List of animation studios owned by the Walt Disney Company
Production facilities owned by the company
Walt Disney Animation Studios logo since 2007Walt Disney Animation Studios' current headquarters, the Roy E. Disney Animation Building, is located in Burbank, California across the street from the main Disney studio lot.The south side of the Roy E. Disney Animation Building, as seen from the public park that separates it from the Ventura Freeway.
The Walt Disney Company has owned and operated several animation studios since the company's founding on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; the current Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California is the company's flagship feature animation studio and claims heritage from this original studio. Adding to the growth of the company and its motion picture studio division the Walt Disney Studios, several other animation studios were added through acquisitions and through openings of satellite studios outside the United States. These expanded the company's animation output into television, direct-to-video, and digital releases, in addition to its primary feature animation releases.
Animation: Television series Originally a part of the Disney animation group, Disney TV Animation was transferred into Disney Television and later to the Disney Channels
Former names: Fox Family Films, Fox Animation Studios, 20th Century Fox Animation Former units: Fox Animation Studios (1994–2000), Blue Sky Studios (1987–2021)
Founded in 1997 by stay-at-home mom and former teacher Julie Aigner-Clark, Acquired by Disney in 2000.[2] Discontinued making videos in 2009. Now owned by Kids II, Inc.
Formed in 1984 as Saban Entertainment by music and TV producers Haim Saban and Shuki Levy. Acquired as part of Fox Family Worldwide on October 24, 2001, and renamed to BVS Entertainment alongside other subsidiaries. One portion that worked on the English dub of Digimon was renamed to Sensation Animation and was closed when Disney lost the rights to dub the series. Currently dormant after Disney sold off the Power Rangers franchise and related shows back to Haim Saban and his company Saban Capital Group in 2010.
Units: Saban International Paris (sold off in 2001), BVS International N.V. BVS International Services, Inc.
Founded in France by Haim Saban and Jacqueline Tordjman in 1977 as Saban International Paris. Acquired alongside parent company Saban Entertainment in 2001 as part of the Fox Family Worldwide buyout. Eventually Split from parent company, leaving Fox Family Worldwide holding 49%, to become an independent studio in the same year with Disney purchasing Fox Family Worldwide and renamed to its current name in 2002. Closed in 2009.
Animation: theatrical, direct to video, short and television films and Wrap-around animation Began as a sequel theatrical unit of Disney Television Animation and adding direct to video features before being transferred to Features Animation in 2003 and Disney Studios from 2006 to 2008
This was a wholly owned subsidiary of Pixar Animation Studios. It was located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The studio was tasked to produce short films based on Pixar's feature film characters.
Circle 7 Animation, or Disney Circle 7 Animation, was a short-lived division of Walt Disney Feature Animation specializing in CGI animation and was originally going to work on making sequels to the Disney-owned Pixar properties, leading rivals and animators[5] to derisively nickname the division "Pixaren't". The company released no movies during its tenure.[6]
Steve Jobs, Pixar CEO, announced in January 2004 that Pixar would not renew their agreement with Disney and would seek out other distributors for releases starting in 2006.[7] In 2004, Disney Circle 7 Animation was formed as a CG animation studio to create sequels to the Disney-owned Pixar properties.[6] In late January 2006, new Disney CEO Bob Iger and Jobs agreed to have Disney purchase Pixar[8] which led to Disney closing Circle 7.[9]
The Secret Lab
"The Secret Lab" redirects here. For the video game developer, see Secret Lab.
The Secret Lab
The Secret Lab's former location in Burbank, California
The Secret Lab was an American special effects company that operated from 1979 to 2005, and was the result of a merger between Dream Quest Images and Walt Disney Feature Animation's Computer Graphics division.
