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126-402: 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

252-454: A Los Angeles Times report, DreamWorks Animation was in talks with Sony Pictures to distribute its upcoming films, such as the 2013 releases of The Croods and Turbo . The report also mentioned a possibility where Sony would handle United States distribution while 20th Century Fox would handle international distribution. Renewal of the deal with Paramount was also open, but only with more favorable terms for Paramount (they even offered

378-523: A bitter competitive rivalry with Jeffrey Katzenberg and his new DreamWorks films. In 1995, Katzenberg announced The Prince of Egypt to debut in November 1998 as DreamWorks' first animated release. A year later, Disney scheduled Bugs to open on the same weekend, which infuriated Katzenberg. Katzenberg invited Disney executives to DreamWorks to negotiate a release date change for Bugs , but the company refused to budge. DreamWorks pushed Prince of Egypt to

504-517: 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 , which used both CGI technology and traditional animation techniques. In 1997, DreamWorks partnered with British stop-motion animation studio Aardman Animations to co-produce and distribute Chicken Run (2000),

630-526: A controversial public feud erupted between Katzenberg of DreamWorks and Steve Jobs and John Lasseter of Pixar, due to the production of their similar film A Bug's Life , which was released a month later. The feud worsened when Disney refused to avoid competition with DreamWorks' intended first animated release, The Prince of Egypt . Antz premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 19, 1998, and

756-437: A distribution agreement with Paramount Pictures , 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, until the delivery of 13 new animated feature films or the expiration date of December 31, 2012, whichever came last. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of

882-547: 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 for $ 3.8 billion in 2016. The studio initially made some traditionally animated films, as well as three stop-motion co-productions with Aardman Animations , but now exclusively relies on computer animation . However, in 2022, President Margie Cohn stated that

1008-595: A drunken Chip, mourning over Muffy's death, flies Z back to the colony. When Z arrives, Mandible's soldiers forcibly direct him toward the Mega Tunnel. Along the way, he finds Bala held captive in Mandible's office. After he frees her, they both discover that Mandible's Mega Tunnel leads straight to the puddle next to Insectopia, which Mandible will use to drown the Queen and the workers at the opening ceremony. Bala warns

1134-425: A film called Army Ants , about a pacifist worker ant teaching lessons of independent thinking to his militaristic colony. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Katzenberg had left the company in a feud with CEO Michael Eisner over the vacant president position after the death of Frank Wells . Katzenberg would later go on to help co-found DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen , and the three planned to rival Disney with

1260-469: A final proposition to delay Antz if Disney and Pixar changed the date of A Bug's Life , but Katzenberg denied this. Jobs believed it was "a blatant extortion attempt". As the release dates for both films approached, Disney executives concluded that Pixar should keep quiet on Antz and the feud concerning DreamWorks. Regardless, Lasseter publicly dismissed Antz as a "schlock version" of A Bug's Life ; however, Lasseter later admitted that he never saw

1386-516: A long time afterwards, as can be seen with their achievements . In 1941, Otto Messmer created the first animated television commercials for Botany Tie ads/weather reports. They were shown on NBC-TV in New York until 1949. This marked the first forays of animation designed for the smaller screen and was to be followed by the first animated series specifically made for television, Crusader Rabbit , in 1948. Its creator, Alex Anderson , had to create

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1512-601: A longer running manga or animated series. As the OAV market is not adapted to the rigors that are faced by television shows or feature films, they have been known to show gratuitous amounts of violence and/or pornography. Some OAV's have registered such strong acclaim that they have been remade as anime television series as well as theatrical releases. Since most new OVA's are derived from other animated media, many animation studios that have previously worked on animated series or movies, and adaptations of Japanese manga, have now entered

1638-715: A new 3D film-making technology, InTru3D . In 2008, DWA extended its production pipeline into Bangalore , India , 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). In 2009,

1764-506: A new animation studio, Studio Ghibli , which would be used for the personal works of Miyazaki and his close friend, Isao Takahata . Many of Ghibli's works have become Japan's top-grossing theatrical films, whether in live-action or animated form. The market for 'OAV's or ' Original Anime Video ' later the acronym would be better known as 'OVA' meaning 'Original video animation' as the term 'OAV' could often be misunderstood for 'Original Adult Video', began in 1984. These are often tended towards

1890-502: 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 ' 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 in 2018, but the full animated version and the new fanfare debuted on February 22, 2019, with

