What if Amblimation was still open?

In our real world, Amblin Entertainment's animation studio, Amblimation, closed its doors in 1997 after only producing three animated films.

So let's see if we think of that studio if it remained open for years to come in this alternate universe theory.

Differences between the real life version and alternate reality version

 * Amblimation would be founded in 1984, during the production of An American Tail.
 * An American Tail, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven (the latter which would've been produced during Steven Spielberg's partnership with Don Bluth) would've been Amblimation's first three feature films.
 * Amblimation would not have its on-screen logo until All Dogs Go to Heaven.
 * Don Bluth's animated short film Banjo the Woodpile Cat would be adapted into a feature film.
 * The Nutcracker Prince would've been co-produced by Amblimation.
 * Don Bluth would've been involved as a creative consultant on An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and as a director (with Simon Wells) on The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
 * In addition, Sullivan Bluth Studios would've co-produced both films.
 * The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure would've premiered in 1992 as a theatrical film (instead of 1994 as a direct-to-video film) and had a much different plot in the alternate reality version (alhough remaining its light-hearted tone and musical numbers).
 * All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 would've took place in 1940, a year after where the first film took place (rather than present day), and David, a boy from the real life version of the film, would be replaced by Anne-Marie from the first film.
 * We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto would perform much better at the box office.
 * The Little Rascals would've been an animated film rather than a live-action film (due to its cartoony nature).
 * The Adventures of Pinocchio, its sequel The New Adventures of Pinocchio, Matilda, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Cat in the Hat, Jem and the Holograms, The BFG, and The House with a Clock in its Walls (which were all live-action films in real-life) would also be animated (despite different reasons).
 * Unlike the real life live-action film versions, The Little Rascals, The Adventures of Pinocchio, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Cat in the Hat, Jem and the Holograms, The BFG, and The House with a Clock in its Walls would've been more critically and commercially successful.
 * Some scenes in The Cat in the Hat, The BFG and The House with a Clock in its Walls are toned down in the alternate reality version.
 * Cats (the real life cancelled project that Amblimation had planned before shutting down) would've been produced and released in 1997.
 * However, it will have a 2019 live-action remake film.
 * This animated film would've came close in terms of matching the same critical and financial success that the Disney Renaissance films have made.
 * The An American Tail, The Land Before Time and Balto direct-to-video sequels would've been produced by Amblimation.
 * The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas would've been co-produced and co-animated by DreamWorks Animation.
 * There would be an animated film adaptation of Flat Stanley in 2004.
 * Amblimation would've remastered its on-screen logo in 2008. It would later be reanimated in 2014 for the studio's 30th anniversary.
 * While Fievel Mousekewitz from An American Tail would be the studio's mascot during 1989 and the 1990s, he would be later accompanied by Tanya and Tiger in 2008, and joined by Itchy Itchiford from All Dogs Go to Heaven in 2014.
 * Hoodwinked!, its 2011 sequel Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, 3 Pigs and a Baby (under the name The Three Little Pigs), the Kung Fu Panda films and the How to Train Your Dragon films, The Little Engine that Could, Rise of the Guardians, Trolls, its 2020 sequel Trolls World Tour, Smurfs: The Lost Village and UglyDolls would've been fully produced by this studio.
 * 3 Pigs and a Baby/The Three Little Pigs would release as a theatrical film, while Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil would be a direct-to-video film.
 * The Little Engine that Could would combine elements from both the 1991 and 2011 direct-to-video films.
 * Rise of the Guardians would also have a much better marketing campaign and would perform well at the box office, giving Amblimation an opportunity for a sequel that would release in 2018.
 * The sequel to Rise of the Guardians will take place several months after the first film.
 * Unlike the real life version, UglyDolls would've been more critically and commercially successful (although not successful enough to be followed by a sequel).
 * With the exceptions of Hoodwinked!, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, the How to Train Your Dragon films, The Adventures of Tintin, UglyDolls and Me and My Shadow (which uses both 2D and CGI animation), all of Amblimation's films are done in traditional animation.
 * Amblimation would have its own satellite studios in London, England (established in 1986), Los Angeles, California (established in 1993) and in the Universal Studios theme parks.
 * Some of the Amblimation staff would work on various projects outside of the studio.
 * Amblimation would've provided additional pre-production for The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, The Tale of Despereaux and all of Illumination Entertainment films, as well as some of DreamWorks Animation films (2019-present).