The Walt Disney Company purchased the company in April 1996 and subsequently moved it to Burbank, California.[12] DQI was purchased to replace Buena Vista Visual Effects.[15] Soon after 1997, Andrew Millstein was appointed general manager of the company.[16]
In October 1999, Dream Quest Images merged with Walt Disney Feature Animation's computer graphics division to form The Secret Lab,[17][10] with Millstein continuing as general manager and vice president.[16][17] The DQI and WDFA units were moved into a new location at Disney's Northside facility on Thornton Avenue just east of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, Lockheed Corp.'s former Skunk Works Building 90 until it was renovated for WDFA's headquarters in 1995. DQI's physical production facilities remained in Simi Valley.[17]
The Secret Lab produced one CG animated motion picture, Dinosaur, in 2000.[17] After Dinosaur, the Lab and WDFA began working on Wildlife, which was canceled that September.[18]
Pixar (/ˈpɪksɑːr/) is an American computer animationfilm studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio is best known for its CGI-animated feature films created with PhotoRealistic RenderMan, its own implementation of the industry-standard RenderMan image-rendering application programming interface used to generate high-quality images. Pixar began in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the computer division of Lucasfilm before its spin-out as a corporation in 1986 with funding by Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, who became its majority shareholder.[citation needed] Pixar and Disney had a seven feature agreement that allowed Disney to distribute the films with Disney owing the character rights. With the success of Toy Story 2 in 1999, then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs began to disagree on how Pixar should be run and the terms of their continued relationship.[6] Eisner claimed that Toy Story 2 would not count towards the "original" film count of the agreement.[20] Jobs announced in January 2004 that Pixar would not renew their agreement with Disney and would seek out other distributors for releases starting in 2006.[7] In 2004, Disney Circle 7 Animation was formed as a CG animation studio to create sequels to the Disney-owned Pixar properties.[6] In late January 2006, new Disney CEO Bob Iger and Jobs agreed to have Disney purchase Pixar[8] which led to Disney closing Circle 7.[9]
With Disney's 2009 purchase of Marvel Entertainment, Disney acquired Marvel Animation, a component of Marvel Entertainment.[21] which now has a studio in Glendale, California.[22][23] The studio became a Marvel Studios subisdiary after Kevin Feige was named chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment.
Marvel Studios Animation
In July 2021, Marvel Studios opened an in-house animation division named Marvel Studios Animation, though which they would develop mainly animated projects set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in addition to stand-alone projects. Brad Winderbaum as Head of Television, Streaming, and Animation, and Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt as VP of Animation.
Following the arrival of Michael Eisner,Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group was established on December 5, 1984. Following re-incorporation of The Walt Disney Company in 1986. The name of the TV animation unit was shortened to Walt Disney Television Animation. the following year in 1987. This name was used to 2011 when it was shortened to Disney Television Animation.
In January 2003, Disney initiated a reorganization of its theatrical and animation units to improve resource usage and continued focus on new characters and franchise development. TV Animation was transferred to Disney Channel Worldwide.[27]Disney MovieToons/Disney Video Premieres unit was transferred from Disney Television Animation to Disney Feature Animation.[28][29]
Jetix Europe (formerly Fox Kids Europe N.V.) - 75.7% owned by Disney until 2008, full ownership afterwards. Currently dormant.
Overseas studios
Three overseas animation studios (Australia, Japan and Canada) were set up to produce the company's animated television series. As direct-to-video increased in importance, the overseas studios moved to making feature films.[34]
Disney Animation Australia
Walt Disney Television Animation (Australia) Pty. Limited
Disney Animation Australia (DAA), also DisneyToon Studios Australia,[37] was a Disney animation studio located in Sydney.[35]
DAA was started in 1988 at the former Hanna-Barbera overseas studio in St Leonards, Sydney. Initially, Animation Australia worked on various television shows including Aladdin, Timon & Pumbaa, and Goof Troop. As staffing increased, the studio moved to Castlereagh Street.[36]
Disney began producing direct-to-video sequels of its Feature Animation productions, the first of which was the Aladdin sequel The Return of Jafar. When Aladdin was selected as a possible candidate as an animated TV series (before the film's release), as with many animated series, the first three episodes were one multi-part story which Disney used as a potential 'family movie special' for the Friday night before the series' premiere. With work handed out to the Australia animation studio, the opening story was instead greenlit for a direct-to-video release. Thus with "Jafar" and its success, the direct-to-video unit, Disney Video Premieres, started. A second sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, provided work to both the Sydney and Japanese animation units.[3]
Walt Disney Animation Canada, Inc. (WDAC) was a Canadian animation production company and subsidiary of Disney Television Animation.[34]
Walt Disney Animation Canada was opened in January 1996 to tap Canada's animator pool and produce direct-to-video. Industry Canada rules were dispensed by the Canadian Government with a multi-year commitment from Disney for the company.[39]
WDAC produced in 1997 Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas then worked with Australia and Japan subcontractors on Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.[39] In fall 1999, Animation Canada stopped work on Peter and Jane, a Peter Pan sequel original designed as its first theatrical release but was changed to a video release.[39] In Spring 2000, due to weak financial performance, Animation Canada was closed.[39][40] With Canada's closure, work on Peter and Jane was moved to the Australia and Japan units.[39]
Walt Disney Feature Animation, France S.A. (DAF), also credited as Walt Disney Feature Animation - Paris, France[44] and originally named Brizzi Films, was an animation company based in Paris, France that operated from 1986 to 2007.