2016-503: 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

2142-417: A pill." Tensions would remain high between Jobs and Katzenberg for many years after the release of both films. According to Jobs, years later, Katzenberg approached him after the opening of Shrek , and insisted that he had never heard the pitch for A Bug's Life , reasoning that his settlement with Disney would have given him a share of the profits if that were so. In the end, Pixar and PDI employees kept up

2268-503: 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 (the Trolls films), Suzanne Buirgy ( Home (2015) and Abominable (2019)) 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

2394-504: A release date war ensued. While Antz beat A Bug's Life to the big screen by two months, the latter film significantly out grossed its predecessor. Rip off or not, Antz' s critical response has proven to be almost exactly as positive as what A Bug's Life has enjoyed." The original music for the film was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell . The soundtrack was released on November 3, 1998 by Angel Records . Initially, Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted Hans Zimmer to compose

2520-504: A rumor, "never confirmed", was that Katzenberg had given PDI "rich financial incentives to induce them to whatever it would take to have Antz ready first, despite Pixar's head start". Jobs was furious and called Katzenberg and began yelling. Katzenberg made an offer: He would delay production of Antz if Jobs and Disney would move A Bug's Life so that it did not compete with The Prince of Egypt . Jobs believed it "a blatant extortion attempt " and would not go for it, explaining that there

2646-519: 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

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2772-401: A studio dedicated to animating cartoons was spearheaded by Raoul Barré and his studio, Barré Studio , co-founded with Bill Nolan , beating out the studio created by J.R. Bray , Bray Productions , to the honor of the first studio dedicated to animation. Though beaten to the post of being the first studio, Bray's studio employee, Earl Hurd , came up with patents designed for mass-producing

2898-413: A television animation division for the entire Universal Studios group. DreamWorks' digital, marketing, consumer products, and gaming divisions were absorbed into NBCUniversal. On December 21, 2016, Soria stepped down from her position as co-president of DreamWorks' Feature Animation division. In January 2017, Christopher DeFaria joined DreamWorks Animation in the newly created position of president of

3024-550: A very small core group. After being bought out or sold to other companies, they eventually consolidated with other studios and became larger. The drawback of this setup was that there was now a major thrust towards profitability with the management acting as a damper towards creativity of these studios, continuing even in today's scenario. Currently, the independent animation studios are looking to ensure artistic integrity by signing up with big animation studios on contracts that allow them to license out movies, without being directed by

3150-542: A year. The same year, the company purchased the film rights to the Trolls franchise . 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 -based entertainment company, named Oriental DreamWorks , to develop and produce original Chinese films and their derivatives. According to

3276-555: Is a 1998 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation (as its debut film) and Pacific Data Images , and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures . It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay written by Todd Alcott and the writing team of Chris and Paul Weitz . The film stars the voices of Woody Allen , Sharon Stone , Jennifer Lopez , Sylvester Stallone , Christopher Walken , Dan Aykroyd , Anne Bancroft , Danny Glover and Gene Hackman . Some of

3402-414: Is acting for the good of the colony. Z and Bala come upon a human picnic, which they mistake for Insectopia. They are baffled by the wrappings on the food, but Muffy and Chip, a married couple of liberal wasps , condescendingly befriend them and try to help break the wrappers. They are disrupted by a human, who kill Muffy with a fly swatter and attempt to squish the ants with a shoe. Z rescues Bala from

3528-591: Is dated around 1917, but it would take until 1956 for the Japanese animation industry to successfully adopt the studio format as used in the United States. In 1961, these productions began to be aired in the US. Toei Animation , formed in 1948, was the first Japanese animation studio of importance and saw the reduction of animators as independent anime artists. After the formation of Toei Animation Co. Ltd. in 1948,

3654-407: Is mistakenly hailed as a war hero. Secretly dissatisfied, Mandible congratulates him and introduces him to the Queen. There, Z meets Bala, who recognizes him as a worker. Z panics and pretends to take Bala hostage; he flees with Bala, but they end up falling out of the anthill via a garbage chute. Now a fugitive, Z decides to search for Insectopia, a legendary insect paradise. Bala attempts to return to

3780-606: Is subject to local intellectual property rights. The animators must also be aware of the contracts laws and labour laws prevalent in the jurisdiction to which the animation studio is subject to. There have been numerous legal battles fought over the copyright of famous franchises, such as Kung Fu Panda and SpongeBob SquarePants . This has come about as a result of the clause in Copyright contracts that states that an idea cannot be protected, only an actual piece of work can be said to be infringed upon. This means that though

3906-549: Is worth at least $ 50 million. On November 6, 2018, it was announced that Meledandri would be helping Universal and DreamWorks to revive the Shrek franchise . Meledandri intends, however, to retain the original voice actors, as he pointed out they were perhaps the most memorable parts of the series. The first film in this collaboration, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish , on which Meledandri served as executive producer,