Theatrical films

 * An American Tail (1986, co-produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Land Before Time (1988, co-produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989, co-produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Banjo the Woodpile Cat (1990, co-produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertaiment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Nutcracker Prince (1990, co-produced by Allied Filmmakers, Boulevard Entertainment, Lacewood Productions and Amblin Entertaiment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991, co-produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1992, co-produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Romeo and Juliet (1994, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Little Rascals (1994, co-produced by King World and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Balto (1995, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996, co-produced by The Kushner-Locke Company, Lacewood Productions and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Matilda (1996, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Ugly Duckling (1997, co-produced by Martin Gates Productions and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Cats (1997, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Prince of Egypt (1998, co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures)
 * Les Miserables (1999, co-produced by Working Title Films and Amblin Entertaiment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Road to El Dorado (2000, co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures)
 * How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000, co-produced by Imagine Entertainment and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Goldilocks and the Three Bears (2001, co-produced by Amblin Entertaiment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Snow Queen (2001, co-produced by Amblin Entertaiment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002, co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures)
 * Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003, co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by DreamWorks Pictures)
 * The Cat in the Hat (2003, co-produced by Imagine Entertainment, DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures)
 * Flat Stanley (2004, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment and Imagine Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Hoodwinked! (2005, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Curious George (2006, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment and Imagine Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Sherlock Holmes (2007, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures)
 * The Three Little Pigs (2008, co-produced by The Jim Henson Company and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Kung Fu Panda (2008, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * How to Train Your Dragon (2010, co-produced by Reel FX Animation Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Mega Man (2010, co-produced by Capcom and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Little Engine that Could (2011, co-produced by Crest Animation and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Adventures of Tintin (2011, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Wingnut Films and Nickelodeon Movies, distributed by Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures)
 * Rise of the Guardians (2012, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Wanderer (2013, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014, co-produced by Reel FX Animation Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Into the Woods (2014, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures, Lucamar Productions, Marc Platt Productions, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
 * Jem and the Holograms (2015, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, Hasbro Studios, Allspark Pictures, Blumhouse Productions and SB Projects, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The BFG (2016, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, Walden Media, Reliance Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures and The Kennedy/Marshall Company, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
 * Trolls (2016, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017, co-produced by Studio Peyo and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The Legend of Link and Zelda (2017, co-produced by Nintendo and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * The House with a Clock in its Walls (2018, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Rise of the Guardians: Season Two (2018, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019, co-produced by Reel FX Animation Studios and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * UglyDolls (2019, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, Reel FX Animation Studios, Alibaba Pictures and Huaxia Film Distribution, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Spy Rabbits (2019, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Trolls World Tour (2020, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Me and My Shadow (2020, co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Universal Pictures)
 * Beyond (2021, co-produced by Amblin Entertainment, Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Animation, distributed by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures)

Direct-to-video films

 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)
 * Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011, co-produced by Kanbar Entertainment and Amblin Entertainmen, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertaiment)

Television shows

 * Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1995, co-produced by Warner Bros. Animation)
 * Back to the Future: The Animated Series (1991-1992)
 * Fievel's American Tails (1992, co-produced by Nelvana)
 * Animaniacs (1993-1998; 2020, co-produced by Warner Bros. Animation)
 * Pinky and the Brain/Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain (1995-1999, co-produced by Warner Bros. Animation)
 * All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (1996-1998)
 * TBD
 * TBD
 * TBD
 * TBD
 * TBD
 * Curious George (2006-2015, co-produced by WGBH Boston and Imagine Television)
 * The Land Before Time (TV series) (2007-2008)
 * Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011-2016, co-produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio)
 * Dragons (2012-present, co-produced by Reel FX Animation Studios)
 * Rise of the Guardians: The Series (2013-2014)
 * Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (2018-present)
 * Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny (2018-present)

