Paramount Animation

Paramount Animation is the feature-length animation production division of Paramount Pictures. Established in July 2011, it develops and produces animated and hybrid live-action/animation films for theatrical release and streaming distribution. Based in Los Angeles, the division combines original film development with adaptations and extensions of established entertainment franchises.

Its creative work spans computer animation, stylized 2D and digital animation, and projects combining live action with CGI. Development capabilities include story origination, scriptwriting, character design, visual development and storyboarding. The division also oversees editorial, previsualization, voice casting and audio production management, carrying projects from early concepts through coordinated feature production.

Development and production

The studio operates primarily as a creative development and production management hub. Its direct teams concentrate on story, design, editorial and production supervision, while external animation facilities undertake animation asset building and shot production. This operating model allows individual films to use different visual approaches and production partners rather than relying on a single permanent in-house animation pipeline.

Paramount Animation manages co-productions and supervises specialist vendors across CGI, 2D and hybrid projects. Its role includes coordinating creative development with the practical demands of feature production, bringing together internal development teams and external animation expertise around each film.

Film history and franchise work

The division released its inaugural feature, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, in February 2015. Subsequent productions expanded its feature slate across family entertainment, established characters and original stories. Its work includes films associated with SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers.

The studio's development strategy has increasingly drawn on Paramount and Nickelodeon properties, alongside co-production relationships supporting franchise filmmaking. It remains an active production division within Paramount Pictures Corporation following the wider corporate combination with Skydance, with a slate spanning further franchise films and animated adaptations.