Amblimation
Encyclopedia
Amblimation was the animation
production arm of Steven Spielberg
's Amblin Entertainment
, and was active from 1989 until about 1997.
The feature animation studio was located in London, England, UK. In 1997, the London studio was shut down and some of the Amblimation staff went on to become DreamWorks Animation
.
It was known for its quieter atmosphere, more subdued acting, and more atmospheric pace compared to a great deal of American animated films; these qualities usually led to underperformance at American box offices and may have factored in the decision to close the studio down.
The company's mascot
was Fievel Mousekewitz
from the An American Tail
series, who appears in its production logo
.
After the London studio was shut down in 1997, all references with Amblimation became Amblin Entertainment. A project to adapt the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber
musical Cats
was in the making, but was abandoned with the studio's closure.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
production arm of Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
, and was active from 1989 until about 1997.
The feature animation studio was located in London, England, UK. In 1997, the London studio was shut down and some of the Amblimation staff went on to become DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
.
It was known for its quieter atmosphere, more subdued acting, and more atmospheric pace compared to a great deal of American animated films; these qualities usually led to underperformance at American box offices and may have factored in the decision to close the studio down.
The company's mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
was Fievel Mousekewitz
Fievel Mousekewitz
Fievel Mousekewitz is the main character of the movies An American Tail and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, the TV series "Fievel's American Tails", "An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island" and "An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster."...
from the An American Tail
An American Tail
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
series, who appears in its production logo
Production logo
A production logo, vanity card, vanity plate, vanity logo or vogo is a logo used by movie studios and television production companies to brand what they produce. Vanity logos are usually seen at the beginning of a theatrical movie , or at the end of a television program or TV movie...
.
After the London studio was shut down in 1997, all references with Amblimation became Amblin Entertainment. A project to adapt the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
musical Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
was in the making, but was abandoned with the studio's closure.
Films
- An American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An American Tail, and the fourth installment in terms of the series' fictional chronology...
(1991) - We're Back! A Dinosaur's StoryWe're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (film)We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a 1993 American animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures, and originally released to theaters on November 24, 1993 for the United States. It was rated G by the MPAA...
(1993) - BaltoBalto (film)Balto is a 1995 American animated comedy-drama film directed by Simon Wells and produced by Amblimation, and the first of the overall trilogy. The film is based on a true story about the dog of the same name who helped save children from the diphtheria epidemic in the 1925 serum run to Nome...
(1995)
Television
- A Wish for Wings That WorkA Wish for Wings That WorkOn December 13, 1991, an animated special was released. It was directed by Skip Jones and was produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio for Universal Cartoon Studios...
(1991) (with Universal Cartoon StudiosUniversal Animation StudiosUniversal Animation Studios , is an American animation studio which is a division of Universal Studios....
) (TV special) - Fievel's American TailsFievel's American TailsFievel's American Tails is an American/Canadian animated television series, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, Nelvana, and Universal Cartoon Studios. It aired for one season in 1992, and continued Fievel's adventures from the film An American Tail: Fievel Goes West...
(1992) (with NelvanaNelvanaNelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
and Universal Cartoon StudiosUniversal Animation StudiosUniversal Animation Studios , is an American animation studio which is a division of Universal Studios....
)