NEWS: Disney to CLOSE One of Their Animation Studios

The past few years have brought major entertainment acquisitions to the Walt Disney Company.

©Blue Sky Studios

The largest, perhaps, was the acquisition of 20th Century Fox and all its associated studios. Now, Disney is shuttering one division of the former 20th Century Fox and canceling an upcoming film.

According to Deadline, Disney will be closing down Blue Sky Studios, 20th Century Fox’s animation division, known for grossing almost $6 billion and producing 13 animated feature films.

©Blue Sky Studios

The last day for the studio will be in April and 450 Blue Sky employees will be affected by the closure. Disney has noted that they will be working with some employees to explore open positions at other Disney studios. Per the Deadline article, the closure comes due to the economic situation caused by the global health crisis.

Blue Sky’s intellectual property will remain incorporated into Disney’s portfolio. Remember, Disney recently announced a series based on Blue Sky’s Ice Age characters and franchise coming to Disney+.

©Blue Sky Studios

The upcoming Blue Sky film Nimona which was set for release next year will be halted with 10 months of production left to complete. The film will not be released. It is expected that Blue Sky Co-Presidents Andrew Millstein and Rob Baird will exit after the closure.

A spokesperson told Deadline, “Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios.”