Cartoon characters that cleaned up at the worldwide box office
Animated moneymakers include "Up," "Ice Age: The Meltdown," "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," "Tangled," "The Incredibles" and more.
The Movie: "Monsters Inc." The Money: $562,816,256 With this 2001 monster movie Pixar kept the brand alive.
The Movie: "The Croods" The Money: $587,204,668 Nobody had a lot of expectations for the cave-man comedy in 2013, but when returns came back, Dreamworks started investing in a sequel.
The Movie: "Tangled" The Money: $591,794,936 Before "Frozen," Disney made waves with this 2010 retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale.
The Movie: "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" The Money: $603,900,354 This 2008 sequel scored big returns for the Dreamworks animal franchise.
The Movie: "How to Train Your Dragon 2" The Money: $618,909,935 Dreamworks' 2014 sequel upped the ante with bigger dragons and longer flight sequences.
The Movie: "Ratatouille" The Money: $623,722,818 Director Brad Bird mixed a love of gourmet French cuisine with talking rodents in the 2007 fancy feast.
The Movie: "The Incredibles" The Money: $631,442,092 Bird's first Pixar outing wowed audiences with complicated animated action scenes, cross-generational comedy and superhero mayhem.
The Movie: "Kung Fu Panda" The Money: $631,744,560 The success of Jack Black's 2008 martial arts-meet-spongy mammal movie set into motion its inevitable -- and even more profitable -- sequel.
The Movie: "Big Hero 6" The Money: $652,127,828 Disney's 2014 robot tale combined anime aesthetics, superhero action and Pixar's heart.
The Movie: "Ice Age: The Meltdown" The Money: $660,940,780 Fox's 2006 prehistoric romp proved the success of the first was no fluke.
The Movie: "Kung Fu Panda 2" The Money: $665,692,281 With the franchise's skills proven, Dreamworks gave the world another hit of comedy with this animated martial arts sequel in 2011.
The Movie: "Inside Out" The Money: $702,525,000 Disney Pixar hit the home run again with this animated feature film about the emotions inside your head, starring Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader.
The Movie: "Up" The Money: $731,342,744 The 2009 fan favorite demonstrated that original ideas with big emotions could make big money.
The Movie: "Monsters University" The Money: $743,559,607 Ten years after the release of "Monsters Inc," Pixar sent fans back to school in a 2013 prequel.
The Movie: "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" The Money: $746,921,274 Dreamworks' "Madagascar" series kept the studio afloat with a string of breezy successes, including 2012's third installment.
The Movie: "Shrek Forever After" The Money: $752,600,867 The big green ogre's final chapter dropped in 2010.
The Movie: "Minions" The Money: $764,937,237 The mumbling little yellow henchmen from the "Despicable Me" franchise clean up in their 2015 spin-off.
The Movie: "Shrek the Third" The Money: $798,958,162 Made in 2007, this sequel proved there was still some gas left in this fantasy mash-up comedy franchise.
The Movie: "Ice Age: Continental Drift" The Money: $877,244,782 Profits abound for this 2012 fourth installment in the chilly prehistoric franchise, followed just behind it's predecessor.
The Movie: "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur" The Money: $886,686,817 While other films have made bigger waves in the States, international sales have always returned big money for Fox's "Ice Age" franchise, proven again by the 2009 entry.
The Movie: "Shrek 2" The Money: $936,743,261 Dreamworks Animation proved to be worthy Pixar competition with its successful "Shrek" franchise.
The Movie: "Shrek 2" The Money: $936,743,261 Dreamworks Animation proved to be worthy Pixar competition with its successful "Shrek" franchise.
The Movie: "Despicable Me 2" The Money: $970,761,885 Illumination's sequel managed to make more money than its predecessor and put the upcoming "Minions" spin-off into motion.
The Movie: "The Lion King" The Money: $987,483,777 Disney owns the top three spots on this list, starting with the 1994 new classic that was originally supposed to be a minor project while a separate animation team worked on "Pocahontas."
The Movie: "Minions" The Money: $1,020,000,000 The little yellow helpers crossed the $1 billion mark at the end of August, raking in more money then "Despicable Me" and "Despicable Me 2" for Universal Pictures.
The Movie: "Toy Story 3" The Money: $1,063,171,911 Built on Pixar's critical and commercial goodwill, the third installment in the mega-franchise brought in big profits.
The Movie: "Frozen" The Money: $1,274,219,009 Disney's 2013 smash-hit takes the box office top spot. And then there was merchandising, video on demand and home video that followed...
