 Final logo, used from 2013 to 2021 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Predecessors | |
| Founded | February 22, 1987; 38 years ago (1987-02-22) |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | April 10, 2021; 4 years ago (2021-04-10) |
| Fate | Closed[1] |
| Successor | 20th Century Animation |
| Headquarters | Greenwich American Center ,Greenwich, Connecticut US |
Key people | |
| Products | |
Number of employees | 450[6] (2021) |
| Parent | VIFX (1997–1999) 20th Century Animation (1999–2021) |
| Website | blueskystudios.com at theWayback Machine (archived June 9, 2021) (now redirects todisney |
Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an Americanvisual effects andcomputer animationstudio which was active from 1987 to 2021. Based inGreenwich, Connecticut, it was founded on February 22, 1987, byChris Wedge, Michael Ferraro, Carl Ludwig, Alison Brown, David Brown and Eugene Troubetzkoy after their employer,Mathematical Applications Group (MAGI), one of the visual effects studios behindTron (1982), shut down. Using its in-house rendering software, the studio created visual effects for commercials and films before dedicating itself to animated film production. It produced13 feature films, the first beingIce Age (2002), and the final one beingSpies in Disguise (2019).[7][8]
Blue Sky Studios was a subsidiary of20th Century Animation until its acquisition bythe Walt Disney Company, as part of theiracquisition of21st Century Fox assets in 2019. Disney closed down Blue Sky in April 2021 due tothe economic impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic on its business operations.[6][9]
Ice Age andRio were the studio's most commercially successful franchises, whileRobots (2005),Horton Hears a Who! (2008),The Peanuts Movie (2015) and the aforementionedSpies in Disguise were among its most critically praised films.[10]Scrat, a character from theIce Age franchise, was the studio's mascot.
In the late 1970s,Chris Wedge, then an undergraduate atPurchase College studying film, was employed byMathematical Applications Group, Inc. (MAGI). MAGI was an early computer technology company that produced SynthaVision, a software application that could replicate the laws of physics to measurenuclear radiation rays forUS government contracts.[11]: 12–13 At MAGI, Wedge met Eugene Troubetzkoy, who held aPh.D intheoretical physics and was one of the firstcomputer animators. Using his background in character animation, Wedge helped MAGI produce animation for television commercials, which eventually led to an offer fromWalt Disney Productions to produce animation for the filmTron (1982). AfterTron, MAGI hired Carl Ludwig, anelectrical engineer,[11]: 13 and Mike Ferraro transferred to the film division from theCadCam division of MAGI. As MAGI's success began to decline, the company employed David Brown fromCBS/Fox Video to be a marketing executive and Alison Brown to be a managing producer.[11]: 12–13 After MAGI was sold to Vidmax (Canada), the six individuals—Wedge, Troubetzkoy, Ferraro, Ludwig, David Brown and Alison Brown—founded Blue Sky Studios in February 1987 to continue the software design and produce computer animation.[11]: 13 [12]
At Blue Sky, Ferraro and Ludwig expanded on CGI Studio, the studio programming language they started atMAGI and began using it for animation production.[11]: 12–13 At the time,scanline renderers were prevalent in the computer graphics industry, and they required computer animators and digital artists to add lighting effects in manually;[11]: 13 Troubetzkoy and Ludwig adapted MAGI'sray tracing,[13] algorithms which simulate the physical properties of light in order to produce lighting effects automatically.[11]: 13–14 To accomplish this, Ludwig examined how light passes through water, ice and crystal, and programmed those properties into the software.[11]: 13 Following thestock market crash of 1987, Blue Sky Studios did not find their first client until about two years later: a company "that wanted their logo animated so it would be seen flying over the ocean in front of a sunset."[11]: 13–14 In order to receive the commission, Blue Sky spent two days rendering a single frame and submitted it to the prospective client. However, once the client accepted their offer, Blue Sky found that they could not produce the entire animation in time without help from a local graphics studio, which provided them with extra computer processors.[11]: 14
Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Blue Sky Studios concentrated on the production of television commercials and visual effects for film. The studio began by animating commercials that depicted the mechanisms of time-releasecapsules forpharmaceutical corporations. The studio also produced aChock Full O' Nuts commercial with a talking coffee bean and developed the first computer-animatedM&M's.[11]: 14 Using CGI Studio, the studio produced over 200 other commercials for clients such asChrysler,General Foods,Texaco,Pepsi and theUnited States Marines.[14] They made a cartoon bumper forNicktoons that features an orange blob making a dolphin, a dinosaur and a walking person.[15]
