An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals of the media produced. They also own rights over merchandising and creative rights for characters created/held by the company, much like authors holding copyrights . In some early cases, they also held patent rights over methods of animation used in certain studios that were used for boosting productivity. Overall, they are business concerns and can function as such in legal terms.
56-520: Illumination , formerly known as Illumination Entertainment , is an American animation studio founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007 and is a division of Universal Pictures , a division of Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal ; Meledandri produces the films, while Universal finances and distributes them. The studio is best known for creating the Despicable Me , The Secret Life of Pets , and Sing franchises, as well as
112-746: A Who! for Meledandri at Fox) wrote or co-wrote Despicable Me , Hop , Dr. Seuss' The Lorax , Despicable Me 2 , The Secret Life of Pets , and Despicable Me 3 , while screenwriter Brian Lynch wrote or co-wrote Hop , Minions , and The Secret Life of Pets . Illumination's films generally have a budget between $ 60–80 million. Meledandri prefers to keep Illumination adhering to a low-cost model, recognising that "strict cost controls and hit animated films are not mutually exclusive". In an industry where film expenses often exceed $ 100 million, Illumination's first two releases were completed with significantly lower budgets, considering Despicable Me 's $ 69 million budget and Hop 's $ 63 million budget. One way
168-423: A comedy written and directed by Garth Jennings , was released on December 21, 2016. It was the first movie for the studio to have a Christmas release. The film would earn $ 56 million in its first 5 days, grossing $ 270 million stateside and $ 634 million worldwide. It also holds the record for the highest-grossing film not to ever be at No. 1 in its run. Despicable Me 3 , which reunited Coffin and Balda as directors,
224-715: A deal was announced positioning Illumination Entertainment as Universal 's family entertainment arm, that would produce one to two films a year starting in 2010. As part of the deal, Illumination retains creative control and Universal Pictures exclusively distributes the films. In 2011, Illumination acquired the animation department of the French animation and visual effects studio Mac Guff , which animated Despicable Me and Dr. Seuss' The Lorax , and formed Illumination Mac Guff (later Illumination Studios Paris ). On August 22, 2016, NBCUniversal acquired competing studio DreamWorks Animation , which fueled speculation that Meledandri
280-484: 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 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,
336-601: 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
392-506: 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
448-500: A new label led by Moon known as Moonlight, which will aim to "produce animated films that push beyond the family genre". In a similar fashion to Sony Pictures Animation and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation , Illumination does not produce its films in-house where it is based in Santa Monica , but rather outsources the animation production of its films to other studios. Most of its films are animated by Illumination Studios Paris ,
504-508: 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 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
560-682: A subsidiary formed through the purchase of Mac Guff (which animated the first Despicable Me ). So far, the only Illumination film not to be animated by Illumination Studios Paris or Mac Guff was Hop , which was animated by Rhythm & Hues Studios . Not unlike Pixar , in its early days Illumination depended on a core group of directors and writers to create its films. The directors of Despicable Me , Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud , also directed or co-directed Dr. Seuss' The Lorax , Despicable Me 2 , Minions , The Secret Life of Pets , and Despicable Me 3 . Screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (who had written Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears
616-550: 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
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#1732780355754672-535: A video game titled Eggs of Steel: Charlie's Eggcellent Adventure for the PlayStation . In 1999, Rhythm & Hues Studios acquired visual effects house VIFX from 20th Century Fox . Director Ang Lee approached Rhythm & Hues in August 2009 to discuss a planned film adaptation of the fantasy novel Life of Pi . R&H VFX (Visual Effects) Supervisor Bill Westenhofer noted that Lee "knew we had done
728-476: A worldwide total of $ 1.159 billion, making it the highest-grossing animated film of 2015 and, at the time of its release, the second highest-grossing animated film of all time, behind Walt Disney Animation Studios ' Frozen (2013). The Secret Life of Pets was released on July 8, 2016. Directed by Renaud and Yarrow Cheney , the film would earn $ 104 million in its opening weekend, going on to gross $ 368 million domestically, and $ 875 million worldwide. Sing ,
784-592: A year on research and development , "building upon its already vast knowledge of CGI animation" to develop the tiger. Artist Abdul Rahman in the Malaysian branch underscored the global nature of the effects process, saying that "the special thing about Life of Pi is that it was the first time we did something called remote rendering, where we engaged our cloud infrastructure in Taiwan called CAVE (Cloud Animation and Visual Effects)". The resulting film, Life of Pi ,
840-707: 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 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
896-591: 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,
952-606: 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
