Universal Animation Revival

The 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.

The animated features released so far during this period include: Gabriel Garza (2011), Plucky Chicken (2012), Quest (2013), Gabriel Garza 2 (2014), Paradoria (2015), Luna & Zak (2015), Imagimals (2016), Gabriel Garza 3 (2017), Lix (2017), and Computeropolis: The Deep Web (2018).

History

 * Further information: Universal Animation Studios § History

After Computeropolis 3, Gabriel Garza, a new CGI feature film that marked a return to the Gabriel 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 seventh highest-grossing film of 2011.

The studio's 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's seventeenth film Gabriel Garza 2, a sequel to the studio's 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 CGI fantasy-adventure film, was released in March 2015 to widespread acclaim and became a blockbuster hit. Directed by Steve Samono and Gary Hall, it was the first 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 third highest-grossing animated film of all time, behind Frozen and Minions. In December 2015, the studio's 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 second Universal Animation film to cross the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office revenue. Universal Animation's latest releases are the third 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 fourth installment in the Computeropolis franchise, Computeropolis: The Deep Web, released on May 4, 2018.

On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced its intent to acquire competing studio DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, making DreamWorks Animation 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 first four (Gabriel Garza, Quest, Gabriel Garza 2, Paradoria and Lix) have the best critical reception (with over 90% positive reviews) and Computeropolis: The Deep Web has the lowest reception (with 50% of positive reviews).