Top 10 Most Renowned Animation Studios Worldwide

Headquarters: San Francisco, California

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was founded in 1975 by George Lucas, with its first major success being the film Star Wars, which became a global hit and an iconic franchise.

Known for its impressive productivity, ILM has worked on countless high-profile projects and produced numerous blockbuster films. The studio is renowned for pioneering the use of groundbreaking visual effects in cinema, from realistic simulations of skin and hair to creating entire characters using computer-generated imagery (CGI).

In 2012, ILM was acquired by Walt Disney. Some of their most famous works include:

• Star Wars series
• Terminator (except for the first movie)
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Avatar
• Jurassic World

These popular films helped cement ILM's reputation as a global leader in the visual effects industry.

Headquarters: Koganei, Tokyo, Japan

Beyond the United States, Japan is also considered a hub for animated films, especially anime. With nearly 8 films on the list of Japan's top 15 anime, there is no doubt that Studio Ghibli is one of the country's most outstanding animation studios.

When mentioning Ghibli, animation lovers immediately think of Miyazaki Hayao, the co-founder and renowned director who has made a global impact with his works. "Spirited Away" earned him and Ghibli an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Other memorable films from Ghibli include Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, and My Neighbor Totoro.

Not only has Ghibli earned countless prestigious awards in Japan, including 4 Japan Academy Awards for Best Animation and an Animage Anime Grand Prix, but its global reputation has led to multiple Oscar nominations, culminating in a win for Best Animated Feature in 2003.

Headquarters: New York City, New York, USA

Nickelodeon is the number one entertainment brand for children, offering a variety of family-friendly shows, films, and amusing content.

Their early shows, such as Rugrats, were huge successes and have been continually developed over the years. While there may be more notable candidates for top positions in cinema, Nickelodeon certainly excels in television. Notably, SpongeBob has continued to dominate and remains one of the most recognizable animated shows ever produced.

Some of Nickelodeon's most popular shows include:

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Henry Danger
• Paw Patrol
• Rugrats
• Danger Force
• Winx Club
• Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

Headquarters: 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Warner Bros. Animation is an American animation studio owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment, catering to children, teenagers, and the Classics division. The studio has close ties with iconic characters like Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.

The studio is the successor of Warner Bros. Cartoons, the short animation division behind Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies from 1933 to 1963, and again from 1967 to 1969. Warner Bros. re-established its animation department in 1980, focusing on producing content related to Looney Tunes, and merged with Time Warner (now WarnerMedia) in 1996.

Some of the studio's notable works include:

• The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
• Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island
• Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
• The Dark Knight: Batman 2008, and more.

Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Cartoon Network is a cable and satellite television channel in the United States, owned by Time Warner through its subsidiary Turner Broadcasting System. The channel primarily broadcasts children's programming. Cartoon Network Studios originated as a division of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. and focused on creating original programming for the network, such as What a Cartoon!, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and The Powerpuff Girls.

Following the 1996 merger of its parent company Hanna-Barbera, Turner Broadcasting System with Time Warner, and after being located on Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles since 1963, the Hanna-Barbera studio, its animation archive, and collection were relocated in 1998 to Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, California, where Warner Bros. Animation resides today. This move was overseen by its executive Jean MacCurdy.

For many in Vietnam, Cartoon Network is a nostalgic part of childhood!

Notable shows include:

• The Powerpuff Girls Movie
• Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix
• Cartoon Network Studios Ed
• Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show
• We Bare Bears: The Movie

Headquarters: Nerima, Tokyo, Japan

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. Founded in 1948 under the name Japan Animated Films, the company was later acquired by Toei and renamed Toei Doga Co., Ltd. in 1956, before becoming Toei Animation in 1998, its current name.

Toei Animation is a major player in Japan's animation industry, primarily focused on the production and sale of films, licensing, and merchandise. The company operates in three main business areas. The Licensing segment focuses on commercializing characters from its productions. The Merchandise segment is dedicated to developing and selling character-based products. The company also plans and organizes events such as music shows, costume performances, and other fan-centered activities. Toei Animation has produced some of the most iconic animated films, with top hits like Dragon Ball and One Piece.

