Reel FX Creative Studios

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Reel FX
TypePrivate
IndustryEntertainment
Commercial
Post-production
Production
GenreVarious
PredecessorDNA Productions
Founded1996; 25 years ago (1996)
FoundersJonathan Keeton
Simon Mowbray
Headquarters301 North Crowdus Street,
Dallas, Texas
,
United States
Number of locations
1575 N. Gower St, Suite 380 Hollywood, California, United States

1751 Richardson Street, Suite 1100 Montreal, Quebec
Area served
3
Key people
Steve O'Brien (CEO, Chairman)[1]
David Ross (President)
Chuck Peil (EVP/Partnerships)
David Parrish (SVP/Prod)
Jared Mass (Head of Originals)
ProductsFeature films
Commercials
Special Attractions
ServicesCGI animation
Visual effects
Motion design
Editorial
Audio
Number of employees
350 (2013)[2]
Websitewww.reelfx.com

Reel FX Creative Studios (also known as Reel FX Animation Studios for theatrical animated feature films or simply Reel FX) is an American computer animation studio based in Dallas, Texas, Hollywood, California and Montreal. The studio develops and produces award-winning animated feature-length films, short films, and theme park content.[3] Its first original animated feature film, Free Birds, was released in 2013 and grossed over $110 million worldwide, despite receiving negative reviews. Its second film, The Book of Life was released in 2014 to widely positive reviews and received several nominations, including Best Animated Feature Nominations from the Golden Globe's, Critics’ Choice Awards, Producers Guild Awards and Annie Awards.[4] Rumble will be the 3rd original film from Reel FX, in conjunction with Paramount Animation, and is slated to be released on February 18, 2022.

The studio also does animation for other studios, including UglyDolls for STX Entertainment, and Scoob! for Warner Animation Group.

History[]

In 2006, Reel FX hired many employees of the studio DNA Productions, which was in the process of closing down.

In March 2007, Reel FX acquired Radium, a California-based digital studio that was founded in 1996 by Jonathan Keeton and Simon Mowbray.[5] As part of the acquisition, the studio re-branded itself in 2010 to Radium/Reel FX, and in February 2012 to Reel FX.[6] Since 2007, Reel FX has been presenting the Texas Avery Animation Award, created by the studio to "celebrate career achievement in animation".[7][8] The award, which is named after the Texas-born animator and cartoonist Tex Avery, is awarded each year at Dallas International Film Festival in a form of a bronze casting of Avery's Wolf character.[7]

In December 2010, it was announced that Reel FX produced an untitled 3D film with producer Andrew Adamson and Cirque du Soleil.[9] In January 2012, it was announced by Paramount Pictures that it had acquired worldwide rights to the film, now titled Worlds Away directed by Adamson and executive-produced by James Cameron.[10] In October 2012, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Reel FX's connection to the 2012 feature film, Rise of the Guardians. (The film is based on Reel FX's short film, The Man in the Moon, directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg at Reel FX Creative Studios. It is also based on Joyce's book series, The Guardians of Childhood.[11])

Beginning with Free Birds in 2013, all Reel FX's in-house feature films are released under its Reel FX Animation Studios banner.[12]

From 2009 to 2013, Reel FX completed its first original animated feature film Free Birds.[13] Originally titled Turkeys[14] and scheduled for the release of 2014, but it was pulled back to November 1, 2013.[13] Jimmy Hayward directed the film, which tells a story about two turkeys who travel back in time to prevent their species from being the traditional Thanksgiving meal.[13] In February 2012, the studio announced a new CG-animated film, The Book of Life, directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez and produced by Guillermo del Toro. It is described as a "Romeo and Juliet-style love story set against a Mexican Day of the Dead backdrop."[15] In December 2012, it was reported that the studio has partnered with 20th Century Fox Animation to produce the film,[16] and scheduled for October 3, 2014, but it was pushed back to October 17.[17] Rumble is their next original film, slated with Paramount for a February 18, 2022 release, directed by Hamish Grieve.

Filmography[]

Original productions[]

Released films[]

# Title Release date Co-production with Directors Budget Gross Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
1 Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away December 21, 2012 Cirque du Soleil Burlesco
Strange Weather Films
Cameron Pace Group		 Andrew Adamson $25 million $34.2 million 47% 51
2 Free Birds November 1, 2013 Relativity Media Jimmy Hayward $55 million $110.4 million 19% 38
3 The Book of Life October 17, 2014 20th Century Fox Animation Jorge R. Gutierrez $50 million $99.7 million 82% 67

Upcoming films[]

# Title Release date Ref(s) Co-production with Directors
4 Rumble February 18, 2022 [18][19][20][21][22][23] Paramount Animation
New Republic Pictures
WWE Studios
Walden Media		 Hamish Grieve

In development[]

# Title Ref(s) Directors
5 Space Kung Fu Punch [24] Jorge R. Gutierrez
6 The Book of Life 2 [25]

Short films[]

