Skydance Animation

Skydance Animation, LLC, is an American animation studio that is a division of Skydance Media, founded on March 16, 2017. The studio is based in Los Angeles, with offices in East Hartford, Connecticut, and Madrid, Spain; the Madrid branch was originally Ilion Animation Studios.

Skydance Animation's first film ''Luck'' was released on August 5, 2022, on Apple TV+. Its most recent film is '' Spellbound'', released on November 22, 2024, on Netflix, followed by four other film projects, ''Pookoo'' set for release in 2026, ''Ray Gunn'', an untitled ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' project, and an untitled '' Don Hall'' project (all for Netflix).

History

In March 2017, Skydance Media formed an animation division and a multi-year partnership with Madrid, Spain-based animation studio Ilion Animation Studios. In July, it announced its first two films, ''Split'', for a release in 2019, and ''Luck''. Both films would be distributed by Paramount Pictures as part of their deal with Skydance Media. On October 10, 2017, Bill Damaschke was hired to head the division as president of animation and family entertainment, and ''Luck'' was given a release date of March 19, 2021. In April 2018, Paramount Animation entered into a partnership with Skydance Animation to produce ''Luck''.

Skydance Animation signed on directors Alessandro Carloni (''Kung Fu Panda 3'') to direct ''Luck'', Vicky Jenson (''Shrek'' and ''Shark Tale'') to direct '' Spellbound'', and Nathan Greno (''Tangled'') to write and direct ''Pookoo'' (formerly known as ''Powerless''). In January 2019, Skydance Animation hired former Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios CCO John Lasseter as head of Animation, supplanting Damaschke. While some outlets reported feelings of disapproval of this decision owing to prior allegations of sexual misconduct against Lasseter, many others, particularly those at the studio, " ..had strong feelings and felt like it was the right thing to do ..and were excited to get to work with him" and it was " ..definitely not a black-and-white situation" according to Damaschke. Soria announced that Paramount Animation would no longer consult with Skydance Animation, though they did not already have a formal creative partnership. Following Lasseter's hiring, the studio grew from 65 employees to nearly 900 as of July 2022. Holly Edwards, who previously served as Skydance Animation's Head of Production, was promoted to the position of president at Skydance Animation. Peggy Holmes ('' The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning'', ''Secret of the Wings'' and ''The Pirate Fairy'') was later announced as new director of ''Luck'', replacing Carloni who left over creative differences.

Skydance formally acquired Ilion Animation Studios and rebranded it as Skydance Animation Madrid in April 2020.

In June 2020, Shane Prigmore, an animation veteran who co-created '' Tangled: The Series'', was hired as SVP Development at Skydance Animation. He would be tasked with overseeing the creative development of all films and TV series on the studio's production slate. That is until he left for Warner Bros. Pictures Animation as Senior Creative Advisor in June 2023.

In July 2020, it was announced that ''Luck'' and ''Spellbound'' were still going to be released by Paramount without Paramount Animation as part of their deal with Skydance Media, giving the two release dates of February 18, 2022, and November 11, 2022, respectively. Paramount's president of domestic distribution, Chris Aronson stated "These films not only continue our longstanding relationship with Skydance, but, along with Paramount Animation's own upcoming films, mean we will be releasing event-level animated films for years to come."

However, on December 16, 2020, Apple TV+ entered talks to take over the distribution rights to the films ''Luck'' and ''Spellbound''. Apple Original Films would replace Paramount for both ''Luck'' and ''Spellbound''. In February 2021, Apple signed an overall deal with Skydance Animation which included animated films and television series. This includes a television adaptation of the novel '' The Search for WondLa'' by Tony DiTerlizzi. The series has been greenlit for two seasons and was announced to feature showrunner Lauren Montgomery as both writer and executive producer with DiTerlizzi and Chad Quant. She has since left the project and has been replaced by Bobs Gannaway, another of Lasseter's Disney-era colleagues.

On October 1, 2021, Skydance Animation released its first short film inspired by a true story from Joe Mateo called '' Blush''. It was released on Apple TV+ as part of their multi-year deal. The ships from the short film became the mascots of the studio during the release of ''Luck'', and a portion of Joy Ngiaw's score was used for the fanfare of the studio.

In February 2022, it was announced that Brad Bird would revive his long-dormant project ''Ray Gunn'' for Skydance Animation after it was originally set up at Turner Feature Animation during the late 1990s. On March 16, 2022, Rich Moore revealed that he has entered into an exclusive, multi-year overall deal with Skydance Animation. In July 2022, Ellison and Lasseter plan for Skydance Animation to make two feature films a year, with their theatrical strategy to be determined on a film-by-film basis. The company is also building a consumer products team to capitalize on its potential successes and began to open a 5.8-acre Santa Monica campus in October, which was completed by November 2023.

In October 2023, Skydance Animation had signed a multi-year deal with Netflix to develop and produce animated films, ending the studio's partnership with Apple. Netflix would take over distribution of preexisting Skydance Animation titles from Apple TV+, including ''Spellbound'', ''Pookoo'', and ''Ray Gunn''. This deal however does not include ''WondLa'', which was created by Apple.

In May 2024, Bruce Anderson, producer of ''Spellbound'', was hired as head of production at Skydance Animation to oversee production planning for the studio's slate of films. The following month, longtime Disney Animation director Don Hall was announced to have joined Skydance Animation to develop and produce an original animated film for the studio. On December 12, 2024, Cinesite became an animation partner to Skydance Animation on a new film rather than their in-house studio in Madrid. On April 10, 2025, Cinesite was revealed to be animating on Brad Bird's ''Ray Gunn''.

Production logo

With the release of '' Blush'' in October 2021, Skydance Animation revealed their first logo. With the release of ''Luck'' in August 2022, their full logo was released and shows the rocket and the UFO from ''Blush'' which are now the mascots of the studio launched from their planet (also from ''Blush'') flying around to form the studio's logo with magic blue and pink trails, the fanfare was composed by Joy Ngiaw which was adopted from the theme of ''Blush''. It was animated by their Madrid branch, Skydance Animation Madrid and their head of animation, John Lasseter. The behind the music of the studio's logo was posted by Joy Ngiaw.

Filmography

Feature films

Upcoming films

Short films

Television series

Released

Reception

Critical and public response

Accolades

See also

*Walt Disney Animation Studios
*Disneytoon Studios
*Pixar
*20th Century Animation
*Fox Animation Studios
*Blue Sky Studios
*Miramax Animation
*Universal Animation Studios
*DreamWorks Animation
* Illumination
*Paramount Animation
*Nickelodeon Animation Studio
*Warner Bros. Animation
* Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
*Sony Pictures Animation
*Vanguard Animation
*Netflix Animation
* Cinesite Animation

References

External links

Official website

{{John Lasseter

2017 establishments in California
American companies established in 2017
Skydance Media
American animation studios
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema
Entertainment companies based in California
Film production companies of the United States
Mass media companies established in 2017
Companies based in Santa Monica, California