1. Pixar
Pixar animation studioHeadquarters: Emeryville, CA
Pixar was co-founded by Apple visionary Steve Jobs and was purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 2006 for more than $7 billion.
Breaking into the film industry with Toy Story, the American studio has gone on to produce some of the most critically and financially successful films. These include:
The Toy Story films
WALL-E
Brave
Ratatouille
Inside Out
2. Walt Disney Animation Studios
Headquarters: Burbank, CA
Disney’s acclaimed studio has been making feature films since 1937 with the release of the critically successful Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Since then, they have been behind some of the highest grossing animated films of all time, including The Lion King and Aladdin.
Although the studio suffered a recent decade-long decline, they bounced back stronger than ever with hits like:
Frozen
Wreck-It Ralph
Big Hero 6
3. DreamWorks Animation
dreamworks logoHeadquarters: Glendale, CA
DreamWorks Animation films have been distributed all over the world, earning them 22 Emmys, several Annie Awards, 3 Academy Awards, and many BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.
They are behind major franchises like:
Shrek
How to Train Your Dragon
Madagascar
Kung Fu Panda
4. Industrial Light & Magic
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
ILM has worked on hundreds of projects, including countless box office hits. They are pioneers of many innovative computer technology feats such as being the first to do human skin, a partially-computer-generation main character, photo-realistic hair and fur, and more.
Notable projects include every Star Wars film, all but the first Terminator films, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Avatar, and Jurassic World.
5. Studio Ghibli
Headquarters: Koganei, Tokyo, Japan
Arguably one of the top Japanese film animation studios in the entire country, if not the world. Out of the 15 top grossing anime films made in Japan, eight of them have been their work.
Among their numerous awards are four Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, an Animage Anime Grand Prix, countless Academy Award nominations in the U.S., and an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
6. Framestore
biggest animation studiosHeadquarters: London, England
Founded in 1986, Framestore has helped create some of the most successful films in recent times.
This includes Guardians of the Galaxy, several of the Harry Potter films, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, including several scenes for 2009’s Avatar.
The British company has also won several Oscar and BAFTA awards in recent years for their projects.
7. Cartoon Network Studios
Headquarters: Burbank, CA
Despite only being around since 1994, this animation studios has risen to become one of the most successful in the industry.
Early hits like Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, and Samurai Jack helped them become a household name in America. Current popular series include Adventure Time, Regular Show, Clarence, Uncle Grandpa, We Bare Bears, and Steven Universe.
8. Blue Sky Studios
Headquarters: Greenwich, Connecticut
Blue Sky Studios was founded in 1987 and has been owned by 20th Century Fox since 1997. Between 2002 and 2014 they have released some of the most successful animated films, including the Ice Age series, Rio and Rio 2, and Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!
9. Weta Digital
Headquarters: Wellington, New Zealand
Weta Digital is one of the many companies co-owned by legendary director Peter Jackson and winner of five Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects.
The New Zealand digital visuals effects company is behind some of the biggest films of the last decade, including the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, 2005’s King Kong, and Avatar.
10. Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Headquarters: Burbank, CA
This Nickelodeon-owned was founded in 1990 and hit the ground running with popular original shows like Rugrats, Doug, and The Ren & Stimpy Show.
The American studio has gone on to produce an incredible number of recognizable shows like Hey Arnold!, Invader Zim, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, the two Avatar series, and of course, SpongeBob SquarePants.