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4032-710: The How to Train Your Dragon series and Mireille Soria , producer of the Madagascar series were named co-presidents of the studio's feature animation division. At the same time, it was also announced that Bill Damaschke would step down from his position as Chief Creative Officer. So far, under Arnold and Soria's current tenure they signed Jason Reitman and Edgar Wright 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 due to

4158-874: The DreamWorks Channel . With HBO Asia handling affiliate sales, marketing and technical services, the network launched 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

4284-568: The Universal Studios Lot 's Technicolor facility in Universal City , where DreamWorks was also located, he called Katzenberg and dropped by with Stanton. When Katzenberg asked what they were doing next, Lasseter described what would become A Bug's Life in detail. Lasseter respected Katzenberg's judgment and felt comfortable using him as a sounding board for creative ideas. Lasseter had high hopes for Toy Story , and he

4410-407: 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 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

4536-745: The video on demand Internet streaming media provider, Netflix . 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

4662-709: The Cat were acquired by DreamWorks Animation from Felix the Cat Productions, owned by Don Oriolo. The same month, DreamWorksTV 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 parent company Universal Pictures has assumed these responsibilities. The studio

4788-488: The Christmas season and the studio had decided not to begin full marketing for Antz until after Prince of Egypt was released. Disney afterward announced release dates for films that were going to compete with The Prince of Egypt , and both studios had to compete with Paramount Pictures , which was releasing The Rugrats Movie in November, based on Nickelodeon 's animated series Rugrats . Katzenberg suddenly moved

4914-538: The DreamWorks Feature Animation Group. As president, DeFaria oversaw 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

5040-517: 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 20th Century 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

5166-570: The Jade Scorpion . In 1988, Walt Disney Feature Animation pitched a film called Army Ants , about a pacifist worker ant teaching lessons of independent thinking to his militaristic colony. Years later, Jeffrey Katzenberg , then chairman of Disney's film division , had left the company in a feud with CEO Michael Eisner over the vacant president position after the death of Frank Wells . Katzenberg would later go on to help co-found DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen , and

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5292-728: The Japanese studios churned out minor works of animation. But with the release of Toei's first theatrical feature, The Tale of the White Serpent released in October 1958, the animation industry in Japan came into the eye of the general public. The success of Alakazam the Great led to the finding of the artist Osamu Tezuka , who would go on to become the father of Japanese manga with his brand of modern, fast-paced fantasy storylines. He became influenced by Hanna-Barbera productions of

5418-462: The OVA market, looking to capitalize on the popularity of their flagship shows. Studios participating in such circumstances include Production I.G and Studio Deen . Although there are permanent/full-time positions in studios, most animators work on a contract basis. There are some animators that are considered to be in the core group of the studio, which can either be as a result of being there since

5544-459: The Queen while Z attempts to stop the workers in time, but fails. Z and Bala unify the Queen and workers into building a ladder towards the surface as the water rises. Meanwhile, Mandible gathers the soldiers on the surface and gloats he has created a new colony, where only the strong survive. When the worker ants break through the surface, Cutter betrays Mandible and rescues them. Enraged, Mandible attempts to tackle Cutter, but Z intervenes and takes

5670-571: 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 for Best Animated Feature Film . Due to

5796-566: The Were-Rabbit was the last film distributed by its former distribution arm and Over the Hedge was the first film distributed by Paramount in May 2006. 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

5922-469: The Westernized title of direct-to-video animations, the OVA market has spread to American animation houses. Their popularity has resulted in animated adaptations of comic characters ranging from Hellboy , Green Lantern and Avengers . Television shows such as Family Guy and Futurama also released direct-to-video animations. DC Comics have continually released their own animated movies for

6048-477: The animators may have forwarded ideas to the animation studios about certain characters and plots, these ideas alone cannot be protected and can lead to studios profiting on individual animator's ideas. However, this has not stopped many independent artists from filing claims to characters produced by different studios. Due to the wide range of animation techniques and styles, many animation studios typically specialize in certain types. Traditional animation employs

6174-441: The army's leader and Bala's fiancé, is secretly sending the soldiers loyal to the colony's Queen to die so he can stage a coup d'état . In the battle, everyone except Z is killed by much-larger acid-shooting termite defenders. Before dying, a decapitated Barbatus tells Z to think for himself instead of blindly following orders. Meanwhile, Weaver joins the digging crew and falls in love with Z's co-worker, Azteca. Z returns home and