  • The Adventures of Chuy (2015)[26]

Contract work[]

Feature films[]

# Title Release date Co-production with Directors
1 The Wild April 14, 2006 C.O.R.E. Feature Animation
Walt Disney Pictures		 Steve Williams
2 Everyone's Hero September 15, 2006 IDT Entertainment
20th Century Fox		 Christopher Reeve
Colin Brady
Daniel St. Pierre
3 Rock Dog February 24, 2017 Summit Entertainment
Huayi Brothers		 Ash Brannon
4 Sherlock Gnomes March 23, 2018 Paramount Animation
MGM
Rocket Pictures
Mikros Image		 John Stevenson
5 UglyDolls May 3, 2019 STX Entertainment
Alibaba Pictures
Troublemaker Studios
Huaxia Film Distribution		 Kelly Asbury
6 Scoob! May 15, 2020[27][28] Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Animation Group[27]		 Tony Cervone
7 Back to the Outback December 2021[29] Weed Road Pictures
Netflix Animation
Netflix[30]		 Clare Knight
Harry Cripps

Films[]

  • G.I. Joe: Spy Troops (2003)
  • G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom (2004)
  • Action Man: X Missions – The Movie (2005)
  • Boz: Colors and Shapes (2006)
  • Boz: Adventures in Imagination (2006)
  • The Very First Noel (2006)
  • Thank You God for B-O-Zs and 1-2-3s! (2007)
  • Start Singing with Boz (2008)
  • Open Season 2 (2008; with Sony Pictures Animation)[31]
  • Tales of the Black Freighter (2009)
  • Open Season 3 (2010; with Sony Pictures Animation)[32]

Television[]

Series[]

  • No Activity (season 4; animation assistance with ATK PLN for Flight School Studio)[33]
  • Super Giant Robot Brothers [34]

Specials[]

Short films[]

  • Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty (2005; co-animated with Blue Sky Studios)[35][36]
  • The Man in the Moon (2005)[37]
  • Secrets of the Furious Five (2008)
  • Looney Tunes: (with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Animation)
    • Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts:[38]
      • Rabid Rider (2010)
      • Fur of Flying (2010)
      • Coyote Falls (2010)
      • Flash in the Pain (2014)[39][40][41]
    • I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat (2011)
    • Daffy's Rhapsody (2012)[39]
  • Best Fiends:
    • Best Fiends: Boot Camp (2017)[42]
    • Best Fiends: Visit Minutia (2017)[43]
    • Best Fiends: Fort of Hard Knocks (2018)[44]
    • Best Fiends: Baby Slug's Big Day Out (2018)[45]
    • Best Fiends: Howie's Gift (2019)[46]
    • Best Fiends: Temper's Adventure (2019)[47]
    • Best Fiends: The Immortal Cockroach (2019)[48]
    • Best Fiends: The Fight Before Christmas (2019)[49]
    • Best Fiends: King Slug Industries (2020)[50]

Theme park attractions[]

  • The Simpsons Ride (2008; co-animated with Blur Studio)
  • Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (2012)[51]

Virtual worlds[]

Production logos[]

Collaborations[]

  • Mass Animation - Live Music

References[]

