History Creator / BlueSkyStudios

Not to be confused with the [[Fanfic/BlueSky Portal fanfiction of the same name]]. Also no relation to Creator/BlueSkySoftware, the video game development studio who made, among many other things, the ''VideoGame/{{Vectorman}}'' series.

While the company saw an impressive success streak in the 2000s and early 2010s, their films would hit something of an AudienceAlienatingEra following ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'' that saw both their critical impressions start to falter and their box office take a rather drastic downturn; first, ''{{WesternAnimation/Epic}}'' saw a so-so result both critically and financially, leaving the film a StillbornFranchise. This was followed by ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'' failing to reach the success either critically or financially of the first film, effectively [[FranchiseKiller putting that potential franchise on ice]]; while the company saw success with their follow-up ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', which became the only out-and-out hit of this era, it still didn't reach the financial heights set by their earlier works- and the company couldn't really follow up on it, as their contract with the Schulz family was only for the one film. True signs of trouble arguably began to appear with the outright implosion of ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', which saw the worse reviews yet from both critics and audiences, both acknowledging the franchise was overstaying their welcome, further proven in the film failing to make back its budget domestically, effectively making it another FranchiseKiller at the worse possible time for the company.

While the company saw their critical reception return to form with ''{{WesternAnimation/Ferdinand}}'', it would still falter in the face of competition from ''Film/StarWarsTheLastJedi''- and that film's producer, [[Creator/{{Disney}} The Walt Disney Company]], around that time, would announce their acquisition of most of Twentieth Century Fox, including Blue Sky, which immediately started questions concerning Blue Sky Studios' continued existence considering the company didn't need another animation studio with its juggernauts in [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Walt Disney Animation Studios]] and Creator/{{Pixar}}, and considering Blue Sky's own history of mixed critical reception, combined with the declining popularity of their major franchise. The underperformance of ''WesternAnimation/SpiesInDisguise'', along with the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic leading to an industry-wide shutdown for months, plus warning signs later emerging when the announcement of the spin-off ''WesternAnimation/TheIceAgeAdventuresOfBuckWild'' lacked any visible references of the Blue Sky name and brand, only added to further uncertainty.

Once upon a time, there was a little Elmsford, New York-based studio called MAGI/Synthavision. In 1987, having completed some of the effects on the ground-breaking Creator/{{Disney}} film ''Film/{{Tron}}'' and some CG animation for commercials, an employee named Chris Wedge gathered a bunch of his co-workers and formed a studio of his own. They produced some effects for live-action films like ''Film/JoesApartment'', ''Film/FightClub'' and ''Film/AlienResurrection'', along with their first short film ''Bunny'', which Wedge directed. In the wake of the CG cartoon movement (Creator/{{Pixar}} had released ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' a year before ''Bunny'' was awarded Best Animated Short in the Oscars), the studio just happened to be bought by [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios Twentieth Century Fox]] to help fish them out of their failing 2-D feature animation unit. And the rest was [[WesternAnimation/IceAge prehistory]].

While the company saw an impressive success streak in the 2000s and early 2010s, their films would hit something of an AudienceAlienatingEra following ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'' that saw both their critical impressions start to falter and their box office take a rather drastic downturn; first, ''{{WesternAnimation/Epic}}'' saw a so-so result both critically and financially, leaving the film a StillbornFranchise. This was followed by ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'' failing to reach the success either critically or financially of the first film, effectively [[FranchiseKiller putting that potential franchise on ice]]; while the company saw success with their follow-up ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', which became the only out-and-out hit of this era, it still didn't reach the financial heights set by their earlier works- and the company couldn't really follow up on it, as their contract with the Schultz family was only for the one film. True signs of trouble arguably began to appear with the outright implosion of ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', which saw the worse reviews yet from both critics and audiences, both acknowledging the franchise was overstaying their welcome, further proven in the film failing to make back its budget domestically, effectively making it another FranchiseKiller at the worse possible time for the company.

While the company saw an impressive success streak in the 2000s and early 2010s, their films would hit something of an AudienceAlienatingEra following ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'' that saw both their critical impressions start to falter and their box office take a rather drastic downturn; first, ''{{WesternAnimation/Epic}}'' saw a so-so result both critically and financially, leaving the film a StillbornFranchise. This was followed by ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'' failing to reach the success either critically or financially of the first film, effectively [[FranchiseKiller putting that potential franchise on ice]]; while the company saw success with their follow-up ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', which became the only out-and-out hit of this era, it still didn't reach the financial heights set by their earlier works- and the company couldn't really follow up on it, as their contract with the Schulz family was only for the one film. True signs of trouble arguably began to appear with the outright implosion of ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', which saw the worse reviews yet from both critics and audiences, both acknowledging the franchise was overstaying their welcome, further proven in the film failing to make back its budget domestically, effectively making it another FranchiseKiller at the worse possible time for the company.

