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'DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.' () is an American animation studio, producing primarily feature animated films. It was formed by the merger of the feature animation division of DreamWorks SKG and Pacific Data Images (PDI). Originally formed under the banner of DreamWorks SKG, it was spun-off into a separate public company in 2004.
Some of its most known films include ''Shrek'', ''Shark Tale'', ''Madagascar'' and ''Over the Hedge''.
They are currently distributed only through Paramount Pictures (in turn owned by Viacom) who acquired the rest of DreamWorks SKG in February of 2006. DreamWorks Animation maintains two studios: the original DreamWorks feature animation studio in Glendale, California and the PDI studio in Redwood City, California in the Silicon Valley region.

Contents

History

Early years

Today

Board of Directors

Films and series

Traditionally-animated films

Stop-motion films

Computer-animated films

TV Specials

Co-films

Short films

Traditionally-animated television series

Computer-animated television series

Sources

History

External links

History

Early years

In 1980, Pacific Data Images was founded by Carl Rosendahl 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 ''.
In 1997, 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 PDI to form subsidiary PDI, LLC (PDI owned 60% of PDI, LLC while DreamWorks SKG owned 40%). 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.
The 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.

Today

Since 2004, DreamWorks Animation is dedicated solely to producing CG animated films in-house. 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 produciton 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 company has committed itself to make two computer-animated feature films a year.
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.

Board of Directors

The following executives 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.

★ Paul Allen, Chairman of Vulcan, Inc.

★ David Geffen, 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

★ Howard Schultz, Chairman and Chief Global Strategist of Starbucks Corporation

★ Meg Whitman, President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay, Inc.

★ Judson Green, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAVTEQ

★ Michael Montgomery, President of Montgomery & Co.

★ Karl von der Heyden, retired Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Pepsico, Inc.

Films and series

Traditionally-animated films

Note: All traditionally animated films were made at the Glendale studio.

★ ''The Prince of Egypt'' (December 18, 1998)

★ ''The Road to El Dorado'' (March 31, 2000)

★ '' (November 7 2000) (direct-to-video)

★ '' (May 24, 2002)

★ '' (July 2 2003)

Stop-motion films

Note: All stop-motion films were produced by Aardman.

★ ''Chicken Run'' (June 23, 2000)

★ '' (October 7 2005)

Computer-animated films

★ ''Antz'' (October 2 1998) (PDI) Rating:PG

★ ''Shrek'' (May 18 2001) (PDI) Rating:PG (part of the Shrek series)

★ ''Shrek 2'' (May 19 2004) (PDI) Rating:PG (part of the Shrek series)

★ ''Shark Tale'' (October 1 2004) (Glendale) Rating:PG

★ ''Madagascar'' (May 27 2005) (PDI) Rating:PG (part of the Madagascar series)

★ ''Over the Hedge'' (May 19 2006) (PDI/Glendale) Rating:PG

★ ''Flushed Away'' (November 3 2006 Rating:PG

★ ''Shrek the Third '' (May 18 2007) (PDI) Rating:PG (part of the Shrek series)

★ ''Bee Movie'' (November 2 2007) (Glendale, in production)

★ ''Kung Fu Panda'' (June 6 2008) (Glendale, in production)

★ '' (November 7 2008) (PDI, in production) (part of the Madagascar series)

★ ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' (May 22 2009) (in development)

★ ''How to Train Your Dragon'' (November 20 2009) (in development)

★ ''Shrek 4'' (May 21 2010) (in development) (part of the Shrek series)

★ ''Crood Awakening'' (December 24, 2010) (in development)

★ '' (2011) (in development) (part of the Shrek series)

★ ''Shrek 5'' (2013) (in development) (part of the Shrek series)

★ ''Mr. Peabody and Sherman''

★ ''Master Mind''

★ ''Punk Farm''

TV Specials

★ ''Shrek the Halls'' (2007)

Co-films

★ ''Shark Tale 2 ''

★ ''Over the hedge 2 ''

★ ''A Snowhite boxer ''

Short films

★ ''Shrek 4-D'' (2003) (PDI, ride film for Universal Studios)

★ ''Far Far Away Idol'' (2004) (November 5, 2004)

★ ''The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper'' (October 7 2005) (PDI)

★ ''First Flight'' (May 19 2006) (Glendale)

★ ''Hammy's Boomerang Adventure'' (October 17 2006) (Glendale)

Traditionally-animated television series

★ ''Toonsylvania'' (February 7 1998-December 1, 1998)

★ ''Invasion America'' (June 8, 1998-July 7, 1998)

Computer-animated television series

★ ''Father of the Pride'' (August 31, 2004-May 27, 2005)

★ ''Untitled Kung Fu Panda Project'' (under development for Nickelodeon [2])

★ ''Untitled Madagascar Penguins Project'' (under development for Nickelodeon [3])

Sources

History

★ History of Pacific Data Images

★ DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. 2004 Annual Report (PDF file)

External links

★ Official site

★

★ Free Children Animation online Maya animation.