Locksmith Animation Limited[3] is a British animation studio and film production company owned by Sister. Headquartered in London with an office in Los Angeles since 2023, Locksmith is best known for producing and developing independent computer-animated feature films.
Locksmith Animation's first film, Ron's Gone Wrong, was released on 22 October 2021, distributed by 20th Century Studios (which had recently been acquired by Disney two years prior) with positive reviews. That Christmas, a holiday film based on the children's Christmas book trilogy That Christmas and Other Stories by Richard Curtis and Rebecca Cobb, was released by Netflix on 4 December 2024. The studio's next films are, Bad Fairies, a subversive original musical-comedy film set in contemporary London, to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures[4] on 21 May 2027, The Lunar Chronicles, based on Marissa Meyer's book series of the same name, to be released also by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 3, 2028,[5] and Wed Wabbit, based on Lissa Evans' children's book of the same name, and their first independent feature, to be funded and release by themselves.
History
Locksmith Animation was founded in 2014 by media executive businesswoman Elisabeth Murdoch and two Aardman Animations collaborators Sarah Smith and Julie Lockhart. Locksmith was named after Lockhart and Smith's surnames.[6] In April 2014, visual effects studio Double Negative (now known as DNEG) formed a deal with Locksmith to provide the computer animation for Locksmith's films, this led DNEG to found their own animation department, DNEG Feature Animation (now known as DNEG Animation).[7]
The early logo of Locksmith Animation used before 2017
In May 2016, Locksmith formed a production deal with Paramount Pictures, with Paramount acting as the distributor for Locksmith's films to be produced under the Paramount Animation label.[6] The following year, however, Paramount abandoned its deal with Locksmith when Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey was replaced by Jim Gianopulos.[8]
In September 2017, Locksmith formed a multi-year production deal with 20th Century Fox, which would distribute Locksmith's films; 20th Century Fox Animation was brought in to oversee the deal, as Locksmith was aiming to release a film every 12–18 months. The deal was to bolster Blue Sky's output and replace the loss of distributing DreamWorks Animation films, which are now owned and distributed by Universal Pictures, following its takeover by NBCUniversal in 2016.[8][9] The first film to be produced by Locksmith Animation was Ron's Gone Wrong which was released on 22 October 2021 by 20th Century Studios.[8][10] In February 2018, it was announced that Locksmith was developing Wed Wabbit, a live-action/animated hybrid film based on Lissa Evans' children's book, originally served as the first live-action/animated hybrid film from Locksmith.[11] In October 2019, after Disney took over 20th Century Animation, Locksmith formed a new multi-year production deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, which will distribute three Locksmith films under the Warner Animation Group label after the release of Ron's Gone Wrong, which was now the only theatrical Locksmith film to be distributed by 20th Century Studios.[2]
The original logo of Locksmith Animation (used from 2017 to 2023) with the Sister byline (used from 2021 to 2023)
Sister was announced as Locksmith Animation's parent company following the release of Ron's Gone Wrong in October 2021.
In June 2021, it was announced that Natalie Fischer, the former COO of Illumination Entertainment, DreamWorks Animation and Pixar would step in as CEO. Locksmith co-founder Sarah Smith exited the company to pursue her own creative endeavours. It was also announced that Locksmith is currently in production on That Christmas,[12] a holiday film based on the children's Christmas book trilogy That Christmas and Other Stories by Richard Curtis and Rebecca Cobb, and they are working on an original musical-comedy film.[13]That Christmas was unveiled in June 2022 as part of Netflix's slate of animated films.[14]
In June 2023, as part of the rebranding of Warner Animation Group (now called Warner Bros. Pictures Animation), it was announced that the studio had signed a first-look deal with Locksmith to develop and produce the two animated feature films Bad Fairies and The Lunar Chronicles for Warner Bros. Pictures.[16]
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