Animal Logic

For the rock band, see Animal Logic (band).

Animal Logic (also known as Animal Logic VFX) is an Australian visual effects and computer animation digital studio based at Disney Studios in Sydney, New South Wales in Australia, Vancouver in Canada, and Rideback Ranch^[3] in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1991, Animal Logic has produced visual effects and animation for feature films such as the Academy Award-winning Happy Feet, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, The Lego Movie^[4] and Peter Rabbit. The company was also recognized for its work as lead visual effects vendor on Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, which won Outstanding Achievement in Visual Effects at the 3rd AACTA Awards ceremony. In 2018, Peter Rabbit was presented with a range of accolades, including the AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation,^[5] and Australian Production Design Guild Awards (APDG) in Visual Effects Design and Drawing, Concept Illustration & Concept Models for Screen.^[6] Most recently, the company has produced work for the Warner Animation Group's The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel. It is a subsidiary of Netflix.

Animal Logic

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	CGI, visual effects and animation Motion pictures
Founded	26 July 1991; 33 years ago (1991-07-26)
Founders	Zareh Nalbandian Chris Godfrey
Headquarters	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Number of locations	Rideback Ranch, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Key people	Sharon Taylor (Head of Production, Netflix Animation)[1]
Products	Visual effects Animated films
Number of employees	800 (2022)[2]
Parent	Netflix Animation (2022–present)
Divisions	Animal Logic Entertainment Truant Pictures
Website	www.animallogic.com

Initially, Animal Logic's core business was the design and production of high-end visual effects for commercials and television programs, and early success within these fields provided a platform for expansion into feature film work. Animal Logic went on to produce visual effects for various large budget feature film projects, including Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, The Matrix, Moulin Rouge!, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Planet of the Apes, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, World Trade Center, Fool's Gold, 300, Knowing, Australia, Sucker Punch, and The Great Gatsby.

History

In 1991, Zareh Nalbandian and Chris Godfrey formed and founded a digital studio in Crows Nest, Sydney, Australia.^{[citation needed]} The company was born out of Video Paint Brush Company, which Nalbandian, who had worked there for a few years, and his colleague Godfrey acquired in a management buy-out and renamed Animal Logic.^[7]

Animal Logic moved to Fox Studios Australia in Moore Park, Sydney, in 1998. In 2003, Animal Logic began work on its first computer-animated feature film, Happy Feet, for director George Miller.^[8] Released in the United States on 17 November 2006, the project saw the company expand significantly, recruiting up to 300 artists and technicians from Australia and around the world. Happy Feet, which was the first computer-animated feature film produced in Australia,^[9] went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as well as the new BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film.^[10][11]

Their full-length feature animation, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, was released on 24 September 2010 and was Australia's first animated feature to be released in 3D. From 2004 to 2007, the company produced bumpers for Cartoon Network.^[12] In 2011, the company produced and animated LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, a 30-minute TV special.^[13] Produced for Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network,^[13] the special premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network and was followed by a worldwide DVD and Blu-ray release.^[14] In 2012, Animal Logic acquired the assets of fellow Australian visual effects studio Fuel VFX,^[15] known for their work on feature films such as Iron Man 3, Prometheus, The Avengers, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Cowboys & Aliens, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor. Fuel VFX was nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award^[16] and a BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects^[17] for their work on Prometheus. 2012 also saw the release of the Animal Logic-animated "Polar Bowl" campaign, consisting of a 60-second and two 30-second commercials that aired at halftime at the Super Bowl XLVI.^[18] The campaign aimed to re-launch the iconic Coca-Cola polar bear characters to a new generation. Following the success of the 3 spots, which were viewed by over 160 million people globally, the company went on to animate a 6-minute short film directed by John Stevenson to headline Coca-Cola's 2013 global campaign. The film was first released through YouTube in December 2012, followed by a worldwide international theater release. In 2013, the company led visual effects and animation work on BBC Earth and Evergreen Films' 3D live-action feature Walking with Dinosaurs 3D,^[19]

In 2014, Animal Logic provided animation services for the 2014 film The Lego Movie,^[20] which was produced by the Warner Animation Group and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. After the film's huge success, the company was split into three subsidiaries operating under the Animal Logic's group: Animal Logic VFX, Animal Logic Animation, and Animal Logic Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based arm tasked with developing VFX, animation and hybrid feature films for the company.^[21] The following year, the company opened a 45,000 square feet (4,200 m²) facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The new studio initially produced work for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, the first in a three-film deal with Warner Bros., all of which were to be developed in Canada.^[22][23]

In July 2022, Netflix announced plans to acquire Animal Logic in an all-cash deal.^[24][2]

