Paramount Animation

Paramount Animation was established on July 6, 2011, as the dedicated animation division of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of what was then Paramount Global and is now Paramount Skydance. The studio was created by then-Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Grey following two key events: the critical and commercial success of Rango (2011), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and the approaching end of Paramount's long-standing distribution partnership with DreamWorks Animation, which concluded after Rise of the Guardians in 2012. Rather than continue relying on external partners, Paramount decided to build its own in-house animation capability.

The studio was initially structured to produce one animated film per year with a maximum budget of $100 million, with many projects co-produced with Nickelodeon and cross-promoted across Nickelodeon's theme parks and hotels. Its most successful franchise has been the SpongeBob SquarePants film series, which builds on the original 2004 film and includes theatrical releases such as The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Other key franchises include PAW Patrol, with PAW Patrol 3: The Dino Movie upcoming, and an animated Avatar: The Last Airbender feature titled The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender.

Paramount Animation operates from the Paramount Pictures studio lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The division is led by President Jennifer Dodge and Executive Vice President Latifa Ouaou. It employs approximately 112 people and focuses on computer-animated and hybrid-animated feature films, handling production from early visual development through final delivery. The studio competes in a crowded market against Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, Sony Pictures Animation, and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, leveraging Nickelodeon's extensive library of children's franchises as its primary brand anchor. [edit]