In 1996,MTV Films collaborated with Blue Sky Studios on the filmJoe's Apartment, for which Blue Sky animated the insect characters. Other clients includedBell Atlantic,Rayovac,Gillette andBraun.[11]: 14 The Braun commercial was awarded aCLIO Award for Advertising.[11]: 14 Recalling the award, Ludwig stated that the judges had initially mistaken the commercial as a live-action submission as a result of the photorealism of the computer-animated razor.[13][16] In August 1997,20th Century Fox's Los Angeles-based visual effects company, VIFX, acquiredmajority interest in Blue Sky Studios to form a new visual effects and animation company, renamed "Blue Sky/VIFX".[17] Following the studio's expansion, Blue Sky produced character animation for the filmsAlien Resurrection (1997),A Simple Wish (1997),Mouse Hunt (1997),Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) andFight Club (1999), as well as forThe Sopranos episode "Funhouse".[11]: 15
Meanwhile, starting in 1990, Wedge had been working on a short film namedBunny, intended to demonstrate CGI Studio. The film revolves around a rabbit widow who is irritated by a moth. The moth subsequently leads the rabbit into "a heavenly glow, reuniting her with her husband."[11]: 15 At the time, Wedge had been the thesis advisor forCarlos Saldanha while Saldanha was a graduate student at theSchool of Visual Arts; Wedge shared storyboard panels forBunny with Saldanha during this time. After Saldanha's graduation, Blue Sky Studios hired him as an animator, and he later directed a few commercials. It was not until 1996 when Nina Rappaport, a producer at Blue Sky Studios, assigned Wedge to complete theBunny project, which required CGI Studio to render fur, glass and metal from multiple light sources, such as a swinging light bulb and an "ethereal cloudscape". In the initial stages of theBunny project, Ludwig modified CGI Studio to simulateradiosity, which tracks light rays as they reflect off of multiple surfaces. Blue Sky Studios releasedBunny in 1998, and it received theAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film.Bunny's success gave Blue Sky Studios the opportunity to produce feature-length films.[11]: 15
In March 1999, Fox decided to sell VIFX to another visual effects and animation company,Rhythm & Hues Studios, while Blue Sky Studios would remain under Fox.[18] According to Wedge, Fox considered selling Blue Sky as well by 2000 due to financial difficulties in the visual effects industry in general. Instead, Wedge, film producer Lori Forte, and animation executiveChris Meledandri presented Fox with a script for a comedyfeature film titledIce Age.[19] Studio management pressured staff to sell their remaining shares and options to Fox on the promise of continued employment on feature-length films. The studio moved toWhite Plains, New York and started production onIce Age. As the film wrapped, Fox feared that it might bomb at the box office. They terminated half of the production staff and tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer for the film and the studio.[citation needed] Instead,Ice Age was released by 20th Century Fox on March 15, 2002, and was a critical and commercial success, receiving a nomination for anAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature at the75th Academy Awards in 2003.[20] The film established Blue Sky as the third studio, afterPixar andDreamWorks Animation, to launch a successful CGI franchise.[19]
In January 2009, the studio moved from White Plains toGreenwich, Connecticut, taking advantage of the state's 30 percent tax credit and having more space to grow.[21][22] In April 2017, the studio stated that it intended to stay in Connecticut until 2025.[23]
In 2013, Wedge took a leave of absence to directParamount Animation's live-action/animated filmMonster Trucks.[24] He then returned to Blue Sky Studios and worked on multiple projects for the company, such as serving as an executive producer.[25]
Ownership of Blue Sky Studios was assumed byThe Walt Disney Company as part of theiracquisition of21st Century Fox,[26] which concluded on March 20, 2019.[27] On March 21, Disney announced that Blue Sky Studios and its parent company 20th Century Fox Animation (now20th Century Animation) would be integrated as units within theWalt Disney Studios with co-presidents Andrea Miloro and Robert Baird continuing to lead the studio, while reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairmanAlan Horn.[28] In July 2019, Miloro announced that she would be stepping down from her role as co-president, thus leaving Baird as sole president.[29]
In August 2019, formerWalt Disney Animation Studios head Andrew Millstein was named as co-president of Blue Sky Studios alongside Baird, whilePixar Animation Studios presidentJim Morris also took a supervising role.[3][4]
Spies in Disguise was released by 20th Century Fox on December 25, 2019. It ended up being the final feature film released under the Blue Sky name, and the only feature film produced by Blue Sky Studios that Disney released.
On February 9, 2021, Disney announced that it was closing Blue Sky Studios in April 2021. A spokesperson for the company explained that in light of the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic's continued economic impact on all of its businesses, it was no longer sustainable for them to run a third feature animation studio. In addition, production on a film adaptation of the webcomicNimona,[30] originally scheduled to be released on January 14, 2022, was canceled as a result of its closure. The studio's film library and intellectual properties are retained by Disney.[6][9] Although Disney did not give an exact date as to when the studio would be closing down initially, former animator Rick Fournier confirmed on April 10 it was their last day of operation,[31] three days after co-founder Chris Wedge released a farewell letter on social media.[32]
As of June 19, 2021, Blue Sky Studios' website now redirects toDisney.com.
