Alongside the report in its Q2 2022 letter to shareholders that Netflix lost 970,000 subscribers, Netflix also announced the acquisition of Animal Logic, the Australian animation studio responsible for “Happy Feet,” “The Lego Movie,” “Peter Rabbit” and more. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
The two companies are already partnering on “The Magician’s Elephant,” which is set for a 2023 release, and “The Shrinking of Treehorn,” Ron Howard’s debut animated feature.
“Netflix has1 been investing in animation over the past few years, and this furthers our commitment to building a world-class animation studio,” said Amy Reinhard, Netflix vice president of Studio Operations, in an official statement. “Animal Logic is a leading animation studio with innovative technology that will strengthen our existing business and increase our long-term capacity in the animation space, so that we can better entertain our members around the world.”
This puts Netflix in a better position to compete against Disney+ and its array of family-friendly animated films. Expanding the Netflix animation team is the company’s attempt to advance the buildout of its “end-to-end animation production capabilities.”
In April, Netflix revealed an upcoming series based on the “Exploding Kittens” card game that’s set for next year. However, it also dropped some animated projects in May, such as “Wings of Fire,” “Antiracist Baby,” “With Kind Regards from Kindergarten” and Meghan Markle’s “Pearl,” as reported by Variety.