Notable films include:

• Dragon Ball Super: Broly
• Sailor Moon
• One Piece Film: Strong World
• Slam Dunk

Headquarters: Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan

Oriental Light and Magic was founded on October 3, 1990, by a group of visionaries including Toshiaki Okuno, Shūkichi Kanda, Shōji Ōta, Kunihiko Yuyama, Naohito Takahashi, Yuriko Chiba, Nobuyuki Wasaki, Tsukasa Koitai, and Takaya Mizutani. The studio is best known for producing the iconic Pokémon series, among other notable anime.

By 2018, the studio operated with eleven teams led by key figures such as Tsukasa Koitai, Nobuyuki Wasaki, Yasuteru Kamei, Hiroyuki Katō, Takashi Inoue, Isamu Abe, Daisuke Yoshioka, Ryōsuke Sakurai, Manabu Kawakita, Go Sawada, and Misako Saka. In 2007, the members of Iwasa Group, led by Gaku Iwasa, rebranded their studio as White Fox.

Notable films include:

• Pokémon
• Inazuma Eleven GO VS Danball Senki W
• Inazuma Eleven: Saikyō Gundan Ōga Shūrai
• Ni no Kuni

Headquarters: Emeryville, California

Pixar was co-founded by Steve Jobs, former CEO of the renowned Apple, and was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2006 for over $7 billion. Known for its 3D animated films utilizing computer-generated imagery (CGI) and its photorealistic Renderman rendering software, Pixar has earned a reputation for producing high-quality visuals.

After gaining global success with "Toy Story 1" (1995), this American animation studio has continued to break box office records and earn widespread acclaim from critics with a string of iconic films:

• The Toy Story films
• Finding Nemo
• The Incredibles
• Ratatouille
• Wall-E
• Up
• Brave
• Inside Out
• Finding Dory

Every film has received at least an "A-" rating on the Cinema Score scale, reflecting a strong positive reception from audiences. Thirteen Pixar films are among the top 50 highest-grossing animated films, with "Toy Story 3" ranking third with over $1 billion in worldwide earnings. Pixar has earned 15 Academy Awards, 7 Golden Globes, and 11 Grammy Awards, along with numerous other prestigious awards and recognitions.

Headquarters: Burbank, California

Founded on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, Disney evolved from a small animation studio into the largest entertainment company in Hollywood, encompassing 11 different entertainment sectors and 7 TV networks, including ABC. The main office of The Walt Disney Studios is located in Burbank, California. Walt Disney Animation Studios is undoubtedly the most successful animation studio under the Disney brand, with its legacy tied to iconic masterpieces starting with the legendary “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937).

The studio has been responsible for some of the most timeless films, including “Fantasia,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “101 Dalmatians,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” and “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp,” helping elevate Disney animation to global acclaim. Throughout its history, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been recognized as the first major animation studio in the U.S., pioneering many techniques that later became industry standards in traditional animation filmmaking.

The studio's animated films are among the most significant works of Disney, and iconic characters from its animated shorts – Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto – have become cultural icons, representing The Walt Disney Company as a whole. After enduring a nearly decade-long crisis, the studio has steadily regained its former glory with the recent success of blockbuster films like:

• Frozen
• Wreck-It Ralph
• Big Hero 6
• Zootopia
• Moana

These films have generated massive box office returns, contributing to Disney's unprecedented success. In 2016, the studio became the highest-grossing film studio of all time.

Headquarters: Glendale, California

DreamWorks SKG was co-founded in 1994 by legendary director Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg after Katzenberg left Disney to escape a power struggle with Michael Eisner. Known not only for its commercial success with blockbuster films worldwide, DreamWorks has also garnered numerous prestigious awards: 22 Emmy Awards, 3 Oscars, dozens of Annie Awards, and multiple BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.

Some of their notable and successful works include:

• The Shrek series
• Chicken Run
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Madagascar
• Kung Fu Panda