Following the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney acquired the animation studio Blue Sky Studios. However, two years later, it seems like Blue Sky Studios is permanently shutting down.
According to Deadline, Disney has shuttered Blue Sky Studios, closing it down entirely. As a spokesperson stated that, “Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios.” Unfortunately, nearly 450 employees will be affected by this decision while some will be given consideration to other positions within Disney’s internal operations. Blue Sky will officially shut down in April.
Blue Sky Studios was currently in production on the Patrick Osborne-directed fantasy/sci-fi film Nimona with 10 months left to go until its release on January 14th, 2022. Unfortunately, the film’s production has ceased and will no longer be released in any form by Disney.
Blue Sky Studios is perhaps best known for their feature debut with 2002’s Ice Age which spawned four other instalments in the franchise. The animation studios’ other feature films include Robots, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, the Rio franchise, Epic, The Peanuts Movie, Ferdinand, and Spies in Disguise.
