In 1991, Zareh Nalbandian and Chris Godfrey formed and founded a digital studio in Crows Nest, Sydney, Australia. The company was born out of Video Paint Brush Company, which Nalbandian, who had worked there for a few years, and his colleague Godfrey acquired in a management buy-out and renamed Animal Logic. Animal Logic moved to
Fox Studios Australia in Moore Park, Sydney, in 1998. In 2003, Animal Logic began work on its first computer-animated feature film,
Happy Feet, for director
George Miller. Released in the United States on 17 November 2006, the project saw the company expand significantly, recruiting up to 300 artists and technicians from Australia and around the world.
Happy Feet, which was the first computer-animated feature film produced in Australia, went on to win the
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as well as the new
BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film. Their full-length feature animation, ''
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole'', was released on 24 September 2010 and was Australia's first animated feature to be released in 3D. From 2004 to 2007, the company produced the CN City bumpers for
Cartoon Network. In 2011, the company produced and animated
LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, a 30-minute TV special. Produced for
Lucasfilm and
Cartoon Network, In 2012, Animal Logic acquired the assets of fellow Australian visual effects studio Fuel VFX, known for their work on feature films such as
Iron Man 3,
Prometheus,
The Avengers,
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,
Cowboys & Aliens,
Captain America: The First Avenger and
Thor. Fuel VFX was nominated for a
Visual Effects Society Award and a
BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects for their work on
Prometheus. 2012 also saw the release of the Animal Logic-animated "Polar Bowl" campaign, consisting of a 60-second and two 30-second commercials that aired at halftime at the
Super Bowl XLVI. The campaign aimed to re-launch the iconic
Coca-Cola polar bear characters to a new generation. Following the success of the 3 spots, which were viewed by over 160 million people globally, the company went on to animate a 6-minute short film directed by
John Stevenson to headline Coca-Cola's 2013 global campaign. The film was first released through
YouTube in December 2012, followed by a worldwide international theater release. In 2013, the company led visual effects and animation work on
BBC Earth and Evergreen Films' 3D live-action feature
Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, In 2014, Animal Logic provided animation services for the 2014 film
The Lego Movie, which was produced by the
Warner Animation Group and directed by
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. After the film's huge success, the company was split into three subsidiaries operating under the Animal Logic's group: Animal Logic VFX, Animal Logic Animation, and Animal Logic Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based arm tasked with developing VFX, animation and hybrid feature films for the company. The following year, the company opened a facility in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The new studio initially produced work for
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, the first in a three-film deal with
Warner Bros., all of which were to be developed in Canada. In 2017, Animal Logic and the
University of Technology Sydney launched a joint venture named the UTS Animal Logic Academy, offering a one-year accelerated Master of Animation and Visualisation. Taught by industry professionals, the Academy mimics the workflows and processes of a 3D animation/VFX studio to produce two student short films a year, with students specialising in their chosen discipline to the standard of a junior position in the industry. Since 2017, the Academy has also offered various other short courses, and a Technical Direction for 3D Animation and Graphics Projects subject open to all undergraduate students at UTS. In July 2022,
Netflix announced plans to acquire Animal Logic in an all-cash deal. In January 2024, it was announced that the studio would merge with
Netflix Animation, with CEO Sharon Taylor resigning and Netflix Animation's Karen Toliver taking her place to lead the studio. Taylor would later return to Netflix Animation as head of production in June 2024. ==Filmography==