30 Years of DreamWorks Animation: How NBCUniversal Celebrates DreamWorks Across Film, Television, Theme Parks and Products
Since NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks in 2016, DreamWorks has continued to enhance the company’s animation capabilities and expanded across the entire portfolio.
October 08, 2024
This October, DreamWorks celebrates its 30th anniversary as the creative force behind some of the world’s most beloved franchises, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, Trolls, The Boss Baby, The Croods, and How to Train Your Dragon. In total, the studio has released 49 films and over 50 television series in its 30 years, making it one of the largest animation production companies in the world.
DreamWorks SKG was founded in 1994 by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen and was the first new studio founded in 60 years. In 2001, the animation studio released Shrek, the film that won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. In 2016, NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks to continue to enhance and expand the company’s animation capabilities. In the last eight years, DreamWorks has expanded across the entire NBCUniversal portfolio including film, television, theme parks, and consumer products.
DreamWorks Brought to Life in the Movies
Thirty years on, the studio remains a leader in feature animation. DreamWorks Animation has grossed more than $17 billion at the global box office, and with the recent success of this year's Kung Fu Panda 4, the studio now has the most animated franchises to cross the $2 billion mark with Shrek ($3.98 billion), Madagascar ($2.26 billion), and Kung Fu Panda ($2.36 billion).
Since the acquisition, DreamWorks has released twelve films including, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Abominable, Trolls World Tour, The Croods: A New Age, Spirit Untamed, The Boss Baby: Family Business, The Bad Guys, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, Trolls Band Together, Orion and the Dark on Netflix, and Kung Fu Panda 4.
Currently in theaters is the critically acclaimed original film The Wild Robot, which opened at No. 1 at the domestic box office on September 27, and is Certified Fresh at 97% with critics and 98% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. This is the 25th time that a DreamWorks title has led the box office and the film continues to roll out in key international markets.
DreamWorks has an exciting upcoming slate of films including Dog Man (January 31, 2025), The Bad Guys 2 (August 1, 2025), Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, (September 26, 2025) and, 25 years after his game-changing debut, Shrek will return to theaters in Shrek 5 on July 1, 2026.
Producing creatively ambitious films that stand the test of time, DreamWorks consistently delivers two movies a year - one fresh original and one imaginative new story featuring the studio's globally beloved IP. The films strike a balance in honoring the studio's enduring franchises that continue to resonate globally but also lean into innovation and artistry with compelling original films for today's audiences.
DreamWorks Brought to Life by Television
In 2013, DreamWorks signed a landmark, multi-year deal with Netflix to produce first-run content, signaling the start of the animation studio’s growing TV division. The initial series were inspired by fan-favorite DreamWorks IP, such as All Hail King Julien from the Madagascar franchise, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and the hugely popular The Boss Baby: Back in Business. The division also rebooted classic IP pop culture phenomena like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Voltron Legendary Defender. Plus, DreamWorks teamed up with celebrated storytellers like Guillermo del Toro to shepherd epic, original passion projects like his Trollhunters and Tales of Arcadia trilogy. A division that began with a historic deal with Netflix, has since grown to create and produce award-winning kids and family series for nearly every major streamer, including Peacock, Hulu, Prime Video, and Apple TV+.
Expanding into the NBCUniversal ecosystem, DreamWorks has created four series with Universal IP, such as Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, and the upcoming Mighty Monsterwheelies, launching on Netflix on October 14.
DreamWorks Library on Peacock
When NBCUniversal launched Peacock in 2020, it brought the DreamWorks portfolio to the platform, giving audiences direct access to stream on-demand some of their favorite titles from the DreamWorks library. New films such as Puss and Boots: The Last Wish, Trolls Band Together and Kung Fu Panda 4 all made their streaming debut on Peacock immediately following their theatrical run, and DreamWorks Animation’s film library consistently rank among the top performing titles on the platform. DreamWorks shows such as Where’s Waldo?, Madagascar: A Little Wild, Trolls: Trollstopia, The Croods: Family Tree, Fright Krewe, and most recently Megamind Rules!, all stream on the platform, continuing to engage fans of all ages on Peacock.
Check out the DreamWorks shows currently streaming on Peacock
- Abominable & the Invisible City
- Archibald’s Next Big Thing is Here!
- Cleopatra in Space
- Dragons: Defenders of Berk
- Dragons: Nine Realms
- Dragons: Rescue Riders – Heroes of the Sky
- Dragons: Riders of Berk
- Fright Krewe
- Madagascar: A Little Wild
- Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate and Megamind Rules!
- The Croods: Family Tree
- The Mighty Ones
- Trolls: Trollstopia
- Where’s Waldo?
