# Universal Animation Studios

Universal Animation Studios LLC, formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios, is an American animation studio and a division of Universal Pictures, which is owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment division of Comcast. It has produced direct-to-video sequels to Universal-released feature films, such as The Land Before Time (1988), An American Tail (1986), Balto (1995), and Curious George (2006), as well as other films and television series. The actual animation production is done overseas, usually by foreign animation studios such as AKOM, Wang Film Productions and Rough Draft Studios, while pre-production and post-production is United States–based. The television animation divisions of Universal and DreamWorks merged on August 23, 2016, after Universal completed its acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, who began producing a majority of Universal Pictures' family-friendly TV shows. The studio is one of Comcast's 3 animation arms, alongside the aforementioned DreamWorks and Illumination.

## History

Universal Animation Studios was established in 1990 as Universal Cartoon Studios, the animation division of MCA Inc. It was originally a subsidiary of Universal Family Entertainment, which was headed by Jeff Segal. Its debut work was Back to the Future: The Animated Series, which was announced on March 22, 1991, and premiered on CBS on September 14 the same year.
In 1996, the two groups Universal Family Entertainment and its subsidiary Universal Cartoon Studios were absorbed into MCA Television Entertainment.
In 2005, Universal Cartoon Studios was absorbed into Universal Studios Family Productions, and later on, it was renamed to Universal Animation Studios.

## Franchises

This is not including the original films of An American Tail, The Land Before Time and Balto made by either Hanna-Barbera Productions, Sullivan Bluth Studios, Amblimation or Saban Entertainment.
| Titles | Release dates | Movies | TV Seasons |
| Woody Woodpecker | 1991–present$^1$ | 2 | 6 |
| Honeybee Hutch | 1970–present$^1$ | 2 | 2 and re-edition |
| An American Tail | 1986–2000 | 4 | 1 |
| The Land Before Time | 1988–present | 14 | 2 |
| Balto | 1995–2004 | 3 | 0 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | 1999–2000 | 2 | 0 |
| Curious George | 2006–present | 6 | 15 |
$^{1:}$The date reflects the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker in a production from Universal Cartoon Studios rather than the date when the character was originally created in 1940 by Walter Lantz Productions.

## Filmography
### Feature films
#### Theatrical feature films

| # | Title | Release date | Director | Writer(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Co-production with |
| # | Title | Release date | Director | Story | Screenplay | Producer(s) | Co-production with |
| 1 | Curious George | February 10, 2006 (2006-2-10) | Matthew O'Callaghan | Ken Kaufman Mike Werb | Ken Kaufman | Ron Howard David Kirschner Jon Shapiro | Imagine Entertainment |
| 2 | Woody Woodpecker | October 5, 2017 (2017-10-05) | Alex Zamm | William Robertson Alex Zamm Daniel Altiere Steven Altiere | William Robertson Alex Zamm | Mike Elliott | Universal 1440 Entertainment |
    $^S$ Combines live-action with animation.
    $^R$ Not released theatrically in the United States

#### Direct-to-video/streaming feature films
##### Children's feature films

| # | Title | Release date | Co-production with |
| as Universal Cartoon Studios ||||
| 1 | The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure | December 13, 1994 (1994-12-13) | N/A |
| 2 | The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving | December 12, 1995 (1995-12-12) | N/A |
| 3 | The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists | December 10, 1996 (1996-12-10) | N/A |
| 4 | The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island | December 9, 1997 (1997-12-9) | N/A |
| 5 | Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus | January 6, 1998 (1998-1-6) | Renaissance Pictures |
| 6 | The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock | December 1, 1998 (1998-12-1) | N/A |
| 7 | Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein | September 28, 1999 (1999-9-28) | Bagdasarian Productions, LLC. |
| 8 | An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island | February 15, 2000 (2000-2-15) | N/A |
| 9 | An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster | July 25, 2000 (2000-7-25) | N/A |
| 10 | Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman | August 29, 2000 (2000-8-29) | Bagdasarian Productions, LLC. |
| 11 | The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire | December 5, 2000 (2000-12-5) | N/A |
| 12 | The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze | December 4, 2001 (2001-12-4) | N/A |
| 13 | Balto II: Wolf Quest | February 19, 2002 (2002-2-19) | N/A |
| 14 | The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water | December 10, 2002 (2002-12-10) | N/A |
| 15 | The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration | December 2, 2003 (2003-12-2) | N/A |
| 16 | Balto III: Wings of Change | September 30, 2004 (2004-9-30) | N/A |
| 17 | The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses | January 11, 2005 (2005-1-11) | N/A |
| 18 | The Adventures of Brer Rabbit | March 21, 2006 (2006-3-21) | N/A |
| as Universal Animation Studios ||||
| 19 | The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers | February 27, 2007 (2007-2-27) | N/A |
| 20 | The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends | November 27, 2007 (2007-11-27) | N/A |
| 21 | Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! | July 10, 2009 (2009-7-10) | Imagine Entertainment |
| 22 | The Little Engine That Could | March 22, 2011 (2011-3-22) | Crest Animation Productions |
| 23 | Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle | June 23, 2015 (2015-6-23) | Imagine Entertainment Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| 24 | The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave | February 2, 2016 (2016-2-2) | Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| 25 | Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You | November 14, 2017 (2017-11-14) | Universal 1440 Entertainment Splash Entertainment Telegael Magic Carpet Productions |
| 26 | Curious George: Royal Monkey | September 10, 2019 (2019-9-10) | Imagine Entertainment Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| 27 | Curious George: Go West, Go Wild | September 8, 2020 (2020-9-8) | Imagine Entertainment Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| 28 | Bobbleheads: The Movie | December 8, 2020 (2020-12-8) | Threshold Animation Studios Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| 29 | Curious George: Cape Ahoy | September 30, 2021 (2021-9-30) | Imagine Entertainment Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| 30 | Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp | April 12, 2024 (2024-4-12) | Universal 1440 Entertainment |

##### Adult animated short films

| # | Title | Release date | Co-production with |
| as Universal Cartoon Studios ||||
| 1 | Van Helsing: The London Assignment | May 11, 2004 (2004-5-11) | N/A |
| 2 | The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury | June 15, 2004 (2004-6-15) | N/A |
    $^P$ Released on Peacock.
    $^N$ Released on Netflix.
    $^A$ Adult animated production.