While the company saw an impressive success streak in the 2000s and early 2010s, their films would hit something of an AudienceAlienatingEra following ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'' that saw both their critical impressions start to falter and their box office take a rather drastic downturn; first, ''{{WesternAnimation/Epic}}'' saw a so-so result both critically and financially, leaving the film a StillbornFranchise. This was followed by ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'' failing to reach the success either critically or financially of the first film, effectively [[FranchiseKiller putting that potential franchise on ice]]; while the company saw success with their follow-up ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', which became the only out-and-out hit of this era, it still didn't reach the financial heights set by their earlier works- and the company couldn't really follow up on it, as their contract with the Schultz family was only for the one film. True signs of trouble arguably began to appear with the outright implosion of ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', which saw the worse reviews yet from both critics and audiences, both acknowledging the franchise was overstaying their welcome, further proven in the film failing to make back its budget domestically, effectively making it another FranchiseKiller at the worse possible time for the company.

While the company saw an impressive success streak in the 2000s and early 2010s, their films would hit something of an AudienceAlienatingEra following ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'' that saw both their critical impressions start to falter and their box office take a rather drastic downturn; first, ''{{WesternAnimation/Epic}}'' saw a so-so result both critically and financially, leaving the film a StillbornFranchise. This was followed by ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'' failing to reach the success either critically or financially of the first film, effectively [[FranchiseKiller putting that potential franchise on ice]]; while the company saw success with their follow-up ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', it still didn't reach the financial heights set by their earlier works. True signs of trouble arguably began to appear with the outright implosion of ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', which saw the worse reviews yet from both critics and audiences, both acknowledging the franchise was overstaying their welcome, further proven in the film failing to make back its budget domestically, effectively making it another FranchiseKiller at the worse possible time for the company.

While the company saw their critical reception return to form with ''WesternAnimation/Ferdinand'', it would still falter in the face of competition from ''Film/StarWarsTheLastJedi''- and that film's producer, [[Creator/{{Disney}} The Walt Disney Company]], around that time, would announce their acquisition of most of Twentieth Century Fox, including Blue Sky, which immediately started questions concerning Blue Sky Studios' continued existence considering the company didn't need another animation studio with its juggernauts in [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Walt Disney Animation Studios]] and Creator/{{Pixar}}, and considering Blue Sky's own history of mixed critical reception, combined with the declining popularity of their major franchise. The underperformance of ''WesternAnimation/SpiesInDisguise'', along with the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic leading to an industry-wide shutdown for months, plus warning signs later emerging when the announcement of the spin-off ''WesternAnimation/TheIceAgeAdventuresOfBuckWild'' lacked any visible references of the Blue Sky name and brand, only added to further uncertainty.

''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' was the film that made Blue Sky Studios a major competitor in the animated feature film industry, and they released around one new animated film every two years over the next decade-and-a-half. Their existence also helped boost the morale in the pretty dismal animation circle of the northeast United States, as they were the ''only feature animation studio'' in the region, having been originally located in White Plains, New York before moving under a mile across the state border to Greenwich, Connecticut in 2009 [[MoneyDearBoy for the tax breaks.]] They were notable for being one of the first studios to use raytrace rendering in feature films. They were also known for using more naturalistic lighting design than other studios, depending completely on sculpture maquettes to create the 3D forms of their characters, and utilizing cartoon squash-and-stretch more frequently in their later features. Chris Wedge directed the studio's first two films and their 2013 film ''WesternAnimation/Epic'', and continued to executive produce many of their later ones.

While the company saw an impressive success streak in the 2000s and early 2010s, their films would hit something of an AudienceAlienatingEra following ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'' that saw both their critical impressions start to falter and their box office take a rather drastic downturn; first, ''WesternAnimation/Epic'' saw a so-so result both critically and financially, leaving the film a StillbornFranchise. This was followed by ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'' failing to reach the success either critically or financially of the first film, effectively [[FranchiseKiller putting that potential franchise on ice]]; while the company saw success with their follow-up ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', it still didn't reach the financial heights set by their earlier works. True signs of trouble arguably began to appear with the outright implosion of ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', which saw the worse reviews yet from both critics and audiences, both acknowledging the franchise was overstaying their welcome, further proven in the film failing to make back its budget domestically, effectively making it another FranchiseKiller at the worse possible time for the company.

''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' was the film that made Blue Sky Studios a major competitor in the animated feature film industry, and they released around one new animated film every two years over the next decade-and-a-half. Their existence also helped boost the morale in the pretty dismal animation circle of the northeast United States, as they were the ''only feature animation studio'' in the region, having been originally located in White Plains, New York before moving under a mile across the state border to Greenwich, Connecticut in 2009 [[MoneyDearBoy for the tax breaks.]] They were notable for being one of the first studios to use raytrace rendering in feature films. They were also known for using more naturalistic lighting design than other studios, depending completely on sculpture maquettes to create the 3D forms of their characters, and utilizing cartoon squash-and-stretch more frequently in their later features. Chris Wedge directed the studio's first two films, and continued to executive produce many of their later ones.