6300-547: The bigger studios. Examples of such co-operation are the joint ventures between DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures and that of Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Studios . On August 22, 2016, Comcast's NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks Animation , appointing Meledandri oversee Comcast's Universal Animation/DreamWorks/Illumination, Disney's Disney Animation/Pixar/20th Century Animation, & Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Animation/Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. The first known example of Japanese animation, also called anime ,

6426-869: The blow. He and Mandible fall back into the flooded tunnel, with Mandible striking a root and dying on impact. Z nearly drowns, but is rescued by Cutter and resuscitated by Bala. Z is praised for his heroism, and he and Bala become a couple. Together, they rebuild the colony, and Z narrates that he is finally content with his place in the world. The camera then zooms out to show the anthill is in Central Park in New York City . The cast features several actors from films Allen wrote, starred in and directed, including Stone ( Stardust Memories ), Stallone ( Bananas ), Hackman ( Another Woman ), and Walken ( Annie Hall ). Aykroyd later co-starred in Allen's The Curse of

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6552-476: The box office underperformance of Penguins of Madagascar (2014), cutting 500 jobs. On April 28, 2016, Comcast officially announced that its NBCUniversal 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 , who would oversee both. The sale

6678-495: 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 in 2016, a new DreamWorks Animation logo was introduced. It is said that it pays homage to the evolution of animation. It received

6804-424: The boy flies up to the moon via balloons . 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 its sequels 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

6930-405: 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 , they co-developed

7056-480: The colony, but quickly rejoins Z after encountering a praying mantis . Z's act of individuality inspires the workers and some soldier ants, halting productivity. To gain control, Mandible publicly portrays Z as a self-centered war criminal, promotes the glory of conformity, and promises the workers rewards for completing a "Mega Tunnel" he designed. However, Mandible's second-in-command, a flying ant named Cutter, begins to doubt Mandible's constant reassurances that he

7182-414: 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

7308-475: The company into Viacom Digital Studios. Jordan Levin left 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 was 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

7434-517: The company moved its shares to the NASDAQ as a move designed to save costs. 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

7560-484: The company's new animation division. Production began in May 1996, after production had already commenced on The Prince of Egypt (1998). DreamWorks had contracted Pacific Data Images (PDI) in Palo Alto, California , to begin working on computer-animated films to rival Pixar 's features. Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell composed the music for the film, marking their first animated film. During its production,

7686-627: The continuity. It made its debut on November 22, 2022, as an unlisted video on DreamWorks' YouTube channel and made its on-screen debut in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish . Character appearance in the logo started to change with the release of Trolls Band Together (2023), with the Kung Fu Panda , The Boss Baby , and Trolls franchises being replaced with the Madagascar and The Croods franchises and Puss in Boots (2011) and its aforementioned sequel. Animation studio The idea of

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7812-475: 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, with the releases of How to Train Your Dragon , Shrek Forever After , and Megamind , DWA became the first animation studio that released three feature-length CG-animated films in

7938-549: The day so the entire company could go see it. Jobs and Katzenberg would not back down and the rivaling ant films provoked a press frenzy. "The bad guys rarely win," Jobs told the Los Angeles Times . In response, DreamWorks' head of marketing Terry Press stated, "Steve Jobs should take a pill." Despite the successful box office performances of both films, tensions would remain high between Jobs and Katzenberg for many years. According to Jobs, Katzenberg came to Jobs after

8064-413: 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

8190-422: The film a score of 73 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert praised the film, saying that it is "sharp and funny". The variety of themes, interesting visuals, and voice acting were each aspects of the film that were praised. Ebert's partner, Gene Siskel , greatly enjoyed

8316-480: The film and preferred it over A Bug's Life . Siskel later ranked it No. 7 on his picks of the Best Films of 1998. A direct-to-video sequel was in development at DreamWorks at the time of the release of Antz . Like the first film, it was planned to be produced by Pacific Data Images, and was also considered for theatrical release. By early 1999, when DreamWorks closed its television animation unit and merged

8442-424: The film, rather than an encoded version from the original files. A special edition version was released on February 14, 2003. The film was released on Blu-ray on October 16, 2018 for the film's 20th anniversary. The film topped the box office in its opening weekend ahead of Rush Hour and What Dreams May Come , earning $ 17,195,160 for a $ 7,021 average from 2,449 theatres. It surpassed Stargate to have

8568-432: The film. Lasseter claimed that if DreamWorks and PDI had made the film about anything other than insects, he would have closed Pixar for the day so the entire company could go see it. Jobs and Katzenberg would not back down and the rivaling ant films provoked a press frenzy. "The bad guys rarely win," Jobs told the Los Angeles Times . In response, DreamWorks' head of marketing Terry Press suggested, "Steve Jobs should take

