Universal Animation Studios

American animation studio

Universal Animation Studios is an American animation studio and a division of Universal Pictures. Universal Pictures is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal and is owned by Comcast. Universal Animation Studios has produced direct-to-video sequels to Universal-released movies, such as Woody Woodpecker, The Land Before Time, An American Tail, Balto, Curious George as well as other movies and television series.

Universal Animation Studios
FormerlyUniversal Cartoon Studios (1990–2006)
Company typeDivision
IndustryAnimation
PredecessorWalter Lantz Productions
Founded1990; 34 years ago (1990)[1]
Headquarters
Number of locations
2
Key people
Margie Cohn (Head of DWA Television)
ProductsAnimated movies
Animated television shows
OwnerNBCUniversal
(Comcast)
ParentUniversal Pictures

History

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Universal Animation Studios was established in 1990 as Universal Cartoon Studios. It was the animation division of MCA Inc. The first work by the company was Back to the Future: The Animated Series. It was announced on March 22, 1991 and was first broadcast on CBS on September 14 the same year.

In 2006, Universal Cartoon Studios was renamed to Universal Animation Studios.

Filmography

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Movies

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Direct-to-video feature movies

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# Title Release date Co-production with
Universal Cartoon Studios
1 The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure December 13, 1994 N/A
2 The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving December 12, 1995
3 The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists December 10, 1996
4 The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island December 9, 1997
5 Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus January 6, 1998 Renaissance Pictures
6 The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock December 1, 1998 N/A
7 Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein September 28, 1999 Bagdasarian Productions, LLC.
8 An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island February 15, 2000 N/A
9 An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster July 25, 2000
10 Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman August 29, 2000 Bagdasarian Productions, LLC.
11 The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire December 5, 2000 N/A
12 The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze December 4, 2001
13 Balto II: Wolf Quest February 19, 2002
14 The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water December 10, 2002
15 Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure March 18, 2003 Paramount Pictures

Nickelodeon Animation Studio

16 The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration December 2, 2003 N/A
17 The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses January 11, 2005
18 Balto III: Wings of Change September 30, 2005
19 The Adventures of Brer Rabbit March 21, 2006
Universal Animation Studios
20 The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers February 27, 2007 N/A
21 The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends November 27, 2007
22 The Little Engine That Could March 22, 2011 Crest Animation Productions
23 Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle June 23, 2015 Imagine Entertainment, Universal 1440 Entertainment
24 The Land Before Time: Journey of the Brave February 2, 2016 Universal 1440 Entertainment
25 Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You November 14, 2017 Universal 1440 Entertainment, Splash Entertainment, Telegael and Magic Carpet Productions
26 Curious George: Royal Monkey September 10, 2019 Imagine Entertainment, Universal 1440 Entertainment
27 Curious George: Go West, Go Wild September 8, 2020
28 Curious George: Cape Ahoy September 30, 2021
29 Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp April 12, 2024 Universal 1440 Entertainment

Theatrical movies

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# Title Release date Co-production with
1 Curious George February 10, 2006 Imagine Entertainment
2 Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! July 10, 2009
3 Woody Woodpecker October 5, 2017 Universal 1440 Entertainment

Short movies

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TV series

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# Title Creator(s) / Developer(s) Original run Co-production with
1 Back to the Future: The Animated Series Robert ZemeckisBob Gale 1991–1992 Amblin TelevisionZaloom/Mayfield Productions

BIG Pictures

2 Fievel's American Tails David Kirschner 1992 Amblin TelevisionNelvana
3 Exosquad Jeff Segal

Eric Lewald

Michael Edens

1993–1994 N/A
4 Problem Child Scott AlexanderLarry Karaszewski Imagine EntertainmentD'Ocon Films Productions (season 1)

Lacewood Productions(season 2)

5 Monster Force Marv Wolfman 1994 Lacewood Productions
6 Beethoven Universal Cartoon Studios 1994–1995 Northern Lights Entertainment
7 Earthworm Jim Doug TenNapelDoug Langdale 1995–1996 Shiny Entertainment
8 Savage Dragon Dean Stefan

Bob Forward

Lacewood Productions(season 1)

Studio B Productions (season 2)

P3 Entertainment

USA Studios

9 The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper Sherri StonerDeanna Oliver 1996–1998 Amblin TelevisionHarveytoons
10 Wing Commander Academy Michael Edens

Mark Edens

1996 N/A
11 Vor-Tech: Undercover Conversion Squad Universal Cartoon Studios
12 The New Woody Woodpecker Show Bob JacquesKelly Armstrong 1999–2002
13 The Mummy: The Animated Series Thomas Pugsley

Greg Klein

2001–2003 Studios USA Television(season 1)

The Sommers Company

14 Curious George Joe Fallon 2006–2022 Imagine Entertainment (seasons 1–9, 14–15)WGBH Boston (seasons 1–12)

Universal 1440 Entertainment (season 10–15)

15 The Land Before Time Ford Riley 2007–2008 Amblin Entertainment
16 Woody Woodpecker Alex Zamm 2018–2022 Universal 1440 EntertainmentSplash Entertainment

TV Specials

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Franchises

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Titles Release dates Movies TV Seasons
Woody Woodpecker 1940–present 1 4
Charlotte’s Web 1973–2003 2 0
An American Tail 1986–1999 4 1
The Land Before Time 1988–2016 14 2
Balto 1995–2005 3 0
Alvin and the Chipmunks 1999–2000 2 0
Curious George 2006–2022 6 15

Associated Productions

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Miscellaneous

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References

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  1. "Registration Certificate". United States Patent and Trademark Office. October 6, 1992. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. 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. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Google Books.
  4. "2017 Studio List" (PDF). August 29, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Animationguild.org.