Reel_FX_Creative_Studios
Reel FX Animation
American computer animation and visual effects studio
Reel FX Animation (Reel FX), formerly known as Reel FX Creative Studios, is an American Visual effects and computer animation studio with studios in Dallas, Texas, Hollywood, California, and Montreal, Quebec.
 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (May 2023) |
 Logo used as of 2020 | |
| Formerly | Reel Magic (1993–95) Reel FX Creative Studios (1995–2020) Reel FX Animation Studios (2020–2023) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Animated feature films Television series |
| Predecessor | DNA Productions |
| Founded | 1993; 31 years ago (1993) |
| Headquarters | 717 North Harwood Street Floor 27, , U.S. |
Number of locations | 1575 N. Gower St Suite 380 Hollywood, California, United States 1751 Richardson St Suite 5400 Montreal, Quebec |
Key people | Steve O'Brien (CEO, Chairman) Donna Henry (President) Chuck Peil (EVP/Partnerships) David Parrish (SVP/Animation) Joanna Ferguson (SVP, Feature Production) Emmanuel Laurent (SVP, Real-Time Production) Lucas Koppel (Director, Development) |
Number of employees | 350 (2013)[1] |
| Divisions | Reel FX Animation Reel FX Originals ATKPLN Flight School Studio |
| Website | www |
The studio primarily produces animated features, short films, and television series. Among them is the studio's first original animated feature film, Free Birds, released in 2013. A year later, The Book of Life was released. The film received several nominations, including Best Animated Feature Nominations from the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Producers Guild Awards and Annie Awards.[2] In 2020, Reel FX Animation teamed up with Warner Animation Group on Scoob!. In addition, the studio released Rumble, a co-production with Paramount Animation and Back to the Outback with Netflix Animation, both in 2021. Most recently, Reel FX teamed up again with Netflix Animation to create The Monkey King in 2023.
The studio’s upcoming slate of films includes The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants with Paramount Animation and a film titled Diya with Good Karma Productions.
Reel FX Animation was founded in 1993 as Reel Magic in Fort Worth, Texas. The studio was the sixth to purchase an Autodesk Flame system. In 1995, the company moved to Dallas and changed its name to Reel FX Creative Studios. Reel FX purchased West End Post, and in 1999, moved to the White Swan building in the West End. In 2005, the studio moved their headquarters east a couple of miles to Deep Ellum. The company opened a second location in Pasadena, California, and in 2008 merged with VFX-studio Radium and opened a studio in Santa Monica.
In 2017, Reel FX opened its first studio outside the United States in Montreal Canada. The studio would eventually add artists in Toronto and Vancouver as well.
Films and releases
In 1999, the studio produced its first short film, The Man In The Moon. Based on William Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood and co-directed by Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg. The short film became the first Reel FX Original (now called Inventions), and in 2007, was optioned to Dreamworks Animation where it ultimately became Rise of the Guardians, directed by Peter Ramsey. In October 2012, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Reel FX's connection to the 2012 feature film.[3][4]
In December 2010, Reel FX produced an untitled 3D film with producer Andrew Adamson and Cirque du Soleil.[5] In January 2012, Paramount Pictures announced that it had acquired worldwide rights to the film, now titled Worlds Away directed by Adamson and executive-produced by James Cameron.[6]
First called Turkeys,[7] and opened in 2013 under Free Birds, the film was directed by Jimmy Hayward and starred Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, and Amy Poehler. Its release landed Reel FX’s CEO Steve O’Brien the front page of D CEO Magazine in their May-June edition of that year.[8]
Following the release of The Book of Life, Reel FX assisted on Rock Dog (Summit Entertainment, Huayi Brothers) and UglyDolls (STX Entertainment) while developing its next feature. Released in 2021, Rumble is based on Rob Harrell’s graphic novel Monster on the Hill and adapted for the screen by Matt Lieberman and Etan Cohen. In 2022, Reel FX released the original series Super Giant Robot Brothers!, with Netflix Animation. Directed by Mark Andrews (Brave), the episodic series was created using a custom-built real-time production pipeline with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the first animated series to be rendered entirely in a video game engine.[9][10]
Feature films
As production company
| Title | Release date | Co-production with | Distributor | Directors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Birds | November 1, 2013 | Relativity Media | Relativity Media | Jimmy Hayward |
| The Book of Life | October 17, 2014 | 20th Century Fox Animation Chatrone[11] |
20th Century Fox | Jorge R. Gutierrez |
| Rumble | December 15, 2021 | Paramount Animation WWE Studios Walden Media New Republic Pictures |
Paramount+ | Hamish Grieve |
Animation services/visual effects
Television
Series
As production company
| Title | Years | Co-production with | Network | Creator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Giant Robot Brothers[21] | 2022 | Netflix Animation Assemblage Entertainment |
Netflix | Víctor Maldonado Alfredo Torres |
| Lulu and the Help You Crew | TBA | Cake Entertainment[22] | TBA | Annie Mumolo |
Animation services
| Title | Years | Co-production with | Network | Creator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Activity (season 4)[23] | 2021 | Funny or Die Gary Sanchez Productions Jungle Entertainment Flight School Studio CBS Studios |
Paramount+ | Trent O'Donnell |
Specials
- Jonah Sing-Along Songs and More! (2002; with Big Idea Productions)
- Halloweentown High (2004)
- Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011; with 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios)
Short films
- The Man in the Moon (1999)[24]
- Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty (2005; co-animated with Blue Sky Studios)[25][26]
- Secrets of the Furious Five (2008; with DreamWorks Animation and Film Roman)
- Live Music (2009) (co-produced with Mass Animation)
- Looney Tunes: (with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Animation)
- Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts:[27]
- Rabid Rider (2010)
- Fur of Flying (2010)
- Coyote Falls (2010)
- Flash in the Pain (2014)[28][29][30]
- I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat (2011)
- Daffy's Rhapsody (2012)[28]
- Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts:[27]
- Pacific Rim: Jaeger Pilot (2014)
- The Adventures of Chuy (2015) (co-production with 20th Century Fox Animation)
- Son of Jaguar (2016)
- Best Fiends:
- Best Fiends: Boot Camp (2017)[31]
- Best Fiends: Visit Minutia (2017)[32]
- Best Fiends: Fort of Hard Knocks (2018)[33]
- Best Fiends: Baby Slug's Big Day Out (2018)[34]
- Best Fiends: Howie's Gift (2019)[35]
- Best Fiends: Temper's Adventure (2019)[36]
- Best Fiends: The Immortal Cockroach (2019)[37]
- Best Fiends: The Fight Before Christmas (2019)[38]
- Best Fiends: King Slug Industries (2020)[39]
- La Calesita (2022)
Theme park attractions
- The Simpsons Ride (2008; co-animated with Blur Studio)
- Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (2012)[40]
Direct-to-video
- Barney Home Video (1996–2000) (special effects)
- 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: Friends and Helpers (2006)
- Boz: Bananas, Bubbles and Busy Bodies (2006)
- Boz: Adventures in Imagination (2006)
- The Three Wise Men (formerly The Very First Noel) (2006)
- Thank You God for B-O-Zs and 1-2-3s! (2007)
- Start Singing with Boz (2008)
- Boz: A WowieBozowee Christmas (2008)
- Tales of the Black Freighter (2009)
Production logos
- Relativity Media (2013)
- Warner Animation Group (2016, 2017, 2018, 2020; co-produced with DevaStudios)
- Paramount Animation (2019; co-produced with ATK PLN)[41]
- Mallory, Michael (October 12, 2013). "Get Ready for a Real Turkey Feast!". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
- "Book of Life from Dallas Scores Golden Globe Nomination". Dallas Morning News. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- McCarthy, Todd (October 11, 2012). "Rise of the Guardians: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- 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.
- Fleming, Mike (December 7, 2010). "Andrew Adamson, James Cameron team with Cirque du Soleil on 3D Feature". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
- Fleming, Mike (February 10, 2012). "Paramount Acquires Worldwide Rights To Andrew Adamson And James Cameron's Cirque Du Soleil 3D Feature". Deadline Hollywood.
- Beck, Jerry (October 25, 2012). ""Turkeys" get Greenlit at Reel FX". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- "D CEO May-June 2013". D Magazine. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- Fleming, Ryan (June 14, 2022). "'Super Giant Robot Brothers!': Watch Exclusive First Look Trailer For Reel FX 's Ani Series For Netflix". Deadline. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- (uncredited)Scheck, Franck (October 11, 2014). "'The Book of Life': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
- Kroll, Justin (October 15, 2018). "'Tom and Jerry,' 'Scooby-Doo' Movies Land Top Talent at Warner Animation Group (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
- 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.
- Milligan, Mercedes (November 30, 2020). "Netflix Heads Down Under with 'Back to the Outback' Movie in 2021". Animation Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- 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.
- Robinson, Jacob (May 17, 2023). "'The Monkey King': Coming to Netflix in August 2023 and What We Know So Far". What's on Netflix. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Brian Welk (April 27, 2023). "Paramount Gets Animated with CinemaCon Presentation". IndieWire. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 23, 2023). "'Mission: Impossible 8' Jumps To 2025; 'A Quiet Place: Day One' Goes To Summer In 2024 Theatrical Shake-Up Due To Actors Strike". Deadline. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- Grobar, Matt (June 6, 2022). "'The Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar Boards Animated Feature 'Diya' From Reel FX Originals As EP; Nitya Mehra To Direct". Deadline. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- "Netflix Announces Three New Animated Comedy Series for Kids from Renowned and First-Time Creators". Netflix Media Center (Press release). Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- Zahed, Ramin (May 24, 2023). "Cake Announces New Preschool Show Developed with Reel FX and 'Bridesmaids' Writers". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Qidong, Zhang (November 23, 2012). "Animation studio sees role for China". China Daily. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- Foster, Dave (August 24, 2005). "Robots (R2) in September - Menus added". The Digital Fix. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
- Desowitz, Bill (July 30, 2010). "O'Callaghan Talks Coyote Falls". Animation World Network. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
- "Looney Tunes "Daffy's Rhapsody"". Reel FX. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
- 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"
- "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".
- Reel FX (July 2, 2012). "It's Time For Minion Mayhem at Universal Orlando". Reel FX. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- "Meet Star Skipper, Paramount Animation's Magical New Trademark Logo Character". Variety. September 19, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