8694-577: The first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature . Since then, Disney / Pixar have produced the most number of movies either to win or be nominated for the award. Though the term "direct-to-video" carries negative connotations in the North American and European markets, direct-to-video animation has seen a rise, as a concept, in the Western markets. With many comic characters receiving their versions of OVA 's, original video animations , under

8820-581: The first Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film . This period, from the 1920s to the 1950s or sometimes considered from 1911 to the death of Walt Disney in 1966, is commonly known as the Golden Age of American Animation as it included the growth of Disney, as well as the rise of Warner Bros. Cartoons and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio as prominent animation studios. Disney continued to lead in technical prowess among studios for

8946-804: The first animation studio to produce two CGI animated features in a single year. 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 . 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

9072-523: The first figure was doubted by the film industry, considering that other computer-animated films at the time cost twice that amount, and that the budget did not include start-up costs of PDI. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 92 reviews and an average rating of 7.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring a stellar voice cast, technically dazzling animation, and loads of good humor, Antz should delight both children and adults." Metacritic gave

9198-519: 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

9324-509: The highest October opening weekend. This record would last for two years until it was beaten by Meet the Parents in 2000. In its second weekend, the film held the top spot again, with a slippage of only 14% to $ 14.7 million for a $ 5,230 average and expanding to 2,813 sites. It held well also in its third weekend, slipping only 24% to $ 11.2 million and finishing in third place, for a $ 3,863 average from 2,903 theatres. The film's widest release

9450-458: 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. Formed as

9576-414: The home video market, while not tending to the television or theatrical audience as such. They refer to those movies that are launched as direct-to-video releases and not meant to be released in theatres. Video productions can run from half an hour productions to well over two hours. They require that premise or story be original in order to be counted as an OVA, though sometimes, the story can be derived from

9702-421: The inception of the company or being talented recruits from other animation studios. These are the more secure positions in an animation studio, though the studio might have policies concerning the possible tenure of animators. Since studios can hire animators on a work for hire basis nowadays, many artists do not retain rights over their creations, unlike some of the early animators. The extent of these copyrights

9828-575: The late 1950s and made Japan's first made for television animation studio, Mushi Productions . The success of the studios' first show in 1963, Astro Boy , was so immense that there were 3 other television animation studios by the end of the year and Toei had opened their own made for television division. The greatest difference between Japanese studios and North American studios was the difference in adult-themed material to make way in Japan. Tezuka's thought that animation should not be restricted to kids alone has brought about many studios that are employed in

9954-451: The local bar one night, Z falls in love with the colony's princess Bala when she visits the bar to escape her suffocating royal life. Meanwhile, the ant colony declares war on an encroaching termite colony, and soldiers are sent to engage the invaders. To see Bala again, Z exchanges places with his best friend, a soldier ant named Weaver, and joins the army, where he befriends staff sergeant Barbatus. The ants are unaware that General Mandible,

10080-419: The main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. The film involves an anxious worker ant, Z (Allen), who falls in love with Princess Bala (Stone). When the arrogant General Mandible (Hackman) attempts to seize control of the ant colony, Z must combine his desire for purpose with his inner strength to save everyone. Development began in 1988 when Walt Disney Feature Animation pitched

10206-531: The movie business and turn it into a different kind of business" by creating new intellectual property that can be merchandised and adapted into theme park attractions. Burke reaffirmed a commitment to animated features, stating that Universal Pictures 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

10332-449: The music, but he was too busy with The Prince of Egypt among other projects. Instead, Zimmer suggested two composers from his studio — either Harry Gregson-Williams or John Powell — both of whom had already collaborated on Egypt . On December 23, 1997, a teaser trailer for Antz , depicting the opening scene with Z in an ant psychiatrist office, first played in theaters in front of select prints of As Good as It Gets . Anticipation

10458-408: 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 would show original animated short films before DWA's feature films, much akin to what Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios do for their feature films. The first short film to be produced under the program

10584-408: The old friendships that had arisen from working in computer animation for years before feature films. The final product of both films are generally perceived to contrast one another in tone and certain plot points. Antz in the end seemed to be more geared towards older audiences, featuring moderate violence, mild sexual innuendoes, and profanity, as well as social and political satire. A Bug's Life

