Disney to close last hand-drawn animation studio
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 | 4:24 PM ET
CBC Arts
The U.S. entertainment giant announced the closure Wednesday. The move will cost about 250 jobs.
"It is with regret that DisneyToon Studios has decided to close their animation production facility in Sydney in mid-2006," the company said in a statement, attributing the decision "in large part to the changing creative climate and economic environment" of animation.
Disney began with hand-drawn, two-dimensional animation in films like Pinocchio and Snow White. However, the most popular animated films are now of the computer-generated, three-dimensional variety, like Toy Story, Shrek and The Incredibles.
Disney is closing the door on two-dimensional animated classics like 1937's 'Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs,' as it announces the closure of its last hand-drawn animation studio. (Disney/Getty Images)
Disneytoon Studios employees were informed of the decision Wednesday and were told the studio would shut down in mid-2006 after the completion of work on sequels to the films Brother Bear and Cinderella.
The closure is a major blow to animation in Sydney, producer Tim Brook-Hunt told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"We've lost a major source of training and talent in the industry but also for the people involved, it's very difficult to see that all of them can be absorbed into the rest of the industry," said Brook-Hunt, who also represents the animation and new media community on the Screen Producers Association of Australia council.
Pixar's hit 'Toy Story' movies relate the adventures of a group of sentient toys in 3D. (AP file photo)
Still seeking sequels, but now in 3D
The animation house started out in the late 1980s working on Disney TV cartoons. As its animators gained experience, the studio was enlisted to work on the company's animated feature films.
In recent years, as Disney closed other animation facilities around the world, the Sydney studio was busy with all its second-string productions including The Lion King II, The Jungle Book, The Lady and the Tramp II and Lilo and Stitch II.
- RELATED STORY: New Disney unit to focus on Pixar sequels
Last February, Disney announced it was creating a new unit dedicated to creating computer-animated films, specifically sequels to the movies it made with Pixar Animation Studios.
About a year earlier, Pixar had announced it was ending talks to renew its production and distribution deal with Disney. The two companies had been in business together since 1991, with the highly successful Toy Story as their first collaboration. Both companies have co-financed each of their joint films and largely split the profits evenly. However, Disney holds rights to making sequels.
(With files from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
