1980–1989: Formation and early computer animation In the late 1970s,
Chris Wedge, then an undergraduate at
Purchase College studying film, was employed by
Mathematical 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 measure
nuclear radiation rays for
US government contracts. At MAGI, Wedge met Eugene Troubetzkoy, who held a
Ph.D in
theoretical physics and was one of the first
computer animators. Using his background in character animation, Wedge helped MAGI produce animation for television commercials, which eventually led to an offer from
Walt Disney Productions to produce animation for the film
Tron (1982). After
Tron, MAGI hired Carl Ludwig, an
electrical engineer, At Blue Sky, Ferraro and Ludwig expanded on CGI Studio, the studio programming language they started at
MAGI and began using it for animation production. algorithms which simulate the physical properties of light in order to produce lighting effects automatically. They made a cartoon bumper for
Nicktoons that features an orange blob making a dolphin, a dinosaur and a walking person. In 1996,
MTV Films collaborated with Blue Sky Studios on the film ''
Joe's Apartment'', for which Blue Sky animated the insect characters. Other clients included
Bell Atlantic,
Rayovac,
Gillette and
Braun. In August 1997,
20th Century Fox's Los Angeles-based visual effects company, VIFX, acquired
majority interest in Blue Sky Studios to form a new visual effects and animation company, renamed "Blue Sky/VIFX". Following the studio's expansion, Blue Sky produced character animation for the films
Alien Resurrection (1997),
A Simple Wish (1997),
Mouse Hunt (1997),
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and
Fight Club (1999), as well as for
The Sopranos episode "
Funhouse". 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 executive
Chris Meledandri presented Fox with a script for a comedy
feature film titled
Ice Age. 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 to
White Plains, New York and started production on
Ice 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. Instead,
Ice Age was released by 20th Century Fox on March 15, 2002, and was a critical and commercial success, receiving a nomination for an
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the
75th Academy Awards in 2003. The film established Blue Sky as the third studio, after
Pixar and
DreamWorks Animation, to launch a successful CGI franchise. In April 2017, the studio stated that it intended to stay in Connecticut until 2025. In 2013, Wedge took a leave of absence to direct
Paramount Animation's live-action/animated film
Monster Trucks. He then returned to Blue Sky Studios and worked on multiple projects for the company, such as serving as an executive producer.
2019–2021: Disney acquisition and closure Ownership of Blue Sky Studios was assumed by
The Walt Disney Company as part of their
acquisition of
21st Century Fox, which concluded on March 20, 2019. On March 21, Disney announced that Blue Sky Studios and its parent company 20th Century Fox Animation (now
20th Century Animation) would be integrated as units within the
Walt Disney Studios with co-presidents Andrea Miloro and Robert Baird continuing to lead the studio, while reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman
Alan Horn. In July 2019, Miloro announced that she would be stepping down from her role as co-president, thus leaving Baird as sole president. In August 2019, former
Walt Disney Animation Studios head Andrew Millstein was named as co-president of Blue Sky Studios alongside Baird, while
Pixar Animation Studios president
Jim Morris also took a supervising role.
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 ongoing
COVID-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 webcomic
Nimona, 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 through
20th Century Animation. 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, three days after co-founder Chris Wedge released a farewell letter on social media. As of June 19, 2021, Blue Sky Studios' website now redirects to
Disney.com.
2021–present: Post-closure On May 4, 2021, fan site Disney Television Animation News reported that it was rumored that a short series produced by Blue Sky known as
Scrat Tales would be coming to
Disney+. The series would follow the titular
Scrat, who discovers that he has a son. Footage of the series was later
leaked onto
YouTube, with former Blue Sky animators revealing that the series would be coming to Disney+ in 2022 after
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild. On February 22, 2022, Disney officially announced the series, with a release date for April 13, 2022. A spin-off film in the
Ice Age franchise, titled
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, was produced by
Walt Disney Pictures. 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. It was animated by Canadian animation studio
Bardel Entertainment and was released on Disney+ on January 28, 2022, to generally negative reviews from critics. Additionally, in January 2022, a third film in the
Rio franchise was revealed to be in development. Days after the release of
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, it was reported that Disney had lost the rights of Scrat to fashion designer and artist
Ivy 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 in
Ice Age as "Sqrat", though her creation was not saber-toothed. 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, 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 in
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild. However, after the unveiling of
Scrat Tales, it was revealed that Disney did not lose the rights to Scrat. In March 2022, amid the controversy of Disney's involvement in
Florida House Bill 1557, referred to by some as the ''Don't Say Gay
bill, and lack of criticism from CEO Bob Chapek until after the bill had passed, Insider reported that three former Blue Sky staff members stated Nimona'' 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".
Nimona was picked up by
Annapurna Pictures on April 11, 2022, with
DNEG Animation finishing production, for release on
Netflix on June 30, 2023.
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 toget 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.We hope you've been able to feel some of that joy. Thank you, from the bottom of our Blue Sky collective hearts,for being with us all those years. 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." == Filmography ==