Check out the DreamWorks films currently streaming on Peacock
- Flushed Away
- Home
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- Kung Fu Panda 4
- Mr. Peabody & Sherman
- Shrek
- Shrek 2
- Shrek the Third
- Spirit Untamed
- The Croods
- The Croods: A New Age
DreamWorks Brought to Life at Universal Destinations & Experiences
Universal Destinations & Experiences offers guests around the world some of the most innovative and popular entertainment experiences, with a portfolio of world-class theme parks, exceptional hotels, unique merchandise, games, and virtual and live entertainment experiences. At Universal’s theme parks, the beloved characters and stories of DreamWorks Animation come to life to immerse guests and create unimaginable experiences.
At Universal Orlando Resort, guests of all ages can step into the vivid world of some of their favorite animated films at the recently opened DreamWorks Land. This expansive and vibrant environment is inspired by Shrek, Trolls, and Kung Fu Panda, and features attractions, character meet and greets, interactive play areas, and a live show.
Guests can explore Shrek’s Swamp, feast on themed items like Shrekzels (pretzels shaped like the famous ogre), scream with laughter on the Trolls Trollercoaster, learn kung fu moves with Po in the Panda Village, meet and take photos with characters like Shrek, Donkey, Poppy, Branch, Puss in Boots, Gabby from Gabby’s Dollhouse, and so much more.
Set to open in 2025, Universal Epic Universe, Universal Orlando’s fourth theme park will debut five new worlds, including How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk. For the first time ever, guests will see what it’s like to live amongst dragons as they explore a larger-than-life world with exciting attractions, beloved character meet-and-greets, dining, shopping – and even flying dragons – all based on DreamWorks Animation’s multi-award-winning and Academy Award-nominated trilogy, How to Train Your Dragon.
At Universal Beijing Resort, guests can enter an ancient land, a land of legendary beauty – the Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness. The Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness brings to life DreamWorks Animation’s beloved animated movie series Kung Fu Panda, which follows the adventures of the brave panda, Po, in his quest to become a Kung Fu master. The fully indoor experience is set in “legendary China” and Universal’s first Kung Fu Panda-themed land.
Guests will be thrilled by many of the franchise’s most iconic locations, such as the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, Mr. Ping’s Noodle House, and The Valley of Peace. With its stunning Chinese architecture, festive decor, delicious food, and captivating performances, this unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experience promises to transport guests “through the movie screen” and into the majesty and grandeur of the movies.
DreamWorks Brought to Life with Universal Products and Experiences
DreamWorks characters and stories can be experienced off-screen as well, with expansive products, video games, and partnerships.
In just three years since Gabby’s Dollhouse launched, it is among the top preschool brands globally. The hit series has driven sales of more than 3 million of the award-winning Gabby’s Purrfect Dollhouse from Spin Master. Additionally, following its launch, the dollhouse was named the #1 preschool toy in the in the U.S. for two straight years and the #1 preschool toy in multiple international countries where it launched in 2023. Additionally, the Gabby’s Dollhouse toy line has received numerous best toy and industry awards from across the globe.
Learn more about how Universal Products & Experiences Brings Gabby’s Dollhouse to Life with Cat-tastic toys & more here.
DreamWorks series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Jurassic World: Chaos Theory have also been integral to the franchise growth by bringing younger audiences into the fold with compelling product tie-ins through partners like Mattel, LEGO, and more.
The DreamWorks games portfolio consistently sees strong performance fueled by ongoing releases of multi-platform console and mobile games, leveraging popular franchises such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and Voltron, plus content integrations with some of the biggest games in the world, including PowerWash Simulator, Roblox, Minecraft, Brawlhalla and Lords Mobile.
Most recently, it was announced that a world inspired by Shrek is coming to popular game PowerWash Simulator with a Shrek Special Pack. The news was a true ‘surprise and delight’ moment resulting in amazing fan and press reactions.
The DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls franchise, which includes the blockbuster Trolls films starring Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, as well as the iconic Good Luck Trolls dolls, is one of the most popular global entertainment brands of today. The Trolls continued impact on culture can be seen across runway shows from Milan to London with fashion collaborations inspired by Good Luck Trolls with Jeremy Scott for Moschino and Fyodor Golan as well as a jewelry line with Swarovski, in addition to a fashion-forward girls’ capsule with Tutu Du Monde for the theatrical release of Trolls Band Together.
From its early days as a pioneer in animation to celebrating its 30th Anniversary, DreamWorks has continued to inspire audiences of all ages through its beloved films, television shows, and immersive experiences.
