The Case of Blue Sky
Every year during Animation April, we like to highlight the work of a different animation studio. Last year, we talked about the short-lived Amblimation, Steven Spielberg’s defunct animation studio that pre-dated Dreamworks. This year, we’re covering another defunct studio that was responsible for several animation classics over the course of 20 years.
If you aren’t an animation or movie nerd, you might not recognize the name Blue Sky Studios right away. But animation superfan or not, you will likely remember their first major motion picture: Ice Age. But, even before Manny the Mammoth and Sid the Sloth took the world by storm, Blue Sky had been producing quality computer animation since its founding in 1987, just one year after PIXAR.
Today, we will tell you the tale of Blue Sky, an underrated studio that told quirky stories about odd and memorable characters, while being bold enough to experiment with different animation styles until its swift and untimely end. So gather up your acorns, your peanuts, or whatever your favorite snack might be, it’s time to learn about Blue Sky Studios!
Getting Started/ The Beginning of Blue Sky
Blue Sky’s story begins with the earliest experiments in CGI. In the mid-1960s, Dr. Philip Mittelman founded Mathematics Applications Group Inc, or MAGI for short. The company actually employed physicists, for the purpose of studying radiation for the US government. The company developed software that was meant to trace radiation from its source to its surroundings. It wasn’t long before they used the software, called SynthaVision, to trace light instead. SynthaVision was one of the first systems that used ray tracing to create and animate images with a computer. By 1972, MAGI had a graphics division which is credited for creating the first CGI commercial for IBM.
In the late 1970s, Chris Wedge joined the team at MAGI as they landed a major project with Disney to use computer animation for sequences in the film TRON. MAGI also performed a CG animation test for Disney based on the Maurice Sendak book, Where the Wild Things Are. It combined 2D character animation with 3D scenes. The test was actually supervised by animator John Lasseter. We will link to the test so you can watch it for yourself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvIDRoO8KnM
In the mid-1980s, MAGI was sold and its personnel scattered to the winds. While attending the Ohio State University, Chris Wedge produced a student film called Tuber’s Two-Step, which we will link to in the blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-GZ0PogVLw
The short represents a turning point in animation and was a preview of the work he would do in the next few years.
Two years later in 1987, Chris Wedge, Carl Ludwig, Eugene Troubetzkoy, Alison Brown, Michael Ferraro, and David Brown got together and formed their own Computer Animation company, Blue Sky Studios.
Each member of the team brought something unique to the table, and for the next few years, the company produced commercials and provided special effects for major motion pictures.
As the company’s creative director, Chris Wedge was partly responsible for the aesthetic of Blue Sky’s work. The other two people that shaped the unique style of animation at Blue Sky were Eugene Troubetzkoy, a theoretical physicist, and Carl Ludwig, a former NASA engineer. Together, these men created the software and renderer employed by Blue Sky Studios.
Troubetzkoy used his knowledge of physics to become an innovator in animation. He and Carl Ludwig developed algorithms and wrote over 50,000 lines of code to mimic the way objects appear in several different lighting conditions.
In a 1997 article for Animation World Magazine, writer Susan Ohmer explains that Blue Sky started each graphics project by shooting a reference object, like a small white sphere, in a similar lighting condition to the one that will appear in the film. Then, the research team would combine the information about light conditions with the texture and properties of the object’s surface. This showed the animators how the surface would look in a specific light. Then, the team’s software would use ray tracing, which was the process of modeling the surface texture onto an animated object.
Dulcolax was Blue Sky’s first big client, using their CGI techniques in commercials for laxatives (no, it’s not as gross as it sounds). Over the next several years, the company produced hundreds of commercials for brands like M&M’s, Texaco, and Chrysler. They even created some of Nickelodeon’s most famous ad bumpers featuring CG orange blobs that took various shapes.
Judges for a computer animation contest once rejected an entry from Blue Sky. The ad was for Braun’s Electric Razor. It was so photorealistic that judges believed they were watching a live-action razor with perfectly fluid movements, so Blue Sky was disqualified.