10710-422: The opening of Antz from March 1999 to October 1998, in order to successfully beat A Bug's Life into cinemas. David Price writes in his 2008 book The Pixar Touch that a rumor, "never confirmed", was that Katzenberg had given PDI "rich financial incentives to induce them to whatever it would take to have Antz ready first, despite Pixar's head start". Jobs furiously called Katzenberg to explain that there

10836-542: The output for the studio. As Hurd did not file for these patents under his own name but handed them to Bray, they would go on to form the Bray-Hurd Patent Company and sold these techniques for royalties to other animation studios of the time. The biggest name in animation studios during this early time was Disney Brothers Animation Studio (now known as Walt Disney Animation Studios ), co-founded by Walt and Roy O. Disney . Started on October 16, 1923,

10962-613: The person responsible for the Antz pitch. Lasseter, who normally did not use profane language, cursed at Katzenberg and hung up the phone. Lasseter recalled that Katzenberg began explaining that Disney was "out to get him" and Lasseter felt that he was cannon fodder in Katzenberg's fight with Disney. For his part, Katzenberg believed he was the victim of a conspiracy: Eisner had decided not to pay him his contract-required bonus, convincing Disney's board not to give him anything. Katzenberg

11088-544: The production of A Bug's Life , a public feud erupted between DreamWorks ' Jeffrey Katzenberg , and Pixar's Steve Jobs and John Lasseter. Katzenberg, former chairman of Disney's film division, had left the company in a feud with CEO Michael Eisner. In response, he formed DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen and planned to rival Disney in animation. After DreamWorks' acquisition of Pacific Data Images (PDI)—long Pixar's contemporary in computer animation—Lasseter and others at Pixar were dismayed to learn from

11214-560: The production of adult-themed adaptations of classic stories such as Heidi ( Heidi, Girl of the Alps ), One Thousand and One Nights and The Diary of a Young Girl and many more. In the 1980s, animation studios were led back to their theatrical roots due to the success of Hayao Miyazaki 's film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind , which led publishing house Tokuma Shoten to finance

11340-515: The proposition, but Katzenberg denied these charges later. As the release dates for both films approached, Disney executives concluded that Pixar should keep silent on the DreamWorks battle. Regardless, Lasseter publicly dismissed Antz as a "schlock version" of A Bug's Life . Lasseter, who claimed to have never seen Antz , told others that if DreamWorks and PDI had made the film about anything other than insects, he would have closed Pixar for

11466-538: 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 (2022), How to Train Your Dragon , Kung Fu Panda , The Boss Baby , Trolls , and Shrek , and

11592-542: The resulting frames are played back. Notable studios specializing in this style of animation include Aardman Animations , Laika and ShadowMachine . 3D animation is the newest of the animation techniques, using the assistance of computers and software, such as Houdini , to create 3D models that are then manipulated and rendered to create movement. Notable studios include Pixar Animation Studios , Sony Pictures Imageworks , Blue Sky Studios , Illumination , DNEG and Marza Animation Planet . Antz Antz

11718-413: The same from 2013 through 2017. Most DWA films from 2019 onward have been released through Universal Pictures , which also owns most of the rights to its back catalogue. On October 12, 1994, a trio of entertainment players, film director and producer Steven Spielberg , former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg , and music executive David Geffen , founded DreamWorks SKG (the three letters taken from

11844-446: The sneaker, and the two ants at last find Insectopia, a trash can overfilled with decaying food. Meanwhile, after interrogating Weaver, Mandible learns that Z is looking for Insectopia and sends Cutter to find it. That night, while Z is away, Cutter arrives at Insectopia and forcibly flies Bala back to the colony, where Mandible reveals his intention to restart the colony with Bala as his Queen. Seeing Z's desperation at finding Bala gone,

11970-417: The sole purpose of sale in the direct-to-video market. With growing worries about piracy, direct to video animation might become more popular in the near future. With the growth of animation as an industry, the trends of ownership of studios have gradually changed with time. Current studios such as Warner Bros. and early ones such as Fleischer Studios , started life as small, independent studios, being run by

12096-448: The studio 'Television Arts Productions' specifically for the purpose of creating this series as his old studio, Terrytoons , refused to make a series for television. Since Crusader Rabbit, however, many studios have seen this as a profitable enterprise and many have entered the made for television market since, with Joseph Barbera and William Hanna refining the production process for television animation on their show Ruff and Reddy . It

12222-670: The studio is open to traditional animation. Its productions, including The Prince of Egypt , Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit , and the Shrek , Madagascar , Kung Fu Panda , How to Train Your Dragon and Trolls franchises, have received various accolades , including three Academy Awards , 41 Emmy Awards , numerous Annie Awards , and multiple Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Films produced by DreamWorks Animation were originally distributed by DreamWorks Pictures until 2005. Paramount Pictures distributed its releases from 2006 through 2012, and 20th Century Fox (currently known as 20th Century Studios ) did

