Universal Animation Studios was established in 1990 as Universal Cartoon Studios, the animation division ofMCA Inc., to produce television shows.[12][13] It was originally a subsidiary of Universal Family Entertainment, which was headed by formerHanna-Barbera employee Jeff Segal.[14] Its debut work wasBack to the Future: The Animated Series, which was announced on March 22, 1991, and premiered onCBS on September 14 the same year.[15][16]
In 1993, Universal Cartoon Studios was transferred as a joint-venture between Universal Family Entertainment andMCA/Universal Home Video, due to the tremendous growth in the children's home video market.[17]
In 1995, the company partnered with Harvey Comics to launch a new subsidiary, Universal/Harvey Animation Studios, to produce animated series based onHarvey Comics' properties.[18]
In 1996, the two groups Universal Family Entertainment and its subsidiary Universal Cartoon Studios were absorbed into MCA Television Entertainment.[19]
In 1998, Universal Cartoon Studios was later transferred to Universal Family & Home Entertainment Production (later renamed as Universal Home Entertainment Productions), as first mentioned inAn American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island.[20][21]
In 2005, Universal Cartoon Studios was absorbed into Universal Studios Family Productions, and later on, it was renamed to Universal Animation Studios.[22]
In 2006, they produced and animated the filmCurious George in-house in Los Angeles, along with several animation studios around the world.[23]
In 2007,Chris Meledandri foundedIllumination with a deal was announced positioning Illumination as Universal's family entertainment arm, that would produce one to two films a year starting in 2010, while Universal Studios Family Productions acts as Universal Animation Studios' animation home-video arm.[24] As part of the deal, Illumination retains creative control and Universal Pictures exclusively distributes the films.[25]
In 2016, Universal Pictures acquired DreamWorks Animation, making it one of the two theatrical animation divisions of Universal Pictures, alongside Illumination. With this acquisition, it was merged with DreamWorks Animation Television, who began to produse shows based on Universal franchises, such asFast & Furious: Spy Racers andJurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.[6]
1:The date reflects the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker in a production fromUniversal Cartoon Studios rather than the date when the character was originally created in 1940 byWalter Lantz Productions.
Escape from Jurassic Park,[35] an animated TV series that takes place after the firstJurassic Park film, was confirmed to be in development and awaitingSteven Spielberg's approval in June 1993.[36] 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.[37][38][39] ArtistWilliam 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.[40] On July 13, 1993,Margaret Loesch, president of theFox 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 animatedJurassic Park. That's Steven Spielberg's decision, and we respect that decision."[41]
A pair oftraditionally animated cutscenes were produced for the 1996 video gameCrash 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 afterSony Computer Entertainment picked upCrash Bandicoot for publication, as Sony desired to push the PlayStation's 3D polygonal graphics. The cutscenes were uploaded toYouTube by producer David Siller in 2015.[42][43]
Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect, an animated television series based onThe 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.[44][45] In November 1997, it was reported that the cartoon would be accompanied byJurassic Park: Chaos Effect, a series of dinosaur toys produced byKenner and based on a premise that scientists had created dinosaur hybrids consisting of DNA from different creatures.[46][47] That month, it was also reported that the cartoon could be ready by March 1998, as amid-season replacement.[46] The Chaos Effect toyline was released in June 1998,[47] but the animated series was never produced, for unknown reasons.[48]
^"Registration Certificate". United States Patent and Trademark Office. October 6, 1992. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2014.First use 4-5-1991, in commerce 4-5-1991.
^Gallo, Scott Hettrick,Eliza; Hettrick, Scott; Gallo, Eliza (March 7, 2005)."U homevid units in family way".Variety. RetrievedOctober 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Gallo, Scott Hettrick,Eliza; Hettrick, Scott; Gallo, Eliza (March 7, 2005)."U homevid units in family way".Variety. RetrievedOctober 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Gallo, Scott Hettrick,Eliza; Hettrick, Scott; Gallo, Eliza (March 7, 2005)."U homevid units in family way".Variety. RetrievedOctober 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Strike, Joe (February 10, 2006)."'Curious' & Curiouser".Animation World Network. RetrievedAugust 22, 2025.