Additional work

 * The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008, provided additional pre-production)
 * The Tale of Despereaux (2008, provided additional pre-production)
 * Despicable Me (2010, provided additional pre-production)
 * Hop (2011, provided additional pre-production)
 * The Lorax (2012, provided additional pre-production)
 * Despicable Me 2 (2013, provided additional pre-production)
 * Minions (2015, provided additional pre-production)
 * The Secret Life of Pets (2016, provided additional pre-production)
 * Sing (2016, provided additional pre-production)
 * Despicable Me 3 (2017, provided additional pre-production)
 * The Grinch (2018, provided additional pre-production)
 * The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019, provided additional pre-production)
 * Abominable (2019, provided additional pre-production)

Animation services
Animation services

List of credits
List of credits

Notable people (A to Z)

 * Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (frequent screenwriters)
 * Kathy Altieri (art director on The Prince of Egypt; production designer on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and How to Train Your Dragon)
 * Chris Appelhans (frequent story artist and character designer starting with Sherlock Holmes)
 * Kelly Asbury (director of Romeo and Juliet, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Smurfs: The Lost Village and UglyDolls)
 * Hank Azaria (frequent voice actor as of 2010)
 * Hans Bacher (TBD)
 * Armand Baltazar (TBD)
 * Tony Bancroft (TBD)
 * James Baxter (TBD)
 * Eric "Bibo" Bergeron (TBD)
 * John Bermudes (TBD)
 * Don Bluth (director and producer of An American Tail (Amblimation's first animated feature), The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Banjo the Woodpile Cat and The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure; producer and creative consultant of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West)
 * Max Boas (TBD)
 * James Bobin (director of Rise of the Guardians: Season Two and Beyond)
 * Gina Bradley (TBD)
 * Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi (TBD)
 * Darlie Brewster (TBD)
 * Alessandro Carloni (TBD)
 * Ronnie del Carmen (TBD)
 * Brenda Chapman (TBD)
 * Richard Chavez (TBD)
 * Yarrow Cheney (TBD)
 * Lorna Cook (TBD)
 * Phillip Craven (TBD)
 * Tim Curry (frequent voice actor during the 1990s)
 * Richard Daskas (TBD)
 * Bob Davies (TBD)
 * Dom DeLuise (frequent voice actor during the 1980s and 1990s)
 * Luc Desmarchelier (TBD)
 * Walt Dohrn (frequent voice actor and co-director; story artist on Rise of the Guardians and Rise of the Guardians: Season Two)
 * Ken Duncan (TBD)
 * Mark Edwards (TBD)
 * Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (TBD)
 * Seth Engstrom (TBD)
 * Rick Farmiloe (TBD)
 * Will Finn (TBD)
 * Judy Freudberg (writer of An American Tail and The Land Before Time)
 * Tony Geiss (writer of An American Tail and The Land Before Time)
 * Patrick Gilmore (TBD)
 * David Goetz (TBD)
 * Gary Goldman (producer of An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Banjo the Woodpile Cat, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure)
 * Carlos Grangel (TBD)
 * Antony Gray (TBD)
 * Hamish Grieve (TBD)
 * Rodolphe Guenoden (TBD)
 * Patrick Marc Hanenberger (TBD)