As PIXAR announced that they were retiring from commercials and focusing solely on feature films, they personally recommended Blue Sky to take over one of their commercials, proving that it was a studio that could go toe to toe with the biggest name in computer animation.
By the mid-1990s, Blue Sky was providing special effects for films, most famously the feature-length version of the MTV short “Joe’s Apartment.” This movie was based on a short following a bachelor in his 20s that lived in a dilapidated apartment with thousands of roaches. While the film used puppets and stop motion for a lot of the scenes, Blue Sky animated portions that would have been too difficult to do with practical effects.
Blue Sky continued to grow throughout the 1990s, moving closer to creating full-length animated films. The company liked giving animators the option to work on both short and full-length features because they could focus on something different when the same characters and stories became monotonous. In 1997, 20th Century Fox’s visual effects studio, VIFX, acquired Blue Sky. The blended company produced visual effects for films like Armageddon and Titanic.
In November of 1998, Blue Sky earned an Oscar nomination for “Bunny,” an animated short about a widowed bunny dealing with an annoying moth. This was the first Oscar nomination for the studio and it added to its status as a new and interesting voice in animation
In 1999, VIFX was sold to Rhythm & Hues Studios, allowing Blue Sky (now owned by 20th Century Fox) to focus solely on producing animation. In three years, they would release their first full-length computer-animated movie: Ice Age.
The Movies:
Ice Age Movies (5) (2002-2016)
Ice Age, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, IceAge: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Ice Age: Collision Course
Synopsis
This series of movies begins with a Wooly Mammoth named Manfred, a sloth named Sid, and a saber-toothed tiger named Diego. The unlikely pair must try to return a human baby to his family while the glaciers begin to melt.
Production of the First Ice Age Movie
Ice Age was originally pitched to 20th Century Fox in 1997 by producer Lori Forte and was envisioned to be a traditionally animated movie. It was also intended to be developed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman's Fox Animation Studios. With Don Bluth filing for bankruptcy around the same time, Blue Sky Studios, a small visual effects studio, was bought out by Fox and reshaped into a full-fledged CG animation film studio. In light of this, Fox Animation head Chris Meledandri and executive producer Steve Bannerman approached Forte with the proposition of developing the film as a computer-animated movie, which Forte realized was "basically a no-brainer," according to her.
The story began development in 1999, and official production on the film began in 2000. Just one week after the closure of Fox Animation Studios. 150 employees were hired to work on the film with a budget of $58 million.
Fox Animation head Chris Meledandri, who helped Blue Sky get their start, would go on to found Illumination which made Despicable Me which is another multi-billion dollar franchise.
Major Cast Members Include
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Chris Wedge (As Scrat), Jane Krakowski, Dennis Leary, Alan Tudyk, and many more
Our Thoughts and Reception
Ice Age made 383.2 million at the box office worldwide and was a huge movie in our childhood. All the sequels made even more too!
Robots (2005)
Synopsis
Rodney Copperbottom, a young robot in a world populated by machines, wants to make a name for himself. He decides the best way to accomplish this is to travel to the famous Robot City. There he meets his idol, the head of a powerful corporation, Bigweld. When he arrives he discovers that it has been taken over by a new president that leaves old robots in the dust. Along with some new friends, Rodney must rally Bigweld to take back his own company.
Production
Writers and animators, Chris Wedge and William Joyce decided to develop an original story about a world of robots. In 2001, the duo pitched the concept to then-20th Century Fox. While not initially impressed, president Chris Meledandri agreed to greenlight the film and served as the executive producer. The film began production in 2002, shortly after Ice Age was released.
As Blue Sky’s second full-length feature, Robots continued the tradition of hiring big-name actors to fill out the cast. Partly because Ewan McGregor was part of the project, Blue Sky secured exclusive rights to the Star Wars Episode III trailer. Star Wars fans came to see Robots just for the trailer!