In 1994, the Brizzi brothers transferred to Walt Disney Feature Animation as sequence directors for The Hunchback of Notre Dame[42] for which Disney France did 20 percent of the animation.[43] By January 1998, David Stainton was heading up Disney Animation France, which was when he was promoted to senior vice president of creative affairs for Disney Feature Animation.[45]
Stainton was promoted in January 2000, and moved to Walt Disney Television Animation.[45] In summer 2003, Disney Animation France was closed.[25]
Walt Disney Animation Japan (ウォルト・ディズニー・アニメーション・ジャパン株式会社, Kabushiki gaisha Woruto Dizunī Animēshon Japan) (WDAJ), officially Walt Disney Animation (Japan) Inc., and formerly known as Pacific Animation Corporation (パシフィックアニメーション株式会社, Pashifikku animēshon kabushiki gaisha), also known as Walt Disney Television International Japan (ウォルト・ディズニー・テレビジョン・インターナショナル ジャパン, Woruto Dizunī Terebijon Intānashonaru Japan) (WDTVI-J), an animation production subsidiary of Disney Television Animation, a component of the Walt Disney Company, which is in charge of Disney's television business in Japan.
Pacific Animation Corporation was one of two animation firms that formed after the end of Topcraft in 1984, with the other being Studio Ghibli. Pacific Animation did three TV series and 1 television film for Rankin/Bass. In 1988, the Walt Disney Company purchased Pacific Animation Corporation, which was renamed as Walt Disney Animation Japan.[53]
The Japanese studio was set up to provide the animation services for Disney's animated television series in 1989.[34][57] As direct-to-video increased in importance, the overseas studios moved to making feature films.[34]
DAJ was closed in June 2004 with 30 employees expected to be transferred to one of the two Disney's remaining animation units.[54] With the closure of the Japanese studio, its remaining work for DisneyToon Studios was split between its US and Australia animation units.[56] Employees not transferred decided to launch a new company, The Answer Studio [ja].[54][55]
Walt Disney Animation Studios Vancouver is a division of Walt Disney Animation Studios. The division was open on August 4, 2021, and began operations in January 2022.[61] Amir Nasrabadi, former finance lead at Disney Animation, is the head of the studio.[61] The studio will work on Disney Animation's future long-term series, specials, and movies with its first work being the upcoming Moana sequel.[61]
In 2007, The Walt Disney Company and ImageMovers set up a joint venture animation facility, ImageMovers Digital, a Marin County-based film company, where Robert Zemeckis would produce and direct 3D animated films using performance capture technology.[2] ImageMovers Digital closed operations by January 2011, after the production was completed on Mars Needs Moms.[62]
^3rd & original incorporation name for Walt Disney Studios partnership
^name for the main feature theatrical animation division
^subdivision of the main feature animation studio, founded to produce sequels to individual Pixar films owned by Disney before acquiring Pixar outright in 2006. No films were ever released by this division.
^ abcHarrington, Richard (August 7, 1990). "'DuckTales: The Movie'". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
^ abcdDaly, Steve (June 16, 2006). "Woody: The Untold Story". Entertainment Weekly Magazine. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
^ ab"Pixar dumps Disney". CNN Money. January 30, 2004. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
^ abcdVerrier, Richard; Claudia Eller (September 29, 2003). "Disney Pushed Toward Digital". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
^Graser, Marc (August 11, 2014). "Layoffs Hit 'Planes' Producer DisneyToon Studios". Variety. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014. Of the 60 employees on staff at the Glendale, Calif.-based division of Walt Disney Animation Studios, 16 are being affected by the layoffs and started to be told of the reductions last week, individuals close to the situation confirmed to Variety.
^Abbott, Jim (June 8, 1999). "A Fresh Tarzan". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
^Robertson, Barbara (January 2000). "Fantasia 2000". Computer Graphics World. 23. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
^ abcdClements, Jonathan (November 28, 2013). Anime: A History. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 109–111, 180–182. ISBN9781844578856. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
^ abKilday, Gregg (September 23, 2003). "Dis To Shut Japan Ani Unit". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2011 – via IMBb.