12348-503: The studio went on to make its first animated short, Steamboat Willie in 1928, to much critical success, though the real breakthrough was in 1937, when the studio was able to produce a full-length animated feature film i.e. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , which laid the foundation for other studios to try to make full-length movies. In 1932 Flowers and Trees , a production by Walt Disney Productions and United Artists , won

12474-442: The success of Shrek (2001) and insisted he had never heard the pitch for A Bug's Life , reasoning that his settlement with Disney would have given him a share of the profits if that were so. Although the contention left all parties estranged, Pixar and PDI employees kept up the old friendships that had arisen from spending a long time together in computer animation. At the time, the current Disney studio executives were starting

12600-633: 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 five hand-drawn films. Beginning with Shrek 2 (2004), all released films, other than the stop-motion film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) co-produced with Aardman, were produced with CGI. The releases of Shrek 2 and Shark Tale also made DWA

12726-412: 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

12852-838: The three planned to rival Disney with the company's new animation division . Katzenberg at DreamWorks began developing projects he tried to pursue or suggested while at Disney, including The Prince of Egypt , a collaboration with Aardman Animations which resulted in Chicken Run , Sinbad , and Army Ants . Also many ideas for the film were borrowed from a scrapped PDI film pitch for a computer-animated film from 1991 called Bugs: Lights Out about microscopic robots that take apart machinery. Production began in May 1996, after production had already commenced on The Prince of Egypt . DreamWorks had contracted Pacific Data Images (PDI) in Palo Alto, California to begin working on computer-animated films to rival Pixar 's features. Woody Allen

12978-398: The trade papers that PDI's first project at DreamWorks would be another ant film, to be called Antz . By this time, Pixar's project was well known within the animation community. Both Antz and A Bug's Life center on a young male ant, a drone with oddball tendencies that struggles to win a princess's hand by saving their society. Whereas A Bug's Life relied chiefly on visual gags, Antz

13104-513: The use of hand-drawn frames, and is used in the world of cartoons, movies and anime. Notable studios that specialize in this style include Studio Ghibli , Cartoon Saloon , Nickelodeon Animation Studio , Disney Television Animation , 20th Television Animation , Warner Bros. Animation , Cartoon Network Studios , Titmouse , Ufotable , Studio Chizu and CoMix Wave Films . Stop-motion animation uses objects that are incrementally moved and photographed in order to create an illusion of movement when

13230-767: Was Bird Karma , 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 (2019), 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 announced its first license deal with DreamWorks Animation, becoming

13356-463: Was How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). 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. Arnold and Soria retained their positions as co-presidents of DreamWorks' Feature Animation division, while Margie Cohn would lead

13482-450: Was 2,929 theatres, and closed on February 18, 1999. The film altogether picked up $ 90,757,863 domestically, but failed to outgross the competition with A Bug's Life . The film picked up an additional $ 81 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $ 171.8 million. According to DreamWorks, the film's budget was about $ 42 million, while the numbers $ 60 million and $ 105 million were also reported. According to Los Angeles Times ,

13608-419: 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 "[take] the low-single-digit returns of

13734-612: Was building a new Universal Studios park in Beijing). On June 21, 2016, the acquisition was approved by the United States Department of Justice . The purchase was closed on August 22, 2016; the company now operates as a subsidiary of Universal Pictures . DreamWorks Animation's last films distributed by 20th Century Fox were Trolls (2016), The Boss Baby (2017) and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), and their first film distributed by Universal

13860-424: Was cast in the lead role of Z, and much of Allen's trademark humor is present within the film. Allen made some uncredited rewrites to the script, to make the dialogue better fit his style of comedic timing. An altered line from one of his early directed films, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) was included – "I was going to include you in my most erotic fantasies..." During

13986-511: Was further angered by the fact that Eisner scheduled Bugs to open the same week as The Prince of Egypt , which was then intended to be DreamWorks' first animated release. Lasseter relayed the news to Pixar employees but kept morale high. Privately, Lasseter told other Pixar executives that he and Stanton felt let down by Katzenberg. Katzenberg moved the opening of Antz from spring 1999 to October 1998 to compete with Pixar's release. David Price writes in his 2008 book The Pixar Touch that

14112-406: Was generally high with adults rather than families and children. Antz premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival on September 19, 1998, and entered wide release on October 2, 1998. Antz was released on VHS and DIVX on February 9, 1999, and on DVD on March 23, becoming the first feature-length CGI-animated film to be available on DVD. The original release used a 35mm print of

