Ownership of Blue Sky Studios was assumed by The Walt Disney Company as part of their 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which concluded on March 20, 2019. On March 21, Disney announced that Blue Sky Studios and its parent company 20th Century Fox Animation (now 20th Century Animation) would be integrated as units within the Walt Disney Studios with co-presidents Andrea Miloro and Robert Baird continuing to lead the studio, while reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. In July 2019, Miloro announced that she would be stepping down from her role as co-president, thus leaving Baird as sole president.
In August 2019, former Walt Disney Animation Studios head Andrew Millstein was named as co-president of Blue Sky Studios alongside Baird, while Pixar Animation Studios president Jim Morris would also be taking a supervising role.
On February 9, 2021, Disney announced that it was closing Blue Sky Studios in April 2021, after 34 years of operation. They explained that in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic's continued economic impact on all of its businesses, it was no longer sustainable for Disney to run a third feature animation studio. The last production released by the studio will be an Ice Age spin-off film, redeveloped from a proposed TV series, for Disney+. Production on a film adaptation of the webcomic Nimona, originally scheduled to be released on January 14, 2022, was also cancelled as a result of its closure. The studio's film library and intellectual properties will be retained by Disney.
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The Story of Blue Sky Studios
Non-FictionThis is the official background of the well-known Blue Sky Studios, an animation studio known for its Rio and Ice Age franchises. This is being shared here in their memory, due to their being shut down by Disney because of the virus.
