Pixar Schmixar

You want to consider a cartoon company not named Pixar that's had a lot of hits, how about this one:

... How Illumination Entertainment got to $5B+ [in world wide grosses?] Here’s a rundown of the major titles: Despicable Me ($546M), Hop ($188.7M), Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ($350.8M), Despicable Me 2 ($975.8M), Minions ($1.167B), The Secret Life Of Pets ($876.5M) and Sing ($633.2M). ...

Then of course there is the third iteration of Despicable Me, which has, as of yesterday, collected $286.8 million across the globe. The rollout is still in its early stages, and DM3 looks to be on its way to "sizable hit" status. One of the reasons the franchise continues to be successful? Those clever French directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda are experts at constructing sight gags*. Which is what animated cartoons used to be about, no? (And we mustn't forget the sight gag heritage left by the late Jacques Tati).

Illumination Entertainment is also adept at designing and producing animated features where the dollars show up on the screen. Imagine that.

* The trailer above, released last December and seen by 30+ million people, is a fine example of the gag on top of gag on top of gag scaffolding that Messrs. Coffin and Balda love to construct.