Universal Animation Revival refers to an era beginning in 2011 with the release of Gabriel Garza and extending to the present during which Universal Animation Studios returned to making mostly successful animated feature films.
After Computeropolis 3, Gabriel Garza, a new 3D CGI animation feature film that marked a return to the Gabriel Garza franchise, followed in 2011 to critical acclaim and commercial success and was nominated for several accolades. The film earned $645 million worldwide, making it the 7 highest grossing film of 2011.
The studio next feature was Plucky Chicken, released in 2012 and grossed $426 million worldwide, but received mixed reviews. In March 2013, the studio released Quest to critical acclaim and earned over $524 million worldwide, becoming a box office hit. Universal Animation 17 film Gabriel Garza 2, a sequel to the studio 2011 film Gabriel Garza, opened in theaters in 2014, earning over $895 million worldwide and becoming the highest grossing animated film of 2014.
Paradoria, a 3D CGI animated fantasy adventure comedy film, was released in March 2015 to widespread acclaim and became a blockbuster hit. Directed by Steve Samono and Gary Hall, it was the 1 Universal animated film to earn over $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue and is currently the highest grossing Universal Animation film surpassing Computeropolis 2 in 2007 and the 3 Highest Grossing Animated Film Of All Time, behind Frozen andMinions. In December 2015, the studio next film Luna & Zak, directed by Mark Dindal, was released and was another commercial and critical success for the studio, grossing over $600 million worldwide.
Imagimals, a Geo G. directed animated film set in the world of imaginary creatures, was released in September 2016. It was the 2 Universal Animation film to cross the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office revenue. Universal Animation latest releases are the 3 installment in the Gabriel Garza reboot film series, Gabriel Garza 3, released on March 3, 2017, the musical Lix, released on December 8, 2017, and the 4 installment in the Computeropolis franchise, Computeropolis: The Deep Web, released on May 23, 2018.
On April 28, 2016, NBC Universal announced it intent to acquire competing studio DreamWorks Animation SKG for $3.8 billion, making DreamWorks Animation SKG a sister studio to Universal Animation and Illumination Entertainment the acquisition was later completed on August 22, 2016.
Critical Audience reactions[]
Most of the films Universal released in this era were well received, as in the film critic site Rotten Tomatoes, the 1 5 Gabriel Garza, Quest, Gabriel Garza 2, Paradoria, Cool Spot and Lix have the best critical reception with over 100% positive reviews and Computeropolis: The Deep Web has the lowest reception with 100% of positive reviews.
