30 Years Blue Sky Studios Brian Keane, COO
Blue Sky Studios has its roots in a CGI and animation startup created by the team that designed the special effects for Disney’s TRON (1982). It became a full-fledged movie studio after being acquired by 20th Century Fox and releasing its first feature, Ice Age, in 2002. Since this breakout film, Blue Sky Studios has produced many more family-focused animated features including Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Rio! (2011) and the latest installment of its successful Ice Age franchise, Ice Age: Collision Course, released last year. Blue Sky Studios is also responsible for the effects work in live-action films like Fight Club (1999) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Honors and Awards: Bunny (1998) Academy Award for Best Animated Short; Ice Age (2002) Academy Award Nominee, Best Animated Feature Hot Properties: Ice Age, Rio! Coming Soon: Ferdinand Website: blueskystudios.com [
Births: Artist Frida Kahlo, voice of Fred Flintstone Alan Reed, animator Art Babbitt, animator Les Clark. Births: Comics legend Will Eisner, voice actress June Foray. Releases: Namakura Gatana (Blunt Sword), the oldest surviving Japanese anime; Quirino Cristiani’s El Apóstol, the first feature-length animation; Jimmy Gets the Pennant by Howard S. Moss. Births: Voice actor Dick Beals, animator Shirley Silvey, British animator Alison de Vere, Hungarian animator Attila Dargay. Founded: The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. Events: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit makes his debut in 1927’s Trolley Troubles.
Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length cel animated feature, premieres in Hollywood; Ladislas Starevich’s The Tale of the Fox and The Diehl Bros.’ The Seven Ravens debut in Germany.
debuts as the first animat- star- Born: Disney-Pixar head John Lasseter, Simpsons veteran David Silverman, director Chris Wedge, director Brad Bird, animator Andreas Deja, Nancy Cartwright — voice of Bart Simpson, Dan Castellaneta — voice of Homer Simpson. Events: Terrytoons’ Tom Terrific debuts on Captain Kangaroo. Releases: The Gumby Show, Warner Bros.’ What’s Opera Doc?, Oscar-winning short Birds Anonymous, Bill Justice’s directorial debut The Truth About Mother Goose, Walter Lantz’s The Woody Woodpecker Show, Hanna-Barbera’s first NBC show Ruff and Reddy.
Births: Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar. Founded: Blue Sky Studios, Japanese studio Production I.G. Releases: Picha’s X-rated Le Big Bang premieres in Europe; Wicked City premieres in Japan; The Chipmunk Adventure; Rankin/ Bass’ The Wind in the Willows; The Brave Little Toaster; Robot Carnival premieres in Japan; DuckTales; The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.