Following [[Creator/{{Disney}} The Walt Disney Company]]'s acquisition of Fox, questions arose concerning Blue Sky Studios' continued existence considering the company didn't need another animation studio with its juggernauts in [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Walt Disney Animation Studios]] and Creator/{{Pixar}}, and considering Blue Sky's own history of mixed critical reception, combined with the declining popularity of their major franchise. The underperformance of ''WesternAnimation/SpiesInDisguise'', along with the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic leading to an industry-wide shutdown for months, plus warning signs later emerging when the announcement of the spin-off ''WesternAnimation/TheIceAgeAdventuresOfBuckWild'' lacked any visible references of the Blue Sky name and brand, only added to further uncertainty.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The ''Bunny'' short and the first ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' film are both far more somber and moody than much of their later work, which [[FollowTheLeader tends to follow]] the snarky, pop-culture heavy comedy style that was popularized by Creator/DreamWorksAnimation in the early 2000s. ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013'' and ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'' are exceptions. ''Nimona'' presumably also would have been a exception as well if it wasn't cancelled.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Some see their closure by Disney as this -- mostly for the fate of ''Webcomic/{{Nimona}}'', cancelled despite being less than a year from completion, though it would eventually be taken over by other studios over a year later.

* BookEnds: Their first major project was ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' and began with Scrat trying to get his beloved acorn. After the studio closed, the creators uploaded a short on social media in 2022 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb87kRJ_7-g in which Scrat finds the acorn once more]] but, rather then try to bury it as usual, [[ThrowTheDogABone he just eats it and goes on his way]]. The creators stating they made the short in the final days before Disney's liquidation as a way of going out on their own terms.

!!Films and shorts made by Blue Sky Studios:

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Nimona|2023}}'': Based on the webcomic/graphic novel [[{{WebComic/Nimona}} of the same name]]. Production shuttered after the announcement of the studio's disbandment. The project would eventually be picked up by Creator/AnnapurnaPictures and Creator/{{Netflix}}.

* ''Nimona'': Based on the webcomic/graphic novel [[{{WebComic/Nimona}} of the same name]]. Production shuttered after the announcement of the studio's disbandment. The project would eventually be picked up by Creator/AnnapurnaPictures and Creator/{{Netflix}}.

* AssociatedComposer: Music/JohnPowell has composed the scores for the majority of the studio’s movies. The only movies not scored by him are ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic|2013}}'', ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', and ''WesternAnimation/SpiesInDisguise''.

''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' was the film that made Blue Sky Studios a major competitor in the animated feature film industry, and they released around one new animated film every two years over the next decade-and-a-half. Their existence also helped boost the morale in the pretty dismal animation circle of the northeast United States, as they were the ''only feature animation studio'' in the region, having been originally located in White Plains, New York before moving under a mile across the state border to Greenwich, Connecticut in 2009 [[MoneyDearBoy for the tax breaks.]] They were notable for being one of the first studios to use raytrace rendering in feature films. They were also known for using more naturalistic lighting design than other studios, depending completely on sculpture maquettes to create the 3D forms of their characters, and utilizing cartoon squash-and-stretch more frequently in their later features. Chris Wedge directed the studio's first two films, and continued to executive produce many of their later ones.

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' (2002)

* AssociatedComposer: Music/JohnPowell has composed the scores for the majority of the studio’s movies. The only movies not scored by him are ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic|2013}}'', ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'', and ''WesternAnimation/SpiesInDisguise''.

* BookEnds: Their first major project was ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' and began with Scrat trying to get his beloved acorn. After the studio closed, the creators uploaded a short on social media in 2022 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb87kRJ_7-g in which Scrat finds the acorn once more]] but, rather then try to bury it as usual, [[ThrowTheDogABone he just eats it and goes on his way]]. The creators stating they made the short in the final days before Disney's liquidation as a way of going out on their own terms.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The ''Bunny'' short and the first ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' film are both far more somber and moody than much of their later work, which [[FollowTheLeader tends to follow]] the snarky, pop-culture heavy comedy style that was popularized by Creator/DreamWorksAnimation in the early 2000s. ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013'' and ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'' are exceptions. ''Nimona'' presumably also would have been a exception as well if it wasn't cancelled.

** Originally, the first Blue Sky feature was meant to be a film called ''Santa Calls'' based on the children's book by William Joyce, but due to [[TroubledProduction production problems]] the project was scrapped, so ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' became their first animated feature instead. This was before they would work with Joyce again on ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'' and to adapt ''The Leaf Men'' into ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013''.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[The animation nuts.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Music/ElectricLightOrchestra Today's forecast calls for blue skies.]]]]

* ''Dr. Seuss' Literature/HortonHearsAWho'' (2008)

On February 9, 2021, what many saw as inevitable happened: Disney announced that the studio would cease operations by April, with all intellectual properties being absorbed into the parent studio. Some employees of the studio managed to be relocated to other divisions within Disney, while most of its upcoming slate was shelved. The studio was officially shut down on April 7 (a week before the exact 10th anniversary of their film ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'' no less), and production of ''The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild'' was announced to be outsourced to Creator/BardelEntertainment. The studio's final completed project, the Creator/DisneyPlus series of shorts ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeScratTales'', was released in April 13, 2022, a year after Blue Sky's shuttering.