14238-459: Was in 1958 that The Huckleberry Hound Show claimed the title of being the first all-new half-hour cartoon show. This, along with their previous success with the series Tom and Jerry , elevated their animation studio, H.B. Enterprises (later Hanna-Barbera Productions ), to dominate the North American television animation market during the latter half of the 20th century. In 2002, Shrek , produced by DreamWorks and Pacific Data Images won

14364-441: Was later revealed to be The Bad Guys 2 . DreamWorks Animation is known for its logo, which is a boy fishing on the moon. The logo originated from DreamWorks Pictures , illustrated by Robert Hunt and animated by Wes Takahashi , 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

14490-457: Was more family-friendly and lighthearted in tone and story. The two films especially differ in their artistic look: Antz played off more realistic aspects of ants and how they relate to other bugs, like termites and wasps, while A Bug's Life offered a more fanciful look at insects to better suit its story. PopMatters journalist J.C. Maçek III compared the two films and wrote, "The feud deepened with both teams making accusations and excuses and

14616-427: Was more verbal and revolved more around satire. The script of Antz was also heavy with adult references, whereas Pixar's film was more accessible to children. Lasseter and Jobs believed that the idea was stolen by Katzenberg. Katzenberg had stayed in touch with Lasseter after the acrimonious Disney split, often calling to check up. In October 1995, when Lasseter was overseeing postproduction work on Toy Story at

14742-399: Was named as the animation service for one of two unannounced films scheduled for 2025, the film being a sequel. The film would use a "mixed production model", in which pre-production would be done in-house at DreamWorks along with approximately 50% of the asset build and one hour of production, while Imageworks will handle the other 50% of asset builds and 20 minutes of shot production. The film

14868-616: Was nothing he could do to convince Disney to change the date. Katzenberg responded that Jobs had taught him how to conduct similar business long ago, explaining that Jobs had come to Pixar's rescue by making the deal for Toy Story , as Pixar was near bankruptcy at that time. Katzenberg said, "I was the one guy there for you back then, and now you're allowing them to use you to screw me." He suggested that if Jobs wanted to, he could slow down production on A Bug's Life without telling Disney. If he did, Katzenberg said, he would put Antz on hold. Lasseter also claimed Katzenberg had phoned him with

14994-443: Was nothing he could do to convince Disney to change the date. Katzenberg said to him that Jobs himself had taught him how to conduct similar business long ago, explaining that Jobs had come to Pixar's rescue from near bankruptcy by making the deal for Toy Story with Disney. He told Jobs that he had enough power with Disney to convince them to change specific plans on their films. Lasseter also claimed Katzenberg had phoned him with

15120-557: Was released in December 2022 to universal acclaim and commercial success. On January 9, 2019, DeFaria 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 . On August 5, 2022, DreamWorks announced plans to release their rendering software MoonRay as an open-source software in late 2022. It

15246-409: Was released on March 15, 2023. On October 6, 2023, Cartoon Brew reported that DreamWorks Animation was moving away from producing films in-house at their Glendale campus to rely more heavily on outside studios after 2024, as part of a layoff by chief operating officer Randy Lake in a series of meetings the previous month; low morale was also reported. According to the report, Sony Pictures Imageworks

15372-441: Was released theatrically in the United States on October 2, 1998. It grossed $ 171.8 million worldwide on a budget of $ 42–105 million and received positive reviews, with critics praising the voice cast, animation, humor, and its appeal towards adults. Z is an anxious worker ant who is suffering an existential crisis due to the fact that everyone in the colony, including his psychiatrist , reminds him of his insignificance. While at

15498-530: Was removed from the release schedule as The Bad Guys (2022) 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

15624-417: 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

15750-472: Was telling friends throughout the tight-knit computer-animation business to get cracking on their own films. He told various friends, "If this hits, it's going to be like space movies after Star Wars " for computer animation companies. Lasseter later recalled, "I should have been wary. Jeffrey kept asking questions about when it would be released." When the trades indicated production on Antz , Lasseter, feeling betrayed, called Katzenberg and asked him if it

15876-444: Was true, who in turn asked him where he had heard the rumor. Lasseter asked again, and Katzenberg admitted it was true. Lasseter raised his voice and would not believe Katzenberg's story that a development director had pitched him the idea long ago. Katzenberg claimed Antz came from a 1991 story pitch by Tim Johnson that was related to Katzenberg in October 1994. Another source gives Nina Jacobson , one of Katzenberg's executives, as

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