Laika (stylized as LAIKA) is an American stop-motion

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...

specializing in

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s, commercial content for all media,

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s, and

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s. The studio is best known for its stop-motion feature films ''

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...

'', ''

ParaNorman ''ParaNorman'' is a 2012 American stop-motion animated comedy horror film directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler (the latter's feature directorial debut), and written by Butler. Produced by Laika, the film stars the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, ...

'', ''

The Boxtrolls ''The Boxtrolls'' is a 2014 American stop-motion animated fantasy comedy film directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi (in their feature directorial debuts) loosely based on the 2005 novel ''Here Be Monsters!'' by Alan Snow. It is produc ...

'', ''

Kubo and the Two Strings ''Kubo and the Two Strings'' is a 2016 American stop-motion animated action fantasy film produced by Laika. It is directed by Travis Knight (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler from a story by Sh ...

'' and '' Missing Link''. It is owned by

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

co-founder

Phil Knight Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranke ...

and is located in Hillsboro, Oregon, part of the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metro area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered on the principal city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) identifies it as the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, ...

. Knight's son,

Travis Knight Travis Andrew Knight (born September 13, 1973) is an American animator, producer, director, and former rapper who has worked as the lead animator and current CEO for the stop-motion animation studio Laika, and directed the films '' Kubo and the T ...

, acts as Laika's president and CEO. Laika had two divisions: Laika Entertainment for feature films and Laika/house for commercial content. The studio spun off the commercial division in July 2014 to focus exclusively on feature film production. The new independent commercial division is now called HouseSpecial.

History

In the late 1990s, Will Vinton Studios, known for its stop-motion films and commercials, sought funds for more feature-length films and brought in outside investors, which included

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

owner

, whose son

worked at the studio as an animator. In 1998, Knight made his initial investment. In 2002, Phil Knight acquired the financially struggling Will Vinton Studios to pursue feature-length productions. The following year,

Henry Selick Charles Henry Selick Jr. (; born November 30, 1952) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, production designer, and animator who is best known for directing the stop-motion animation films ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

, director of ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increme ...

'', joined the studio as a supervising director. In July 2005, Will Vinton Studios was rebranded as Laika – named after

Laika Laika (russian: link=no, Лайка; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 space ...

, the dog sent to space by the Soviet Union in 1957. It opened two divisions: Laika Entertainment for feature films and Laika/house for commercial work, such as advertisements and music videos. They also announced their first projects, the stop-motion film ''

'', and the CGI animated film ''Jack & Ben's Animated Adventure''. The studio laid off a significant portion of its staff in 2008, when its second planned feature, ''Jack & Ben's Animated Adventure'', was cancelled. The following year, the studio released its first feature film, ''Coraline'', directed by

. which received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a nomination at the BAFTAs for Best Animated Feature, a nomination for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time at the 64th Golden Globe Awards in 2007. It was the first time that the Golden Globe Awards had created a separate category for anima ...

, and eight nominations at the

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in Film, cinema and television. Originally ...

, winning three, for Best Music in an Animated Feature, and Best Character Design and Production Design in a Feature Production. After directing ''

Moongirl ''Moongirl'' is an animated short produced in 2005 by Laika. It was written and directed by Henry Selick and features a score by They Might Be Giants. It is the first film, and currently the only short film, as well as the only non-stop-motion ...

'' and ''Coraline'', and unsuccessfully renegotiating his contract, Selick departed Laika in 2009. At the end of the year, the studio laid off more staff in its computer animation department to focus exclusively on stop-motion. Their second stop-motion feature film, ''

'', directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler opened on August 17, 2012. It received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, as well as a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the BAFTAs, and eight nominations at the Annie Awards, winning two, for Character Animation and Character Design in an Animated Feature Production. After working on stop-motion commercials for clients such as Apple Inc., Fox Sports, ESPN and Coca-Cola, Laika spun off its advertising portion in July 2014, to focus on feature film production exclusively. The new independent commercial division is now called HouseSpecial. Their third film, ''

'', was released on September 26, 2014. It was based on Alan Snow's fantasy-adventure novel, '' Here Be Monsters!'' and was directed by

Anthony Stacchi Anthony Francis Stacchi (born August 21, 1961) is an American effects animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and film director. Stacchi graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in Film then went on to be an Animator and Co ...

and

Graham Annable Graham Annable (born June 1, 1970) is a Canadian cartoonist and animator. He is the creator of ''Grickle'', published by Alternative Comics, and one of the founders of the ''Hickee'' humor anthology (also published by Alternative Comics). Annable ...

. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature, and nine nominations at the Annie Awards, winning two, for Voice Acting and Production Design in an Animated Feature Production. Their fourth film, ''

'', directed by Travis Knight was released on August 19, 2016. It received two nominations at the Academy Awards, for Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects (as only the second animated film to receive that nomination, after ''

''). It won the BAFTA for Best Animated Feature. It also received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globes, and ten nominations at the Annie Awards, winning three, for Character Animation, Production Design and Editorial in a Feature Production. Laika had considered

Philip Reeve Philip Reeve (born 28 February 1966) is a British author and illustrator of children's books, primarily known for the 2001 book '' Mortal Engines'' and its sequels (the 2001 to 2006 '' Mortal Engines Quartet''). His 2007 novel, '' Here Lies Art ...

's fantasy book ''Goblins'', for a potential feature film adaptation. In March 2015, the company announced it would expand the studio in an effort to allow for production of one film per year. Their fifth film, '' Missing Link'', directed by Chris Butler was released on April 12, 2019. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature and eight nominations at the Annie Awards. It also won a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature. On February 8, 2021, Laika signed a distribution deal with Shout! Factory for the United States, covering the studio's first four films. On March 31, 2021, Laika announced their first live-action film based on the action thriller novel ''Seventeen'' by John Brownlow who is said to be a fan of Laika's previous work. It was also confirmed that the studio is currently working on their sixth stop-motion animated film ''Wildwood''. On April 27, 2022, a new Laika stop-motion film titled ''The Night Gardener'' was announced as being in the works, based on an original screenplay by ''

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

'' creator Bill Dubuque with Travis Knight penned to direct it.

Filmography

Feature films

Released films

Upcoming films

Cancelled Films

*Jack & Ben's Animated Adventure: When the studio opened, they announced their first projects, the stop-motion film ''

'', and the CGI animated film ''Jack & Ben's Animated Adventure''. The studio laid off a significant portion of its staff in 2008, when its second planned feature, was cancelled. *Gobline: It was announced that the studio would be adapting the Philip Reeve's book Goblins, Nothing has ever came up of the project since the initial announcement.https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-new

Short films

Contract work

References

External links

* {{Authority control American companies established in 2005 Companies based in Hillsboro, Oregon American animation studios Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 2005 Privately held companies based in Oregon 2005 establishments in Oregon

History

Filmography

Feature films

Released films

Upcoming films

Cancelled Films

Short films

Contract work

See also

References

External links