 * Tang Kheng Heng (TBD)
 * Kirsten Henshen (TBD)
 * Stephen Hickner (TBD)
 * T. Daniel Hofstedt (TBD)
 * Gabe Hordos (TBD)
 * Steve Horrocks (TBD)
 * Tom Humber (TBD)
 * Clive Hutchings (TBD)
 * David James (TBD)
 * Jakob Hjort Jensen (TBD)
 * Vicky Jenson (TBD)
 * Yong Duk Jhun (TBD)
 * Tim Johnson (TBD)
 * Chuck Jones (TBD)
 * William Joyce (TBD)
 * Conor W. Kavanagh (TBD)
 * Kathleen Kennedy (executive producer of An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Banjo the Woodpile Cat, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, We're Back!: A Dinosaur's Story, The Little Rascals, Romeo and Juliet, Balto, Cats, Les Miserables, TBD)
 * Karey Kirkpatrick (TBD)
 * David Kirschner​​​ (creator of the An American Tail franchise)
 * Marek Kochout (TBD)
 * Dan Kuenster (TBD)
 * Paul Lasaine (TBD)
 * Christophe Lautrette (TBD)
 * Philippe le Brun (TBD)
 * Larry Leker (TBD)
 * Fabio Lignini (TBD)
 * David Lindsay-Abaire (TBD)
 * Ronald W. Lukas (TBD)
 * Markus Manninen (TBD)
 * Tron Mai (TBD)
 * Nicolas Marlet (TBD)
 * Frank Marshall (executive producer of An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Banjo the Woodpile Cat, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, We're Back!: A Dinosaur's Story, The Little Rascals, Romeo and Juliet, Cats, Les Miserables, TBD)
 * Lorenzo Martinez (TBD)
 * Sam Michlap (TBD)
 * Lieve Miessen (TBD)
 * David "Joey" Mildenberger (TBD)
 * Mike Mitchell (TBD)
 * Emil Mitev (TBD)
 * Francisco Mora (TBD)
 * Ken Morrissey (TBD)
 * Mark Mulgrew (TBD)
 * Jennifer Yuh Nelson (TBD)
 * Phil Nibbelink (director of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Cats)
 * Damon O'Beirne (TBD)
 * Matthew O'Callaghan (TBD)
 * Jamie Oliff (TBD)
 * Mark Osborne (TBD)
 * Simon Otto (TBD)
 * Tom Owens (TBD)
 * Alex Parkinson (TBD)
 * Bob Persichetti (TBD)
 * Pierre Perifel (TBD)
 * Gabriele Pennacchioli (TBD)
 * John Pomeroy (producer of An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Banjo the Woodpile Cat and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West; animator on An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Banjo the Woodpile Cat, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure)
 * David Prescott (TBD)
 * Shane Prigmore (TBD)
 * Mark Pudleiner (TBD)
 * Peter Ramsey (TBD)
 * Craig Ring (TBD)
 * Pres Romanillos (frequent animator during the 1990's and 2000's)
 * Darrell Rooney (TBD)
 * Neil Ross (TBD)
 * Ritche Saciloc (TBD)
 * William Salazar (TBD)
 * Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois (TBD)
 * Scott Santoro (TBD)
 * Chris Sauve (TBD)
 * Bob Scott (TBD)
 * Kristof Serrand (TBD)
 * Michael Siegel (TBD)
 * David Silverman (TBD)
 * Len Simon (TBD)
 * Tony Siruno (TBD)
 * Chris Sonnenburg (TBD)
 * Jeff Snow (TBD)
 * Steven Spielberg (founder and executive producer; director of The BFG)
 * John Stevenson (TBD)
 * Colin Stimpson (TBD)
 * Trevor Tamboline (TBD)
 * David Tidgwell (TBD)
 * Shannon Tindle (TBD)
 * Guillermo del Toro (TBD)
 * Kevin Turcotte (TBD)
 * Pierre-Olivier Vincent (TBD)
 * Frans Vischer (TBD)
 * Dan Wagner (TBD)
 * Zhaoping Wei (TBD)
 * Simon Wells (director of TBD)
 * Raymond Zibach (TBD)
 * Kathy Zielinski (TBD)
 * Gil Zimmerman (TBD)
 * Dick Zondag (TBD)
 * Ralph Zondag (TBD)

Poll
Do you like this theory? Yes No