Despite several major overhauls, however, it had begun to show its age. Originally developed in the 1980s by Pacific Data Images, Emo was designed to animate primitive graphics and text, but evolved into the kind of tool that could bring Princess Fiona and Puss in Boots to life. Throughout the studio’s history, it’s relied on a custom piece of animation software named Emo.
It’s a leap in terms of both spectacle and emotion, and at the heart of it was a new version of the studio’s flagship animation software - one that’s letting DreamWorks animators do more than they ever could before. Dragons swarm in epic battle sequences humans gracefully race, flip, and fly and key dramatic moments are powered solely by the visual nuance of a computer-generated character’s performance. Written and directed by Dean DeBlois ( Lilo & Stitch, the original How To Train Your Dragon) the movie is one of DreamWorks’ most visually stunning films to date. This weekend the studio is heading back to movie theaters with the release of How To Train Your Dragon 2.
The studio’s movies have pulled in over $11.5 billion in global box office, and, despite some recent underperformers, it’s continued to diversify with pushes into TV, apps, and online initiatives. With franchises like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar to its name, DreamWorks Animation has spent the last 20 years building an animation mini-empire.
