DisneyToon Studios closing for good

[MarkTwain]

Disney Shuts Down Disneytoon Studios in Glendale: Exclusive

On the heels of Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee succeeding John Lasseter as chief creative officers at Pixar and Disney, Disney will now close its third animation studio, the Glendale-based Disneytoon Studios, effective immediately.

Disneytoon was best known for the “Disney Fairies” home entertainment and “Planes” theatrical franchises under Lasseter’s leadership, with Meredith Roberts serving as senior vice president and general manager since 2008. There will be layoffs of 75 animators and staff, and it is unclear if any will be transitioned to either Disney or Pixar.

Looks like the studio that brought us the "cheapquels", the Planes movies, and the Fairies franchise has finally come to a close. I always got the impression that the studio was something of a pet project for Lasseter, so I wonder if the closure is related.

I hope all the animators find new work quickly.

 

[CJR]

Their last film came out in 2015, so three years and nothing solid in the cannon, this move was overdue, in my opinion. Most of these people should find work too. Good luck to them, but really, not much was going on anyway. They might actually get to do something more meaningful now (especially with what is probably some decent turnover in Pixar).

 

[WhatJaneSays]

I think Disneytoon was probably shuttered in practice a while ago, this just makes it final on paper. Even though the article says they don't know if the staff will be moved to other divisions, it seems likely they could, depending on the need.

 

[ShoalFox]

I wonder if they're going to open up another studio to do similar kinds of animation work.

I wouldn't want to see WDAS or Pixar stuck with the kinds of projects Disneytoon formerly worked on.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Most likely is Blue Sky since its part of the Disney-Fox deal.

 

[Christian Fronckowiak]

I wonder if they're going to open up another studio to do similar kinds of animation work.

I wouldn't want to see WDAS or Pixar stuck with the kinds of projects Disneytoon formerly worked on.

Hopefully those projects are not in our future!

 

[ShoalFox]

Most likely is Blue Sky since its part of the Disney-Fox deal.

I didn't even consider that the Fox deal would bring that over! Perhaps that will happen after all

 

[brb1006]

Sorry to bump this thread. But a video just got uploaded titled "A Door Closes For A Possible Disney TVA Studio!"

The video shows the Disney Toon Studios HQ after it's Spring 2019 closure. According to the video description, it seems that Disney plans to make it the third studio for Disney Television Animation.

 

[brb1006]

Twitter post featuring the video.