While Skydance Animation continues to grow with new animated movies and partnerships, audiences across the world eagerly await what the top animation firm will unveil next. David Ellison launched Skydance Animation in 2010, intending to create meaningful, bold, entertaining, and original stories for worldwide viewers. The company, with facilities in Spain, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Canada, began with cinema and has since successfully grown to encompass television, digital platforms, animation, and games. The company has also hired legendary animation guru John Lasseter to achieve its goals. Lasseter served as Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer but stepped down in 2018.
The CEO of Skydance Animation believes that John Lasseter is a one-of-a-kind visionary and executive genius whose influence on the animation business cannot be overestimated. John Lasseter has been instrumental in ushering animation into the digital era while crafting exceptional stories that amaze and excite viewers all over the world. Skydance Animation and John Lasseter have made new advances in the realm of animation that have astounded the industry with their teamwork and achievements.
Many major movie stars have found exciting roles at John Lasseter’s Skydance Animation after leaving Disney and Pixar in recent months. Perhaps some of the most important recruits and collaborators include filmmakers Rich Moore and Brad Bird, as well as musician Alan Menken, who is now embarking on animated projects with John Lasseter that will be released later this year.
Rich Moore
The Oscar-winning writer and filmmaker, Rich Moore, has signed an exclusive multi-year partnership with Skydance Animation, where he will play a vital role in the creation, conception, and execution of the company’s animated movies. He had a brief stint at Sony Pictures Animation and worked for over ten years at Walt Disney Animation, where he participated in the Disney Story Trust and worked on films such as Tangled, Moana, and Frozen.
Rich Moore is likely best recognized for his work on Zootopia, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2017. He also received nominations for Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet. He was also among the three directors of Fox’s hit sitcom The Simpsons before joining Disney. For directing “Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment,” he won his first Primetime Emmy. He also contributed to Futurama, for which he earned an Emmy.
Rich Moore’s first project with Skydance Animation will be Luck, an animated movie that recounts the narrative of Sam, the unluckiest person in the world, and the luck she discovers when she encounters a cast of magical animals. Luck, starring Simon Pegg, Eva Noblezada, and Jane Fonda, will premiere on Apple TV+ on August 5, 2022. Peggy Holmes, the filmmaker, has previously collaborated with John Lasseter and has directed Disney films such as The Pirate Fairy, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning, and Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas.
Spellbound is another project by Rich Moore with Skydance. It is a film about a young girl who must escape the enchantment that has divided her country in two. Rachel Zegler, who starred in West Side Story, will play Princess Ellian as she attempts to restore her country and undo the magic that has transformed her parents into beasts. This film will be directed by Vicky Jenson, and the music will be composed by Alan Menken. Skydance Animation has also struck a multi-year partnership deal with Spin Master to create and release Spellbound toys, such as dolls and automobiles.
Brad Bird
Another marvelous addition to the A-list category of hires by Skydance Animation is Brad Bird. Skydance Animation announced that it has signed Academy Award-winning filmmaker Brad Bird to produce his science-fiction detective movie, Ray Gunn. The famed director wrote and directed The Incredibles, The Incredibles 2, and Ratatouille for Pixar under John Lasseter’s watchful tutelage. 
While The Incredibles and Ratatouille both won him Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Screenplay, The Incredibles 2 went on to become the foremost animated film of all time. Brad Bird also appears in The Incredibles as Edna Mode and in Ratatouille as Ambrister Minion. Ray Gunn began as a hand-drawn movie at Turner Animation in the mid-1990s, but the concept was deemed too advanced. After putting the project on hold for many decades, the moment arrived for Brad Bird to collaborate with John Lasseter to make the animated picture.
Moviegoers and the industry are anticipating some amazing content with the all-star collaboration of Rich Moore, Brad Bird, and Alan Menken with John Lasseter at Skydance Animation.
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