In January 2024, it was announced that the studio would merge with Netflix Animation, with CEO Sharon Taylor resigning and Netflix Animation's Karen Toliver taking her place to lead the studio. This would not affect Animal Logic's upcoming slate or its branding and output as a subsidiary of Netflix.^[25] Taylor would later return to Netflix Animation as head of production in June 2024.^[26]

Filmography

Year	Production	Credit	Studio	Ref.
TBA	Untitled live-action/animated Lego film	Production Company/Animation Studio	Universal Pictures The Lego Group	[27][28][29][30][31]
	Zero		Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures Animation	[32][33]
	Fortunately, the Milk	Production Company	20th Century Studios Infinitum Nihil	[34]
	Astro Boy		Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema	[35]
	Rainbow Serpent	Production Company	Imagine Entertainment Paramount Pictures	[36]
	Toto	Animation Studio	Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures Animation	[37]
2023	Leo		Netflix	[38]
	The Magician's Elephant			[38]
2022	DC League of Super-Pets		Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Animation Group	[39]
2021	The Matrix Resurrections	Visual Effects	Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures
	Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway	Production Company/Animation Studio	Columbia Pictures
2019	Captain Marvel	Visual Effects	Marvel Studios	[40]
	The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part	Production Company/Animation Studio	Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Animation Group	[41]
2018	Peter Rabbit		Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Animation	[42]
2017	The Lego Ninjago Movie		Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Animation Group	[43]
	The Lego Batman Movie			[41]
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	Visual Effects	Marvel Studios	[44]
	Alien: Covenant		20th Century Fox	[45]
2016	The Great Wall		Universal Pictures Legendary Pictures	[46]
	Doctor Strange		Marvel Studios	[47]
	The Divergent Series: Allegiant		Summit Entertainment	[48]
	Captain America: Civil War		Marvel Studios	[49]
	The Master	Production Company	Warner Bros. Pictures	[50]
2015	Monk Comes Down the Mountain	Visual Effects	Columbia Pictures	[51]
	Avengers: Age of Ultron		Marvel Studios	[52]
	The Divergent Series: Insurgent		Summit Entertainment	[53]
2014	Unbroken		Universal Pictures Legendary Pictures
	Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day	Production Company	Walt Disney Pictures
	The Rover	Visual Effects	A24	[54]
	The Lego Movie	Production Company/Animation Studio	Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Animation Group Village Roadshow Pictures
	X-Men: Days of Future Past	Visual Effects	20th Century Fox	[55]
2013	Walking with Dinosaurs 3D	Animation Studio
	The Great Gatsby	Visual Effects	Warner Bros. Pictures
	Iron Man 3		Marvel Studios	[56]
2012	The Polar Bears	Production Company/Animation Studio	The Coca-Cola Company	[57]
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	3D Digital Services	Warner Bros. Pictures	[58]
	Sucker Punch	Visual Effects
	Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace	Production Company	Lucasfilm
2010	Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole	Production Company/Animation Studio	Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures
2009	Knowing	Visual Effects	Summit Entertainment
2008	Australia		20th Century Fox
	The Black Balloon		Icon Entertainment International
	Fool's Gold		Warner Bros. Pictures
2007	28 Weeks Later	Digital Visual Effects	20th Century Fox
	Clubland	Front Title Design	N/A
	Crocodile Dreaming	Special Effects Company
2006	300	Visual Effects	Warner Bros. Pictures
	Charlotte's Web	Film Scanning	Paramount Pictures
	Happy Feet	Production Company/Animation Studio	Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures
	David Tench Tonight	Animation	Network Ten
	World Trade Center	Additional Visual Effects	Paramount Pictures
	The Silence	Visual Effects	N/A
	Aquamarine		20th Century Fox
2005	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire		Warner Bros. Pictures
	The Cave	Additional Previsualization	Screen Gems
	The Great Raid	Visual Effects	Miramax Films
	Stealth		Columbia Pictures
	Little Fish		Icon Film Distribution
2004	Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars		The Jim Henson Company
	Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid	Opening Titles	Screen Gems
	My Sister	Digital Film Transfer	N/A
	House of Flying Daggers	Visual Effects	Sony Pictures Classics
2003	XMA: Xtreme Martial Arts	Special Effects Company	N/A
	In the Cut	Visual Effects	Pathe Screen Gems
	Danny Deckchair	Titles and Opticals	Lionsgate
	The Matrix Reloaded	Visual Effects	Warner Bros. Pictures
	Swimming Upstream	Special Effects Company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
	Darkness Falls	Special Effects Company	Revolution Studios Columbia Pictures
2002	Ang agimat: Anting-anting ni Lolo	Digital Tape to Film Transfer	Imus Productions
	Hero	Special Effects Company	Sil-Metropole Organisation
	Garage Days		Fox Searchlight Pictures
	The Quiet American		Miramax Films
	Mano Po	Digital Tape To Film Transfer	Regal Entertainment
	The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course	VFX and CGI	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
	Rabbit-Proof Fence	Visual Effects	Becker Entertainment
2001	Charlotte Gray	Special Effects Company	Working Title Films
	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Visual Effects	New Line Cinema
	Planet of the Apes	Special Effects Company	20th Century Fox
	Moulin Rouge!
	South Pacific	Visual Effects	ABC
2000	Chopper	Special Effects Company	Mushroom Pictures
	Devi Putrudu	Scanning	Sumanth Art Productions
	Mr. Accident	Visual Effects	United Artists
1999	Me Myself I	Visual Effects and CGI	Sony Pictures Classics
	Holy Smoke!	Special Effects Company	Miramax Films
	The Incredible Genie	Digital Effects	N/A
	Strange Planet	Title Design And Production, Visual Effects	New Vision Films
	The Matrix	Special Effects Company	Warner Bros. Pictures
	Farscape	Visual Effects	The Jim Henson Company
1998	The Thin Red Line	Special Effects Company	20th Century Fox
	Babe: Pig in the City		Universal Pictures
	In the Winter Dark		Goalpost Pictures
1997	Mouse Hunt	Additional Visual Effects	DreamWorks Pictures
	Heaven's Burning	Digital Opticals	N/A
	Thank God He Met Lizzie	Title Design
	Face/Off	Additional Visual Effects, Titles	Paramount Pictures Touchstone Pictures
	Blackrock	Special Effects Company	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
1995	Babe		Universal Pictures
1994	Little Women	Title Design	Columbia Pictures
1991	The Girl From Tomorrow	Visual Effects	Film Australia	[59]