1008-449: The 50 highest-grossing films of all time, and eight of their films are among the 50 highest-grossing animated films . Meledandri left as President of 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios in early 2007. While at those companies he supervised or executive-produced movies including Ice Age , Robots , Ice Age: The Meltdown , and Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! . After leaving, he founded Illumination Entertainment and
1064-508: The Barbie series of fashion dolls. In addition, two web short series are in development by Pierre Coffin: A Minions spin-off titled Who's Who , and an original series titled Bones Story . The shorts will be released on TikTok and subsequently on YouTube . Animation studio The idea of a studio dedicated to animating cartoons was spearheaded by Raoul Barré and his studio, Barré Studio , co-founded with Bill Nolan , beating out
1120-728: 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
1176-858: 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 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
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#17327803557541232-406: 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 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
1288-413: 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
1344-460: The US market and $ 348 million worldwide. The studio's first sequel , Despicable Me 2 , again directed by Renaud and Coffin, opened in the United States on July 3, 2013, to a domestic five-day opening weekend of $ 142 million (and $ 82 million over the regular three-day frame), making it, at the time of its release, the biggest animated film to open on that frame. The film would go on to earn $ 368 million domestically and $ 970 million worldwide, becoming
1400-693: The adaptations of Dr. Seuss ' books The Lorax and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ; and Nintendo video games, starting with The Super Mario Bros. Movie . The Minions , characters from the Despicable Me series, are the mascots of the studio. Illumination has produced 15 feature films , with an average gross of $ 711 million per film. The studio's highest-grossing films are The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023; $ 1.362 billion), Minions (2015; $ 1.159 billion), and Despicable Me 3 (2017; $ 1.034 billion), all of which are among
1456-477: 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
1512-547: 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 ,
1568-427: The company sustains a lean financial model is by employing cost-conscious animation techniques that lower the expenses and render times of its computer graphics. To date, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Despicable Me 4 are the studio's most expensive films, both with a $ 100 million budget. The studio's first film, Despicable Me , directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin , was released on July 9, 2010, and
1624-516: The film would eventually become the highest-grossing animated film of 2021, as well as the highest-grossing animated film released during the COVID-19 pandemic , earning $ 163 million stateside and $ 408 million worldwide. Minions: The Rise of Gru , directed by Balda, was released on July 1, 2022, after a delay of two years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The film earned $ 125 million stateside over
1680-452: 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 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
1736-454: The four-day July 4 weekend, a new record over said timeframe. The film would go on to overtake Sing 2 as the highest-grossing animated film during the pandemic, with $ 369 million domestically and $ 939 million worldwide. The Super Mario Bros. Movie , an animated film based on the Mario video game franchise as a collaboration with Nintendo directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic ,
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1792-414: 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
1848-421: 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
1904-575: 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
1960-405: The lion in the first Narnia movie . He asked, 'Does a digital character look more or less real in 3D?' We looked at each other and thought that was a pretty good question." He also stated that during these meetings, Lee said, "'I look forward to making art with you.' This was really for me one of the most rewarding things I've worked on and the first chance to really combine art with VFX. Every shot
2016-560: 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
2072-578: 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 . Rhythm %26 Hues Studios Rhythm & Hues Studios
2128-508: The same name. Rhythm & Hues Studios was established in Los Angeles , California in 1987 by former employees of Robert Abel and Associates (John Patrick Hughes, Pauline Ts'o, Keith Goldfarb, Cliff Boule, Frank Wuts and Charles Gibson ). The company used its own proprietary software for its photo-realistic character animation/visual effects—as well as for those that are more stylized. In 1998, Rhythm & Hues Studios developed
2184-430: The second highest-grossing 2013 animated film and breaking a record as the most profitable Universal Pictures film in its 100-year history. A spin-off of the Despicable Me franchise , titled Minions , directed by Coffin and newcomer Kyle Balda , was released on July 10, 2015 to a domestic opening weekend of $ 115 million. The film would go on to gross $ 336 million domestically and $ 823 million overseas, amounting to
2240-846: The second highest-grossing film of 2023. Migration , an original film directed by Benjamin Renner , was released on December 22, 2023. It was followed by Despicable Me 4 , directed by Renaud, on July 3, 2024. On May 19, 2011, Illumination announced that it would be working with Universal Pictures to create Despicable Me Minion Mayhem , a 3-D ride at Universal Parks & Resorts in Orlando , Hollywood , and Osaka . The ride officially opened on July 2, 2012, in Orlando, in Hollywood on April 12, 2014, and in Osaka on April 21, 2017. In April 2019, it
2296-417: 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