  1. ^ Beck, Jerry (October 25, 2012). ""Turkeys" get Greenlit at Reel FX". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  2. ^ Mallory, Michael (October 12, 2013). "Get Ready for a Real Turkey Feast!". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  3. ^ "With New Film The Book of Life, Studio Launches Virtual Reality Unit". Wall Street Journal. September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  4. ^ "Book of Life from Dallas Scores Golden Globe Nomination". Dallas Morning News. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  5. ^ "Radium Merges with Dallas' Reel FX" (PDF). Pharos. March 7, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  6. ^ "Behind The Scenes: The Reel FX Rebrand". Reel FX News. February 8, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b King, Darryn (April 18, 2015). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller Honored with 2015 Texas Avery Award". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (April 20, 2015). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller Receive Texas Avery Award". Animation Magazine. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike (December 7, 2010). "Andrew Adamson, James Cameron team with Cirque du Soleil on 3D Feature". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  10. ^ Fleming, Mike (February 10, 2012). "Paramount Acquires Worldwide Rights To Andrew Adamson And James Cameron's Cirque Du Soleil 3D Feature". Deadline Hollywood.
  11. ^ McCarthy, Todd (October 11, 2012). "Rise of the Guardians: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  12. ^ CEC Entertainment, Inc. (May 20, 2014). "Chuck E. Cheese's Introduces Oculus Rift for Birthday Parties in Select Markets" (Press release). Reuters. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c Shaw, Lucas (February 22, 2013). "Relativity Moves 'Turkeys' Up a Year; Amy Poehler Joins Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  14. ^ Rebecca, Murray (March 27, 2013). "Turkeys is Now Free Birds". About.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  15. ^ Kit, Borys (February 21, 2012). "Guillermo del Toro to Produce CG-Animated 'Day of the Dead' With Reel FX". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  16. ^ McClintock, Pamela (December 12, 2012). "Fox Animation Teaming With Guillermo del Toro on 'Book of Life' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  17. ^ "Fox Dates 'Frankenstein' & 'Chipmunks 4,' Sets 2017-2018 Animated Slate". Deadline. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  18. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 18, 2015). "Reel FX Makes Multi-Picture Pact With 'Book Of Life' Helmer Jorge R. Gutierrez; Kung Fu Space Western, Anybody?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  19. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (April 25, 2018). "Paramount Grows Its Animation Slate With 'Monster on the Hill,' 'Luck'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  20. ^ Amidi, Amid (April 26, 2018). "Paramount Announces 3 New Animated Features". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  21. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (June 12, 2019). "'Spice Girls' Movie in the Works as Paramount Unveils Animation Slate (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  22. ^ Pedersen, Erik (November 12, 2019). "Paramount Grounds 'Rugrats' Movie, Moves WWE's 'Rumble' Back Six Months & Titles Next 'SpongeBob' Pic". Deadline.
  23. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 28, 2020). "Paramount's Animated 'Rumble' Release Date Moves Deeper Into 2021". Deadline. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  24. ^ Hopewell, John (April 24, 2017). "'Despicable Me 3,' Pixar's 'Coco,' 'The Big Bad Fox' to Bow at France's 2017 Annecy Animation Festival". Variety. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  25. ^ Hopewell, John; Lang, Jamie (June 15, 2017). "Annecy: Reel FX, Jorge R. Gutierrez Announce 'The Book of Life 2,' Unveil 'Kung Fu Space Punch' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  26. ^ McLean, Tom (January 26, 2015). "'Book of Life' Comes to Home Video Libraries". Animation Magazine. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b Kroll, Justin (October 15, 2018). "'Tom and Jerry,' 'Scooby-Doo' Movies Land Top Talent at Warner Animation Group (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  28. ^ Kit, Borys (March 1, 2019). "Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez and Tracy Morgan to Star in Animated Scooby-Doo Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  29. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (November 30, 2020). "Netflix Heads Down Under with 'Back to the Outback' Movie in 2021". Animation Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  30. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (November 30, 2020). "Netflix Lines Up Animated Movie 'Back To The Outback' With Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce & Keith Urban". Deadline. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  31. ^ Kit, Borys (March 17, 2010). "Granat, Reel FX form Bedrock Studios". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  32. ^ Animation Mentor (April 2010). "Animator Interview with Mentor Ray Chase". Animation Mentor. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  33. ^ Reel FX (October 29, 2020). "Congratulations @flightschoolHQ for helping pivot CBS's live action comedy series, @NoActivityCBS, to animation for this coming season. Reel FX Animation is proud and excited to dish out an assist on this project". Twitter.
  34. ^ "Netflix Announces Three New Animated Comedy Series for Kids from Renowned and First-Time Creators". Netflix Media Center (Press release). Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  35. ^ Gilchrist, Todd (September 28, 2005). "Robots". IGN. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  36. ^ Foster, Dave (August 24, 2005). "Robots (R2) in September - Menus added". The Digital Fix. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  37. ^ Qidong, Zhang (November 23, 2012). "Animation studio sees role for China". China Daily. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  38. ^ Desowitz, Bill (July 30, 2010). "O'Callaghan Talks Coyote Falls". Animation World Network. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  39. ^ Jump up to: a b "Looney Tunes "Daffy's Rhapsody"". Reel FX. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  40. ^ Hopewell, John (June 9, 2014). "Studios, France, Emerging Industries Energize Annecy". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2014. Closing ceremony, featuring Official Selection award announcements and Warner Bros.’ 3D short “A Flash in the Pain”
  41. ^ "Reel FX Live from Annecy!". Reel FX. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original on June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014. Peil wrapped up the presentation with the 6th installment in the series of Looney Tunes shorts “Flash in the Pain”.
  42. ^ Boot Camp - A Best Fiends Animation
  43. ^ Visit Minutia - A Best Fiends Animation
  44. ^ Fort of Hard Knocks - A Best Fiends Animation
  45. ^ Baby Slug's Big Day Out - A Best Fiends Animation
  46. ^ Howie's Gift - A Best Fiends Animation
  47. ^ Temper's Adventure - A Best Fiends Animation
  48. ^ The Immortal Cockroach - A Best Fiends Animation
  49. ^ The Fight Before Christmas - A Best Fiends Animation
  50. ^ King Slug Industries - A Best Fiends Animation
  51. ^ Reel FX (July 2, 2012). "It's Time For Minion Mayhem at Universal Orlando". Reel FX. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  52. ^ "Meet Star Skipper, Paramount Animation's Magical New Trademark Logo Character". Variety. September 19, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.

External links[]

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