### Short films

* Fractured Fairy Tales: The Phox, the Box, & the Lox (1999) (theatrical release)

### Television series

| # | Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Original run | Network | Co-production with |
| as Universal Cartoon Studios ||||||
| 1 | Back to the Future | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale | 1991–1992 | CBS | Amblin Television Zaloom/Mayfield Productions BIG Pictures |
| 2 | Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories | Shelley Duvall | 1992–1993 | Showtime | Think Entertainment |
| 3 | Fievel's American Tails | David Kirschner | 1992 | CBS | Amblin Television Nelvana |
| 4 | Exosquad | Jeff Segal Eric Lewald Michael Edens | 1993–1994 | Syndication | N/A |
| 5 | Problem Child | Scott Alexander Larry Karaszewski | 1993–1994 | USA Network | D'Ocon Films Productions (season 1) Lacewood Productions (season 2) |
| 6 | Monster Force | Marv Wolfman | 1994 | Syndication | Lacewood Productions |
| 7 | Beethoven | N/A | 1994–1995 | CBS | Northern Lights Entertainment |
| 8 | Earthworm Jim | Doug TenNapel Doug Langdale | 1995–1996 | Kids' WB | Shiny Entertainment |
| 9 | The Savage Dragon | Dean Stefan Bob Forward | 1995–1996 | USA Network | Lacewood Productions (season 1) Studio B Productions (season 2) P3 Entertainment USA Studios |
| 10 | The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper | Sherri Stoner Deanna Oliver | 1996–1998 | Fox Kids | Amblin Television Harveytoons |
| 11 | Wing Commander Academy | Michael Edens Mark Edens | 1996 | USA Network | USA Studios |
| 12 | Vor-Tech: Undercover Conversion Squad | N/A | 1996 | Syndication | Edition Dupuis France S.A. Mediatoon Lacewood Productions |
| 13 | The New Woody Woodpecker Show | Bob Jaques Kelly Armstrong | 1999–2002 | Fox Kids | N/A |
| 14 | The Mummy: The Animated Series | Thomas Pugsley Greg Klein | 2001–2003 | Kids' WB | Studios USA Television (season 1) The Sommers Company |
| as Universal Animation Studios ||||||
| 15 | Curious George | Joe Fallon | 2006–2022 | PBS Kids (2006–2022) Family Jr. (2018–2020) Peacock (2020–2022) | Imagine Entertainment (seasons 1–9, 14–15) WGBH Boston (seasons 1–12) Universal 1440 Entertainment (seasons 10–15) |
| 16 | The Land Before Time | Ford Riley | 2007–2008 | Cartoon Network | Amblin Entertainment |
| 17 | Woody Woodpecker | Alex Zamm | 2018–2022 | YouTube | Universal Pictures International Universal 1440 Entertainment Splash Entertainment |

### Television specials

| # | Title | Release date | Network | Co-production with |
| as Universal Cartoon Studios |||||
| 1 | A Wish for Wings That Work | December 18, 1991 (1991-12-18) | CBS | Amblin Television |
| as Universal Animation Studios |||||
| 2 | Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas | November 25, 2009 (2009-11-25) | PBS Kids | Imagine Entertainment WGBH Boston |
| 3 | Curious George Swings Into Spring | April 22, 2013 (2013-4-22) | PBS Kids | Imagine Entertainment WGBH Boston |
| 4 | Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest | October 28, 2013 (2013-10-28) | PBS Kids | Imagine Entertainment WGBH Boston |
| 5 | How Murray Saved Christmas | December 5, 2014 (2014-12-5) | NBC | Universal Television |

### Video games

| Title | Release Date | Platform(s) | Developer | Publisher |
| An American Tail: Fievel Goes West | 1991 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Shimada Kikaku | Hudson Soft |
| The Land Before Time: Return to the Great Valley | 2000 | PlayStation | Sound Source Interactive | Realtime Associates |
| The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure | 2001 | PlayStation | Vision Scape Interactive | TDK Mediactive |
| The Land Before Time | 2002 | Game Boy Advance | Full Fat | Conspiracy Entertainment |
| The Land Before Time: Big Water Adventure | 2002 | PlayStation | Digital Illusions | TDK Mediactive |
| The Land Before Time: Into the Mysterious Beyond | 2006 | Game Boy Advance | Sirius Games | The Game Factory |
| Curious George | 2006 | PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows | Monkey Bar Games (console) Torus Games (GBA) | Namco |

### Miscellaneous work

* 63rd Academy Awards (1991) – animation for Woody Woodpecker presenting the award for Best Animated Short Film
* Kids WB! promos – Earthworm Jim segments.
* The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (1999) – traditionally-animated introduction
* Dudley-Do Right’s RipSaw Falls (1999) – traditionally-animated queue video.

### Cancelled projects

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