It grossed 260 million dollars at the box office, making well over its 75 million dollar budget
Major Cast Members Include
Chris Wedge, Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Mel Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge, Amanda Bynes, and many more
Our Thoughts
Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Synopsis
Based on the Dr. Suess book of the same name, this film follows a friendly elephant named Horton that enjoys living life while teaching the animal children. But when he hears a voice coming from a tiny speck of dust, he discovers that it is actually inhabited by a race of creatures called “The Whos.” Promising the mayor of “Whoville '' to keep the speck safe, Horton must watch out for the other animals of the jungle who are convinced that Horton is crazy and a threat to the safety of the children.
Major Cast Members Include
Jim Carrey, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Carol Burnett, Jonah Hill, Amy Poehler, Isla Fisher, and more!
Our Thoughts and Reception
Currently, the movie has a 6.8 on IMDB, 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 71% on Metacritic.
Rio 1 & 2 (2011, 2014)
Synopsis
Blu is a blue macaw that was taken from Rio as a young bird. After dropping off the truck and being raised by Linda he is taken to meet a female macaw because he is said to be the last male of his species. After meeting the female named Jewel they are both stolen to be sold at a high price. On the way home to Linda, he discovers what it is like to be a bird in Rio.
Production
Director Carlos Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 1995, in which a penguin is washed up on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Then Saldanha learned of the production of the films Happy Feet (2006) and Surf's Up (2007), and changed the concept to involve macaws and their environments in Rio. He proposed his idea to Chris Wedge in 2006, and the project was set up at Blue Sky. Being a Brazilian from Rio, Saldanha showed the animators maps and books with geographic landmarks and measurements, in order to build a fully digital version of Rio. Later, a group of artists from the company visited Rio to see the various story locations.
Major Cast Members Include
Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Mann, and more
Our Thoughts and Reception
Rio was a pretty popular movie that was one of the few Blue Sky films that received a sequel.
Epic (2013)
Synopsis
Teenage Mary Katherine comes to live with her father, who tells her tales of tiny people living in the woods. After repeatedly not believing him suddenly finds herself within their magical realm where she must help to save their Queen from the evil Mandrake and his minions, the Boggans.
Major Cast Members Include
Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Beyonce, Colin Farrell, Steven Tyler, and more
Reception
Epic was also received well, making its budget back. It is reminiscent of movies such as Thumbelina and especially Ferngully. The music was lovely because it was by Danny Elfman.
The Peanuts Movie
Synopsis
Charlie Brown begins crushing on a little redheaded girl that moves into his neighborhood. His beagle pal, Snoopy, takes off on an imaginary adventure where he faces off against the Red Baron in World War I while simultaneously trying to woo a neighborhood poodle named Fifi.
Production
After Charles Schultz passed away several people and studios approached the family for rights to create a Peanuts movie. The family was quite adamant about not tainting the legacy that Charles had built through the years. After a couple of years, Charles’s son Craig was contacted by John Cohen. Cohen at the time was with Fox Animation and had worked with Blue Sky to create a short CG film of the beloved characters. Although a lot of the family did not like the look of the characters Craig saw potential in the backgrounds that Blue Sky had animated. During this time Craig had been working on a Peanuts TV movie. Once he showed it to his son and his fellow screenwriter they all decided that it would be better suited for a theatrical release. Once the three of them had a screenplay they were confident of they took it immediately to Blue Sky instead of searching for a studio.
Since Cohen had left Fox Animation by the time the screenplay was done Craig Schultz had to make a deal that would give him creative control of the project. He and the family would fight tooth and nail to keep things that were essential to keeping the aesthetic of the original. One detail Craig had to fight against was modernizing the story. He made sure that it was set in the original timeline with rotary phones and Lucy’s nickel fee for therapy. When he speaks of fighting for the character voices Craig said, “We were told that you have to have celebrity voices, you have to have hip-hop music — you have to have this stuff to reach the new generation, but we kept fighting back to say if you have a good story with heart and emotion, people will love it. And I think that’s been proven.”
Major Cast Members Include
Kristin Chenoweth, Noah Schnapp, and many other young actors that are growing in their careers
Our Thoughts and Reception
We love the Peanuts Movie (we could literally go on about it.) The Hollywood Reporter noted that the film was a “thoroughly engaging result, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the first airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, should deservedly carry its good cheer well into the holiday season.”
