DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NYSE: DWA) is an independent American animation studio which primarily produce a series of commercially successful computer animated films, including Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs Aliens, and How to Train Your Dragon. The studio was formed by the merger of the feature animation division of DreamWorks and Pacific Data Images (PDI). Originally formed under the banner of DreamWorks SKG, it was spun-off into a separate public company in 2004.
They are currently distributed only through Paramount Pictures (in turn owned by Viacom) who acquired the rest of DreamWorks SKG in February 2006. DreamWorks Animation maintains two studios: the original DreamWorks feature animation studio in Glendale, California and the PDI studio in Redwood City, California.
[edit] History
[edit] 1994–2003
On October 12, 1994, DreamWorks SKG was formed and founded by a trio of entertainment players, director and producer Steven Spielberg, music executive David Geffen, and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg. DreamWorks signed a co-production deal with Pacific Data Images to form subsidiary PDI, LLC (PDI owned 60% of PDI, LLC while DreamWorks SKG owned 40%). Pacific Data Images was founded by Carl Rosendahl in 1980 with a small loan from his father. In 1982, he was joined by Richard Chuang and Glenn Entis, who wrote the foundation of the in-house computer animation software that was to be used for the next two decades. During the 1980s, PDI created many animated logos and commercials for television for companies like NBC and Sky Movies. They shifted into motion picture visual effects beginning in 1991 with a contribution to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The new unit would produce computer-generated feature films beginning with Antz in 1998. In the same year DreamWorks SKG produced The Prince of Egypt using traditional animation techniques.
In 2000, DreamWorks SKG created a new business division, DreamWorks Animation, that would regularly produce both types of animated feature films. All four traditionally animated feature films were produced by the division's Southern California branch. DreamWorks SKG acquired majority interest (90%) in PDI, reforming it into PDI/DreamWorks, the Northern California branch of its new business division. The business division separated from its parent in 2004, forming DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. and purchasing the remaining interest in PDI as well as its subsidiary PDI, LLC.
[edit] 2004–2008
From 2004 to 2008, the studio is dedicated solely to producing CG animated films in-house and has committed itself to make 2 computer-animated feature films a year. No more traditional 2D animation is expected.
DreamWorks Animation also had a partnership with Aardman Animations, a stop-motion animation company in Bristol, England. This partnership had DreamWorks participating in the production of stop-motion films in Bristol, and also had Aardman participating in some of the CG films made in the US. This partnership ended after the release of Flushed Away in November 2006; the announcement was made before the film's release, on October 3, citing "creative differences" as the reason. [1]
The logo, adapted from the parent studio's logo, consists of a boy fishing on the moon, against a backdrop of the daytime sky albeit with more colorful lettering. The soundtrack of this logo was originally an adaptation of the DreamWorks theme; however, following the global success of Shrek in 2001, this became an shortened adaptation of True Love's First Kiss (the Love Theme from the Shrek soundtrack), composed by John Powell.
Employees at DreamWorks get to enjoy breakfast and lunch for free, a perk not found at many other companies.[2] In 2009, DreamWorks Animation made the list of Fortune Magazine's best 100 companies to work for, at number 47. This is its first year on the list.[2] [3]
[edit] 2009–present
Starting with Monsters vs. Aliens in 2009, DreamWorks Animation is now making 3-D movies, with the help of InTru3D.
[edit] Partnerships
DreamWorks Animation has an on-going partnership with HP, and the studio exclusively uses HP workstations and servers. In 2005, AMD signed a 3 year deal to provide processors to the studio. This relationship ended in 2008, and Dreamworks announced that they will use Intel processors for future productions. [4]
see also InTru3D
[edit] Board of Directors
 The PDI/DreamWorks Studio in Redwood City, California The following executives[5] are on the DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Board of Directors:
- Roger Enrico, Chairman of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.
- Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc./Co-Founder of DreamWorks.
- Lew Coleman, President of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.
- Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Capital Management
- Nathan Myhrvold, Chief Executive Officer of Intellectual Ventures
- Richard Sherman, CEO of The David Geffen Company
- Karl von der Heyden, retired Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Pepsico, Inc.
- Judson Green, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAVTEQ
- Michael Montgomery, President of Montgomery & Co.
- Thomas E. Freston, former CEO of Viacom
- Harry (Skip) Brittenham, Director
[edit] Films and series
[edit] Traditionally-animated films
Note: All traditionally animated films were made at the Glendale studio.
[edit] Stop-motion films
Note: All stop-motion animated films were produced by Aardman Animations.
[edit] Computer-animated films
Note: Only one computer-animated film was produced by Aardman.
| Film | Year | Budget | Worldwide Gross
|
| Antz | 1998 | $105,000,000 | $171,757,863
|
| Shrek | 2001 | $60,000,000 | $484,409,218
|
| Shrek 2 | 2004 | $150,000,000 | $919,838,758
|
| Shark Tale | 2004 | $75,000,000 | $367,275,019
|
| Madagascar | 2005 | $75,000,000 | $532,680,671
|
| Over the Hedge | 2006 | $N/A | $335,206,062
|
Flushed Away
(Aardman co-production). | 2006 | $149,000,000 | $176,319,242
|
| Shrek the Third | 2007 | $160,000,000 | $794,561,223
|
| Bee Movie | 2007 | $150,000,000 | $287,076,833
|
| Kung Fu Panda | 2008 | $130,000,000 | $631,908,951
|
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | 2008 | $150,000,000 | $602,308,178
|
| Monsters vs. Aliens | 2009 | $175,000,000 | $366,642,161
|
[edit] Upcoming computer-animated films
- How to Train Your Dragon (March 26, 2010) (Glendale, in production)
- Shrek Forever After (May 21, 2010)
- Oobermind (November 5, 2010)
- Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom (June 3, 2011) [6]
- The Guardians of Childhood (working title, November 4, 2011)
- Puss in Boots: Story of an Ogre Killer (working title, March 30, 2012)
- Madagascar 3 (May 25, 2012)
[edit] TV specials
- Shrek the Halls (2007)
- Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (2009)
- Merry Madagascar (2009)
- Scared Shrekless (2010)
- Untitled Kung Fu Panda Christmas special (2010)
[edit] Short films
[edit] Traditionally-animated television series
[edit] Computer-animated television series
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| DreamWorks Animation |
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| | Computer-animated films | | | | 2D-animated films | | | Films produced with
Aardman Animations | | | | Future films | | | | Computer-animated TV series | | | | 2D-animated TV series | | | | Direct-to-video | | | | Shorts | |
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