Awards

Film

Year	Award	Title
2018	APDG Award in Visual Effects Design	Peter Rabbit
2018	APDG Award in Drawing, Concept Illustration & Concept Models for Screen	Peter Rabbit
2018	AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation[60]	Peter Rabbit
2015	AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation[60]	The LEGO Batman Movie
2014	BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film[61]	The LEGO Movie
2014	AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects or Animation[60]	The LEGO Movie
2014	Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature[62]	The LEGO Movie
2014	BAFTA Children's Award for Best Feature Film 2014[63]	The LEGO Movie
2014	New York Film Critics Circle for Best Animated Film of the Year[64]	The LEGO Movie
2013	AACTA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Effects[65]	The Great Gatsby
2013	AEAF Award for Visual Effects[66]	The Great Gatsby
2011	AACTA Award for Best Visual Effects[67]	Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
2009	AFI Award for Best Visual Effects	Australia
2008	Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects	Australia
2007	Washington, DC Area Film Critic Award for Best Animated Film of the Year	Happy Feet
2007	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award: Best Animation	Happy Feet
2007	Academy Award for Best Animated Feature	Happy Feet
2007	New York Film Critics Circle for Best Animated Film of the Year	Happy Feet
2007	New York Film Critics Online for Best Animated Film of the Year	Happy Feet
2005	Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects	House of Flying Daggers
2005	AIMIA Awards, Finalist – Best Entertainment Award Category	Stealth
2003	Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects	Moulin Rouge!

Design

Year	Award	Title
2012	Silver Award Awards for Craft in Film (Animation)	SBS: Seven Billion Stories and Counting
2007	World Gold Medal for Most Innovative Music Video	Telemetry Orchestra, Under the Cherry Tree
2006	AEAF Award, Best Music Video	Telemetry Orchestra, Under the Cherry Tree
2005	Digital Imaging Awards for Best Print Advertising Melbourne	Smirnoff, Letterbar
2005	ATV Award for Best Program Subtitle Sequence	Spicks and Specks
2005	ATV Award for Best Image Promotion, Highly Commended	Cartoon Network
2005	ATV Award for Best Program Subtitle Sequence, Highly Commended	Margaret and David at the Movies
2004	New York Festivals Award for Best Promotions Spot	Cartoon Network

Industry

Year	Award
2014	Inaugural NSW Creative Laureate[68]
2013	51st Australian Export Awards, Creative Industries Award[69]
2013	51st Australian Export Awards, Creative Industries Award[69]
2013	Premier's NSW Exporter of the Year Award[70]
2012	Australia Network Arts and Entertainment Exporter of the Year Award[71]
2012	Premier's NSW Exporter of the Year Award (Arts and Entertainment)[72]
2010	AFI Byron Kennedy Award for Outstanding Creative Enterprise[73]