Ferdinand (2017)
Synopsis
Young bull Ferdinand runs away from a Bullfighting Training camp. He finds his way to a kind girl and her farm. He is raised by this kind soul with flowers and no violence. When he is grown a misunderstanding leads him back to the camp where he is scheduled to go up against El Primero, who is the most famous bullfighter around.
Production
Ferdinand was the first main character that did not have fur. The team had to create a material for his body that would imitate short hair. It was a balancing act between making sure that he was not too shiny and waxy or too soft and plastic-like. It was the first time that it was necessary to use radiosity in every single shot. Using it in this way they were able to create a more consistent lighting situation throughout the entire movie.
Major Cast Members Include
John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Jerrod Carmichael, and Bobby Cannavale
Reception
Ferdinand was received favorably. It is an incredibly cute movie with a timeless message. Jane Horwitz gave it 3.5 stars and said, “The movie widens Ferdinand’s world, allowing him to bring others along with him on his quest to be who he wants to be and to let others do the same. That theme and the anti-bullfighting message, so subtle in the book, are made bolder in the film, but never preachy.”
Spies in Disguise
Synopsis
Lance Sterling is a sophisticated and suave Spy that is inexplicably turned into a pigeon. Sterling and the world must rely on his graceless tech genius, Walter to save the world.
Major Cast Members Include
Will Smith, Tom Holland, Reba McEntire, and more
Reception
Spies in Disguise was well-received making its budget back and then some. It also has great reviews on all the platforms IMDB (6.8/10), Rotten Tomatoes (77%), and Common Sense Media (4/5).
It’s important to note that this would be the last movie released under the Blue Sky banner.
The first Ice Age Movie and Ferdinand were both nominated for Best Animated Films at the Oscars and Rio was nominated for Original Song (for ‘Real in Rio’) but sadly none of them won. The Peanuts Movie and Ferdinand were also nominated for Golden Globes but lost those as well.
Disney Buyout
In 2019 The Walt Disney Company acquired 20th Century Fox. Within this acquisition, they also got Blue Sky Studios. The original plans had been to keep the studio and have Pixar assist and watch over them. Unfortunately, things changed when the Pandemic began. Disney closed the studio on April 10, 2021. There were about 450 people that lost their jobs.
Amongst the heartbreak of losing a unique and talented studio, we also acknowledge the possible forever loss of the last project that they had been working on. The newest film that was to come from Blue Sky was to be named Nimona. It was based on a webcomic by N.D. Stevenson that had been made into a Graphic Novel in 2015. The story was inclusive, featuring queer lead characters. Sources had revealed to Collider and others that it was 75% done. Those that led the project are currently still trying to find somewhere that will make it.
Our Thoughts
Computer-generated effects and animation is so common today that many of us don’t even think twice about seeing photorealistic explosions in movies, or perfectly rendered water in an animated film. Over the past 35 years, computer animation has evolved more than anyone could have imagined. It’s now the most popular type of animation for full-length animated films, so much so that a film in any other style (stop-motion, hand-drawn) stands out.
Blue Sky played a prominent role in animation history. While most of us think about PIXAR’s groundbreaking achievements, Blue Sky was right there with them, creating CG objects that looked so real, that even experts mistook them for live-action.
When Blue Sky moved on to make full-length films, they focused on quirky, original stories with a few adult jokes for the grown-ups in the audience. They dared to experiment with different styles, improving with each feature and creating a collection of unique pieces. Blue Sky may not have been the most popular animation studio, and maybe their stories lacked the emotional gut punch that PIXAR became known for. But, they used animation in ways no one had ever seen to tell stories that otherwise would never have been told. They pushed limits, took risks, and were one of the most creative animation houses in the world before being swallowed up by the Disney machine.
Blue Sky is more than the studio that created Ice Age. They gave the world some incredible art that will be remembered long after their studio has gone extinct.