Paramount Animation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Paramount Animation

Logo used since 2019
Type	Division
Industry	Animation Motion pictures
Predecessors	Fleischer Studios (1929–1942) Paramount Cartoon Studios (1942–1967) Terrytoons (1929–1972)
Founded	July 6, 2011; 13 years ago (2011-07-06)
Founder	Brad Grey
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California , United States
Key people	Ramsey Ann Naito (president) Latifa Ouaou (EVP, Movies and Global Franchises)
Products	Animated films Animated TV shows
Number of employees	112 (2020)
Parent	Paramount Pictures

Paramount Animation is an American animation studio. It is the part of Paramount Pictures that makes animated movies. Paramount Pictures is a bigger company called Paramount Global.

This animation studio started on July 6, 2011. It was created after the movie Rango did very well. Also, Paramount's agreement to distribute movies for DreamWorks Animation was ending in 2012.

The first movie from Paramount Animation was The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. It came out on February 6, 2015. Their newest movie was The Tiger's Apprentice on February 2, 2024. Their next movie will be Transformers One on September 20, 2024.

Paramount Animation's movies have earned over $604 million at the box office. Their most successful movie so far is The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. It made $325.1 million worldwide.

How Paramount Animation Started

For many years, Paramount Pictures worked with other studios to make animated films. After their own cartoon studio closed in 1967, Paramount released movies like Charlotte's Web and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. These were made by other companies.

In the 1990s, Paramount started releasing animated movies based on popular TV shows. Many of these came from Nickelodeon. Examples include the Rugrats movies and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. They also released movies based on MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head and Comedy Central's South Park.

In 2005, the head of Paramount, Brad Grey, thought about making their own animation studio. He believed family movies were a great part of the film business. For a while, Paramount also helped distribute movies for DreamWorks Animation.

Then, in 2011, Paramount released its own animated movie, Rango. This film was a big hit and earned a lot of money. Its success showed Paramount that they could make great animated movies on their own. This led to the creation of Paramount Animation.

History of the Studio

The Early Years (2011–2017)

Early logo for Paramount Animation.

In July 2011, Paramount announced they were starting a new animation division. This was because Rango was so successful. Also, their deal with DreamWorks Animation was ending. The new studio planned to make one animated movie each year. These movies would have a budget of up to $100 million. Many of them would be made with Nickelodeon.

In October 2011, David Stainton became the first president of Paramount Animation. But he left a few months later. Then, Adam Goodman took over. It was announced that The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water would be the studio's first film. It was set for release in 2015.

Paramount Animation also started working on other animated films. They thought about making movies based on Dora the Explorer and The Legend of Korra. In 2013, they announced a new movie called Monster Trucks. It would mix live-action and animation.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water was released on February 6, 2015. It got good reviews and made over $325 million worldwide. It was one of the highest-earning animated films of 2015.

Later, Paramount Animation announced more movies. These included Amusement Park (later renamed Wonder Park), The Little Prince, and Sherlock Gnomes.

The Little Prince was released in France in 2015. It was supposed to come out in the U.S. in 2016. But Paramount canceled the U.S. release. It was later released on Netflix.

Another film, Anomalisa, came out in late 2015. It got good reviews but did not make much money.

In 2017, the movie Monster Trucks was released. It did not do well at the box office.

New Leadership and More Films (2017–2021)

In April 2017, Jim Gianopulos became the new head of Paramount. He made some changes to the animation studio. In July 2017, Mireille Soria became the president of Paramount Animation. She wanted the studio to release two big animated films each year. These films would have different animation styles.

The studio released Sherlock Gnomes on March 23, 2018. This movie did not do very well.

In April 2018, Ramsey Ann Naito joined the studio. She later became the head of animation at Nickelodeon. Under Mireille Soria, Paramount Animation started making new movies. These included The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge (later called The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run), Monster on the Hill (later Rumble), and Luck.

In January 2019, Paramount Animation decided not to work with Skydance Animation anymore. This was because of a new person Skydance hired. So, movies like Luck and Spellbound were later released by Apple TV+ instead of Paramount.

The studio's sixth film, Wonder Park, came out on March 15, 2019. It got mixed reviews and did not make a lot of money.

In June 2019, Paramount Animation announced more new movies. These included an animated Spice Girls film and a movie based on The Tiger's Apprentice.

The seventh film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, was released in Canada in August 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was released on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Netflix in other countries. Critics liked the film.

Recent Years (2021–Present)

In September 2021, Brian Robbins became the new head of Paramount Pictures. Ramsey Ann Naito then became the president of Paramount Animation. She also leads Nickelodeon Animation Studio.

The studio's eighth film, Rumble, was released on Paramount+ in December 2021. It was originally planned for theaters but moved to streaming due to the pandemic.

In January 2022, Latifa Ouaou joined as an executive for both Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. She helps oversee movies for both companies.

In July 2023, it was announced that the movie Under the Boardwalk would go straight to Paramount+. This caused some discussion in the film industry. Under the Boardwalk was later given a small release in theaters in October 2023.

The studio's tenth film, The Tiger's Apprentice, was released on Paramount+ in February 2024. It had been delayed several times.

In March 2024, Paramount Animation made a deal with Jeff Rowe. He directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Under this deal, he will make more animated and live-action films, including a sequel to Mutant Mayhem.

The Studio's Logo

At first, Paramount Animation did not have its own special logo. Its first few movies just used the regular Paramount logo. But on September 19, 2019, Paramount Animation showed a new animated logo. It features a character called "Star Skipper".

The team wanted a female character in the logo because many people working at the studio are women. The logo and Star Skipper were designed by Christopher Zibach. They were animated by ATK PLN and Reel FX Creative Studios. This new logo first appeared before The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run in 2020. The music for the logo is the same as the regular Paramount Pictures logo.

How They Make Films

Paramount Animation works a bit differently from some other big animation studios. They often work with other animation studios to make their films. For example, they might hire companies like Mikros Image or Reel FX to do the actual animation work.

This means Paramount Animation does not have one specific animation style. Instead, each movie can have its own unique look. This is decided by the filmmakers.

When Ramsey Ann Naito took over in 2021, she brought a "artist-driven" and "creative" way of working from Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Now, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studio work closely together as one team.

Movies Released by Paramount Animation

Upcoming Films

Movies in Development

Related Productions

These are other animated films that Paramount Pictures distributed.

Cancelled or Unfinished Projects

See also

In Spanish: Paramount Animation para niños