What's your favorite animation company and why?

My favorite animation company, in terms of animation and other visual artistic qualities in theatrical films, is Disney, because its films are very high in quality, in terms of animation, even though I would like for them to fully utilize their 80+ year library on their TV outlets. My favorite DTV animation studios is Warner Bros. Animation because they consistently churn out high quality DC animated DT Vs, which I like, even if they focus on too little heroes (hey, DC and WBA, there's more to the DCU than just Batman and the occasional Superman/Justice League film!). My favorite TV animation company is CN Studios. They always make funny shows; however, I would like for them to also do some action animation by themselves with an overseas studios doing the actual animation. So, what's your favorite animation studios and why?

BBSMan22.

Just look at that high quality animation.

edited 7th Feb '14 7:30:15 PM by Odd1

Vídeo Brinquedo. Creators of such classics like Ratatoing, The Little Panda Fighter, Tiny Robots, and of course, The Little Cars.

Indeed. This short is really funny, too.

edited 14th Feb '14 3:25:27 PM by Buzzinator

Dreamworks. Because Kung Fu Panda and Megamind.

Otherwise, I prefer to ignore the company, and think of the actual creators instead (directors, writers, artists, musicians).

Disney, hands down. And not just because I grew up with Disney movies, but because Disney is the company which introduced the most new inventions to animation. Without them, who knows how animation would look like nowadays.

Im not sure of what you are saying?

In terms of television animation, I'd have to go with Nickelodeon Animation Studios. Mostly for creating some of my favorite cartoons (The Ren And Stimpy Show, Chalk Zone, and My Life As A Teenage Robot,) but also because of all the undeserved hate it gets.

But for theatrical animated movies, I'd have to say Walt Disney Animation Studios. Aside from a few hiccups, every one is considered a classic.

Titmouse. They've done some of the best TV animation I've ever seen.

Oh, Disney has more than a few hickups...it seems to be the rule of animation. After the golden era came the package movie, after the Silver era came the Dark age (not that every movie made during that time was bad, but they were certainly not on the same level what Disney could do), after the Disney Renaissance came the abysmal era I call the "unfocussed one". And now it looks like we are in a very successful CGI-age. But the fact alone that Disney has been around for so long and is still there, despite war, despite times when animation simply didn't pay off, and comes back every time to set new standards makes the studio deserving for the top spot - Pixar for example might have currently a better ratio of good and not so good movies, but they haven't even reached their 50 year mark yet.

Heck, Pixar hasn't even been making films for 20 years yet. At 20 years, Disney just had number 16. While the post-Rennaisance era was unfocused, I wouldn't call it abysmal. The movies were still good even when they weren't being big hits like the past. Except a certain few.

I agree with Disney being the best when it comes to movies. Partly because Wreck It Ralph is my favorite animated movie period.

edited 9th Feb '14 12:13:25 PM by TommyX

Oh, I think there is at least one movie which was made during this time which is even worse than Home on the Range. But, yeah, there were also some really good ones during that era which got sadly overlooked.

My favourite is Sleeping Beauty...because of its artistry it is really unique. It will be interesting to see which animated movies are still considered watchable and true classics in 50 year.

edited 9th Feb '14 3:08:40 PM by Swanpride

My favorite animation company/studio is all of the ones Don Bluth created, i.e. Sullivan Bluth Studios etc. I've just always loved the animation that he and those who worked with him did. Even the films he did that I don't care for, like Thumbelina and A Troll In Central Park had at least some elements that I liked.

A close second is Disney, of course. They gave Don Bluth his start (sensing a pattern here ).

Spumco, Klasky/Csupo, Gracie Films, Warner Bros/Termite Terrace, Walt Disney Animation Studios and many more.

When it comes to theatrical shorts from The Golden Age Of Animation, I'd say MGM is my favorite, thanks to Tom and Jerry, the Tex Avery MGM Cartoons, even Barney Bear and the MGM Oneshot Cartoons were pretty good most of the time. Yet the studio tends to get overshadowed by Warner Bros. and Disney, both of which, while certainly having a ton of classics, don't have as solid of a track record when it comes to consistently well-animated and entertaining shorts as MGM in my opinion, at least during it's best years between 1940 and the late 50's.

When it comes to animated film, Don Bluth is still my favorite.

Can't really decide... I guess I'll pick examples per decade:

Contemporary:

I guess I'd have to go with Williams Street. They make hilarious shows and they have a notably more experimental, idiosyncratic quality than most other studios. I admire that.

1950s:

I like early-mid 50's UPA for similar reasons, minus the hilarity part.

1960s:

Bill Melendez Productions. They had a style that was unique for the time and made some of the best animated short films of the 1960s. Their influence was huge in the 1970s.

1970s:

Nelvana was cool in the 70s and early 80s for having its own distinct and well defined style and trying to push animation to an older audience with Rock & Rule.

1980s:

Amblin, for doing what Disney wouldn't during its heyday. Don Bluth and this studio were to the 1980s what Pixar was to the first decade of the 2000s.

1990s:

Nickelodeon's internal Games Animation studio, because Rocko's Modern Life is pretty much one of the best cartoons ever.

2000s:

Cartoon Network Studios, hands down. Anybody responsible for Samurai Jack, Codename Kids Next Door, Duck Dodgers, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed, Edd & Eddy, Sheep in the Big City, et al is a winner in my book. I'm biased, of course; these shows were a part of the entire second half of my childhood.

edited 16th Feb '14 9:55:35 PM by lewattoo

@ Leewatoo What about film?

I don't necessarily have a favorite film company; none of the really big ones have really had a style that speaks to me. I guess if I had to pick, though, I would go with late 70s-early 80s Rankin-Bass. They made some very interesting fantasy films from the era.

Hmmm... I have lots of favorites, but I would have to say Disney, because they made some awesome films like Tarzan, Mulan, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, Rabbit Ears Productions, even though this company doesn't get much attention, but had made some favorites such as Pecos Bill, The Fool and the Flying Ship, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Nickelodeon for making Hey Arnold!, The Angry Beavers, Rugrats, Avatar the Last Airbender and Danny Phantom.

edited 20th Feb '14 11:59:41 PM by Rabbitearsblog