On May 4, 2021, fan site Disney Television Animation News reported that it was rumored that a short series produced by Blue Sky known asScrat Tales would be coming toDisney+. The series would follow the titularScrat, who discovers that he has a son.[33] Footage of the series was laterleaked ontoYouTube, with former Blue Sky animators revealing that the series would be coming to Disney+ in 2022 afterThe Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild. On February 22, 2022, Disney officially announced the series, with a release date for April 13, 2022.[34]
A spin-off film in theIce Age franchise, titledThe Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, was produced byWalt Disney Pictures, and without the involvement of Blue Sky Studios. The film was originally produced by 20th Century Studios and 20th Century Animation before being moved to Walt Disney Pictures during production for unknown reasons.[citation needed] It was animated by Canadian animation studioBardel Entertainment and was released on Disney+ on January 28, 2022, to generally negative reviews from critics.
Additionally, in January 2022, a third film in theRio franchise was revealed to be in development.[35]
Days after the release ofThe Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, it was reported that Disney had lost the rights of Scrat to fashion designer and artistIvy Supersonic. She was said to have originally created Scrat under the name "Sqrat", pitched the character to Fox, and got turned down by the studio. Supersonic claims the studio's own documents actually identified the character inIce Age as "Sqrat", though her creation was not saber-toothed.[36] Supersonic was offered a $300,000 settlement by Fox, but she turned it down and subsequently lost in court. The case later went to appeal (Case # 04401 Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, NYC). Supersonic still had hopes of receiving damages for her claimed infringement,[36] later winning a partial summary judgment from theTrademark Trial and Appeal Board in a reverse suit, Fox Entertainment Group and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation v. Ivy Silberstein (her real name), in which Fox had tried to prevent her from registering the trademark "SQRAT".[37] Rumors originally circulated in 2020 that Disney lost the rights to the character following the trademark dispute and later circulated as Scrat was not featured inThe Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild.[38][39] However, after the unveiling ofScrat Tales, it was revealed that Disney did not lose the rights to Scrat.[citation needed]
In March 2022, amid the controversy of Disney's involvement inFlorida House Bill 1557, referred to by some as theDon't Say Gay bill,[40][41] and lack of criticism from CEOBob Chapek untilafter the bill had passed,Insider reported that three former Blue Sky staff members statedNimona received pushback from Disney leadership in mid-2020, centered around the film's LGBT themes and a same-sex kiss. Initially, Blue Sky leadership removed the same-sex kiss from "presentations to Disney, despite hoping to ultimately include it in the film, the sources said. [...] Blue Sky leadership eventually showed reels to staffers that included the kiss, the sources said, but the studio was shut down soon after".[42]Nimona was picked up byAnnapurna Pictures on April 11, 2022, withDNEG Animation finishing production, for release onNetflix on June 30, 2023.[43]
Ice Age: Scrat Tales, the last official Blue Sky production, was released as scheduled on April 13, 2022. The final episode of the series, "Nut The End", concluded its ending credits with a parting message from the company:
Scrat was the first character to appear in Blue Sky's first movie, "Ice Age".
Like him, we were reaching for something that might have been unattainable.
Yet time after time both we and Scrat have managed to
get our arms around versions of that elusive acorn.Unfortunately, it's not possible to hold on to anything forever.
We've had more fun bringing our movies to life than anyone should be allowed.
Thank you, from the bottom of our Blue Sky collective hearts,
We hope you've been able to feel some of that joy.
for being with us all those years.[44]
On the same day, a short video was uploaded to YouTube by an unlisted channel known as Finale, titled "The End", which featured Scrat finally capturing his acorn and eating it before scurrying away. The description revealed this was the final piece of animation made by Blue Sky Studios, done in their final days of operation by a small team of artists as "a farewell, a send-off, on our own terms."[45]
| 2002 | Ice Age |
|---|---|
| 2003 | |
| 2004 | |
| 2005 | Robots |
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown |
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs |
| 2010 | |
| 2011 | Rio |
| 2012 | Ice Age: Continental Drift |
| 2013 | Epic |
| 2014 | Rio 2 |
| 2015 | The Peanuts Movie |
| 2016 | Ice Age: Collision Course |
| 2017 | Ferdinand |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | Spies in Disguise |
| No. | Title | Release date | Distributor/co-production with |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ice Age | March 15, 2002 | 20th Century Fox 20th Century Fox Animation |
| 2 | Robots | March 11, 2005 | |
| 3 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | March 31, 2006 | |
| 4 | Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! | March 14, 2008 | |
| 5 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | July 1, 2009 | |
| 6 | Rio | April 15, 2011 | |
| 7 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | July 13, 2012 | |
| 8 | Epic | May 24, 2013 | |
| 9 | Rio 2 | April 11, 2014 | |
| 10 | The Peanuts Movie | November 6, 2015 | |
| 11 | Ice Age: Collision Course | July 22, 2016 | |
| 12 | Ferdinand | December 15, 2017 | 20th Century Fox 20th Century Fox Animation Davis Entertainment |
| 13 | Spies in Disguise | December 25, 2019 | 20th Century Fox 20th Century Fox Animation Chernin Entertainment |
| Title | Films | Short films | TV seasons | Release dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Age | 5 | 9 | 1 | 2002–2022 |
| Rio | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2011–2014 |
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Media related toBlue Sky Studios at Wikimedia Commons
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