DreamWorks Animation



DreamWorks Animation (DWA) is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television programs and online virtual worlds. The studio has released a total of 32 feature films, including the franchises of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Monsters vs. Aliens, and The Croods.

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 in 1997 by some of Amblin Entertainment's former animation branch Amblimation alumni, it was spun off into a separate public company in 2004. DreamWorks Animation currently maintains its Glendale campus, as well as satellite studios in India and China.

As of April 2016, its feature films have grossed $13.48 billion worldwide, with a $421.4 million average gross per film. Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third are among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, and fifteen of the films are among the 50 highest-grossing animated films, with Shrek 2 being the sixth all-time highest. Although the studio also made traditionally animated films in the past, as well as a co-production with Aardman Animations, all of their films now use computer animation. The studio has so far received three Academy Awards, as well as 22 Emmy and numerous Annie Awards, as well as multiple Golden Globe & BAFTA nominations. In recent years, the animation studio has acquired and created new divisions in an effort to diversify beyond the high-risk movie business.

Films produced by DreamWorks Animation were formerly distributed worldwide by the live-action DreamWorks studio, then by Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Viacom, who acquired the live-action DreamWorks studio in February 2006, and spun it off again in 2008. In 2013, 20th Century Fox, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, took over a distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation films starting in March 22, 2013 with The Croods and onwards.

On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced its intent to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion.