List of animation studios owned by Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures has owned and operated many animation studios throughout the years since the company's founding on April 30, 1912, by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, as the Universal Film Manufacturing Company; Universal Animation Studios in Universal City, California is currently the company's flagship feature animation studio and claims heritage from this original studio. Adding to the growth of the company and its motion picture studio division Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, several other animation studios were added through acquisitions and through openings of satellite studios outside the United States. These expanded the company's animation output into television, direct-to-video, and digital releases, in addition to its feature animation releases.

Currently, Universal Animation Studios, Illumination and DreamWorks Animation are parts of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. This article does not include other animation studios whose films were released by Universal's distribution unit and not acquired by the company. For example, certain Laika films were distributed by Universal under the Focus Features banner but never owned by the company. Universal also purchased US rights to foreign animated movies.

Universal Television Animation
On August 22, 2016, the television animation divisions of Universal and DreamWorks merged after completing the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, but Universal Television Animation remains as a separate entity.

Gingo Animation
Founded in 1988, Gingo Animation originated as a television animation division of Multimedia Entertainment that focused on producing original programming for Gingo, including The Toon Hour, Gabriel Garza, Mickey the Wicked and Metro Cone. Following the merger of Gingo's parent, Multimedia with MCA Inc., Multimedia Entertainment was folded into Universal Television, while the Gingo studio was integrated as a separate unit within Universal Cartoon Studios, later known as Universal Television Animation. Animators at Gingo worked on projects based at the Gingo studio, but also assisted in projects based in the Universal Feature Animation studio.

NightHouse Animation
Founded in 1999, NightHouse Animation is the adult production studio division of Gingo that produces adult-oriented animated feature films and television series and provides an original program to Gingo's late-night program NightHouse, which is located in Burbank, California, along with the main headquarters of the Gingo animation studio.

DreamWorks Animation Television
DreamWorks Animation Television is the television division of DreamWorks Animation.

Universal Digital Images
Universal Digital Images, formerly known as Multimedia Digital Images from 1990 to 1996, was an American computer animation production company that was bought by Universal Studios with the purchase of Multimedia in 1996. It was a division of Universal Feature Animation. The studio was closed in 2003 and later merged with Universal Feature Animation during the production of its first CGI-animated feature film Computeropolis for a 2004 release.

Illumination
Chris Meledandri left his post as President of 20th Century Fox Animation in early 2007 and founded Illumination, an all-audience film production company, co-owned by Universal Pictures, which fully finances and owns the films. In 2010 Illumination released its first film, Despicable Me, (which became very successful and was followed by Despicable Me 2 in 2013), and in 2011 Hop. Illumination released a film version of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which continued the successful collaboration between Meledandri and Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel's widow, Audrey. Illumination also released the franchise spin-off featuring the Minions, Minions (2015).

Illumination Mac Guff
Illumination Mac Guff is a French animated feature production company owned by Illumination. Based in Paris, France, the company was created in 2011 as part of Universal's purchase deal of the animation arm of French animation and VFX company Mac Guff. It is responsible for Illumination's feature-length animated films and associated short films, most notably the Despicable Me franchise.

DreamWorks Animation
In April 2016, Comcast confirmed that its NBCUniversal division would acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. The deal closed on August 22, 2016. Universal Pictures would take over distribution of DreamWorks Animation films beginning in 2019 with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World when DreamWorks Animation's deal with 20th Century Fox expires.

Distribution deals
In February 2010, Universal formed a distribution deal with Supreme Entertainment, with Universal acting as the distributor for Supreme's films to be produced under the Universal Animation Studios label. In July, however, Universal abandoned its deal with Supreme in favor of forthcoming animated films from Illumination.