Disney is closing Blue Sky Studios, the 20th Century Studios animation division that is best known for creating the Ice Age franchise.
Honestly, I’m surprised it has taken this long for Disney to pull the plug. As soon as they acquired 20th Century Fox and its assets in March 2019 I knew they weren’t going to keep around three major animation studios (Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios being the other two). Plus, it’s not like Blue Sky was well-known for churning out quality pictures. Aside from the first couple Ice Age films which are enjoyable, the only film that was amazing was The Peanuts Movie (and that’s because it looked and felt like a whole different studio made it).
All my bias aside, Blue Sky Studios did manage to release 13 feature films that together grossed almost $6 billion. It’s an impressive accomplishment that will likely not be forgotten anytime soon. The studio’s catalogue will remain on Disney+ and there is even an Ice Age television series in development (likely at a different studio now).
However, Nimona, which had a release date of January 14, 2022, will no longer be released. With 10 months of production still left to complete, the film has been stopped. It was set to follow “a young shape-shifter who teams with a mad scientist named Lord Ballister Blackheart to expose the ruler of the kingdom.” It’s possible the project could move to a different studio, but I doubt it.
On the news, a studio spokesperson told Deadline,
“Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios.”
In addition to Ice Age and The Peanuts Movie, you may be familiar with the following Blue Sky films: Rio, Ferdinand, Robots, Spies in Disguise, and Horton Hears a Who!
R.I.P. Blue Sky.
Are you sad to hear Blue Sky Studios is closing? What was your favorite film from the animation house?
