30]
  • Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect, an animated television series based on The Lost World: Jurassic Park, was confirmed to be in development within the third part of a four-part comic adaptation of the film published by Topps Comics in July 1997.[31][32] In November 1997, it was reported that the cartoon would be accompanied by Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect, a series of dinosaur toys produced by Kenner and based on a premise that scientists had created dinosaur hybrids consisting of DNA from different creatures.[33][34] That month, it was also reported that the cartoon could be ready by March 1998, as a mid-season replacement.[33] The Chaos Effect toyline was released in June 1998,[34] but the animated series was never produced, for unknown reasons.[35]

See also

References
  1. "Registration Certificate". United States Patent and Trademark Office. October 6, 1992. Retrieved September 25, 2014. First use 4-5-1991, in commerce 4-5-1991.
  2. "Animation Production Companies". June 8, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Backstage.com.
  3. Motion Picture Almanac. June 6, 2008. ISBN 9780900610806. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Google Books.
  4. "2017 Studio List" (PDF). August 29, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Animationguild.org.
  5. "Universal Animation Studios LLC". OpenCorporates. 2002-04-12. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  6. Rainey, James (23 August 2016). "NBCUniversal Sets New DreamWorks Animation Chain of Command".
  7. "Orlando theme park features characters". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. July 19, 1991. p. 35. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  8. "Universal opens new toon town" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 27, 1991. p. 39. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  9. "Future Has a Future". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. March 22, 1991. p. 480. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  10. Boyar, Jay (September 6, 1991). "Short Subjects". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. 68. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  11. "Fisher gets expanded role at MCA" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1996-04-22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  12. Gallo, Scott Hettrick,Eliza; Hettrick, Scott; Gallo, Eliza (2005-03-07). "U homevid units in family way". Variety. Retrieved 2023-10-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. "Universal Home Ent. Family Prods. Ups Patti Jackson and Ellen Cockrill". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  14. Slatter, Sean (2021-09-12). "Universal 1440 Entertainment's 'Woody Woodpecker' sequel filming in Victoria". IF Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  15. "Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle". Universal Studios Entertainment. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  16. "Rawr: Reba's Voice Will Be In The Next Land Before Time Movie". US99.5. August 18, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  17. Milligan, Kaitlin (July 24, 2019). "Curious George Royal Monkey arrives on DVD, Digital 9/10". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  18. White, Peter (2020-09-03). "'Curious George: Go West, Go Wild' Film Heads To Peacock As Part Of Kids' Slate". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  19. Nash, Anthony (2021-09-30). "Exclusive Curious George: Cape Ahoy Clip From Peacock's Animated Film". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  20. Oscars (7 July 2015). "Short Film Winners: 1991 Oscars" – via YouTube.
  21. "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (1999) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  22. Pugh, Chris (June 1, 2016). "Escape from Jurassic Park – 1993 animated series detailed". JurassicOutpost.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  23. "'Jurassic' series?". The San Bernardino Sun. June 17, 1993. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  24. Squires, John (December 6, 2016). "Art and Story Details from Cancelled 'Jurassic Park' Animated Series Finally Surface". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  25. Scott, Ryan (December 6, 2016). "Canceled Jurassic Park Animated Series Full Season Details Revealed". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  26. Pugh, Chris (December 5, 2016). "The Entire First Season of the Cancelled Jurassic Park Television Series Revealed (Exclusive)". Jurassic Outpost. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  27. Stout, William (April 26, 2014). "My Top Ten Favorite Dinosaur Films – Part One". WilliamStout.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  28. Duffy, Mike (July 15, 1993). "Dinosaur TV 'toons are extinct for now". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  29. Fahey, Mike (July 19, 2015). "Crash Bandicoot Could Have Had These Sweet Animated Cutscenes". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  30. Good, Owen S. (July 19, 2015). "Long-lost Crash Bandicoot animation was for the game first, a cartoon series second". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  31. Finkelstein, Dan (July 20, 1997). "What's New". Dan's The Lost World Page. Archived from the original on June 3, 2000.
  32. Finkelstein, Dan (July 22, 1997). "What's New". Dan's The Lost World Page. Archived from the original on June 3, 2000.
  33. Finkelstein, Dan (November 11, 1997). "Chaos Effect". Dan's The Lost World Page. Archived from the original on September 9, 1999.
  34. "Chaos Effect". JPToys.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  35. "Interview With Tim Bradley". JPToys.com. March 1, 2008. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
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