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2352-566: 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 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
2408-433: The studio has in development include Big Tree , a film based on an illustrated novel by Brian Selznick from an idea by Meledandri and Steven Spielberg , The Secret Life of Pets 3 , Sing 3 , and an original animated film with frequent collaborator and musician Pharrell Williams that will be "made from scratch." Additionally, Illumination is in negotiations with toy company Mattel to produce an animated film based on
2464-417: 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, 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
2520-513: 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
2576-594: Was a commercial success, earning $ 56 million on its opening weekend, and going on to ticket sales of $ 251 million domestically and $ 543 million worldwide. Illumination's second film was the live-action/CGI hybrid Hop . Directed by Tim Hill and released on April 1, 2011, the film had a $ 37 million opening, ending up with $ 108 million domestically and $ 183 million worldwide. Hop was followed by an adaptation of Dr. Seuss ' The Lorax (also directed by Renaud), which debuted on March 2, 2012, earning $ 70 million on its opening weekend, and with eventual totals of $ 214 million in
2632-486: Was an American visual effects and animation company that received the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1995 for Babe , in 2007 for The Golden Compass , and in 2012 for Life of Pi . It also received four Scientific and Technical Academy Awards. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2013. It was then purchased by an affiliate of Prana Studios , 34x118 Holdings, LLC, but retained
2688-498: Was an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! , simply titled The Grinch , which was released on November 9, 2018, with Scott Mosier and Cheney as directors and featuring a screenplay by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow . The film opened to $ 67 million in its first domestic weekend and went on to earn $ 271 million stateside and $ 513 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time. The Secret Life of Pets 2 , again directed by Renaud,
2744-581: Was announced they would collaborate again on the creation of The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! , a dark ride attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood . While its opening was scheduled for March 27, 2020, it was delayed until further notice due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in California . It eventually opened on April 8, 2021. Future projects include a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie on April 3, 2026 and Minions 3 on June 30, 2027. Other films
2800-550: Was artistic exploration, to make the ocean a character and make it interesting we had to strive to make it as visually stunning as possible." By 2012, the company had become a global one, with offices and artists in India (the Mumbai suburb of Malad and HITEC City which is a part of Hyderabad ), Malaysia ( Cyberjaya just outside Kuala Lumpur ), Canada ( Vancouver ), and Taiwan ( Kaohsiung ). Rhythm & Hues spent
2856-701: Was released in theaters in November 2012, and was a critical and commercial success. The British Film Institute 's Sight & Sound magazine suggested that, " Life of Pi can be seen as the film Rhythm & Hues has been building up to all these years, by taking things they learned from each production from Cats & Dogs to Yogi Bear , integrating their animals in different situations and environments, pushing them to do more, and understanding how all of this can succeed both visually and dramatically." On February 11, 2013, Rhythm & Hues Studios filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 , three months after Life of Pi
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#17327803557542912-416: Was released on April 5, 2023. The film debuted to a $ 146.4 million domestic opening weekend, holding several box office records including the highest opening weekend for a video game adaptation as well as the highest opening weekend for Illumination. The film would go on to gross $ 574.9 million domestically and $ 1.36 billion worldwide, becoming the third Illumination film to cross the $ 1 billion mark, as well as
2968-434: Was released on June 30, 2017, to a $ 75 million domestic opening weekend. The film would then go on to gross $ 264 million domestically and $ 1.034 billion worldwide, making it the second film from the studio to cross the $ 1 billion mark, as well as highest-grossing animated film of 2017. At the time of its release, it also set a record for the highest theatre count ever with 4,536 theatres in its second week. The film that followed
3024-403: Was released on June 7, 2019, to a domestic opening weekend of $ 47 million, going on to gross $ 159 million stateside and $ 446 million worldwide, making less than half of its predecessor. It was followed by Sing 2 , again directed by Jennings, which was released on December 22, 2021. Despite opening to a modest $ 41 million over a five-day weekend (and $ 23 million over the normal three-day frame),
3080-484: Was released. On March 29, 2013, an affiliate of Prana Studios , 34x118 Holdings, LLC, won the bidding on Rhythm and Hues in a bankruptcy auction. The sale was "valued at about $ 30 million". In February 2015, founders Hughes, Goldfarb, and Tso were sued for having “pillaged” the VFX house, including conflicted technology and real estate transfers. As of January 2024, the outcome of the lawsuit hasn't been made public. After
3136-411: Was to oversee both studios. While he had been approached by NBCUniversal to oversee both studios, he turned down the offer and later explained "I love the process of making films and working with artists. I don't think I'm particularly great at managing companies". On September 23, 2022, Illumination announced its hiring of former Netflix head of adult animation Mike Moon as senior creative advisor, and
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