Reel FX Animation

Template:Short description Template:Advert Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox company Reel FX Animation (Reel FX), formerly known as Reel FX Creative Studios, is an American visual effects and computer animation studio based in Dallas, Texas, with offices in Hollywood, California, and Montreal, Quebec. Known for its multiple projects on animated films and visual effects for live-action films.

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. In 2020, Reel FX Animation teamed up with Warner Animation Group (now Warner Bros. Pictures Animation) 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 Nickelodeon Movies and a film titled Diya with Good Karma Productions.

History

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 its 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.

In December 2010, Reel FX produced an untitled 3D film with producer Andrew Adamson and Cirque du Soleil. 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.

First called Turkeys, 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.

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.

Filmography

Feature films

Original films

Title	Release date	Co-production with	Distributor	Director(s)
Free Birds	Template:Dts	Relativity Media	Relativity Media	Jimmy Hayward
The Book of Life	Template:Dts	20th Century Fox Animation Chatrone	20th Century Fox	Jorge R. Gutierrez
Rumble	Template:Dts	Paramount Animation WWE Studios Walden Media New Republic Pictures	Paramount+	Hamish Grieve
Diya	TBA	Good Karma Productions	TBA	Nitya Mehra

Animation services/visual effects

Title	Release date	Production companies	Distributor	Director(s)
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams	Template:Dts	Troublemaker Studios	Dimension Films	Robert Rodriguez
The Wild (opening sequence only)	Template:Dts	Walt Disney Pictures Hoytyboy Pictures Sir Zip Productions Contrafilm C.O.R.E.	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution	Steve Williams
Everyone's Hero	Template:Dts	IDT Entertainment	20th Century Fox	Christopher Reeve Colin Brady Daniel St. Pierre
Open Season 2	Template:Dts	Sony Pictures Animation	Sony Pictures Home Entertainment	Matthew O'Callaghan Todd Wilderman
Open Season 3	Template:Dts			Cody Cameron
Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away	Template:Dts	Cirque du Soleil Strange Weather Films Cameron Pace Group	Paramount Pictures	Andrew Adamson
Rock Dog	Template:Dts	Huayi Brothers	Summit Entertainment	Ash Brannon
UglyDolls	Template:Dts	STX Family Alibaba Pictures Troublemaker Studios Original Force	STX Entertainment	Kelly Asbury
Scoob!	May 15, 2020	Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Animation Group	Warner Bros. Pictures	Tony Cervone
Back to the Outback	December 10, 2021	Netflix Animation Weed Road Pictures	Netflix	Clare Knight Harry Cripps
The Monkey King	Template:Dts	Netflix Animation Pearl Studio Star Overseas		Anthony Stacchi
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants	Template:Dts	Nickelodeon Movies United Plankton Pictures	Paramount Pictures	Derek Drymon

Television

Series

Original series

Title	Years	Co-production with	Network	Creator
Super Giant Robot Brothers	2022	Netflix Animation Assemblage Entertainment	Netflix	Víctor Maldonado Alfredo Torres
Lulu and the Help You Crew	2024	Cake Entertainment	TBA	Annie Mumolo

Animation services

Title	Years	Co-production with	Network	Creator
No Activity (season 4)	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)
• Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty (2005; co-animated with Blue Sky Studios)
• 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:
    • Rabid Rider (2010)
    • Fur of Flying (2010)
    • Coyote Falls (2010)
    • Flash in the Pain (2014)
  • I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat (2011)
  • Daffy's Rhapsody (2012)
• 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)
  • Best Fiends: Visit Minutia (2017)
  • Best Fiends: Fort of Hard Knocks (2018)
  • Best Fiends: Baby Slug's Big Day Out (2018)
  • Best Fiends: Howie's Gift (2019)
  • Best Fiends: Temper's Adventure (2019)
  • Best Fiends: The Immortal Cockroach (2019)
  • Best Fiends: The Fight Before Christmas (2019)
  • Best Fiends: King Slug Industries (2020)
• La Calesita (2022)

Theme park attractions

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

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)

Commercials

• Free Birds - Dwight Howard
• Chuck E. Cheese's Wristbands - Free Birds
• Cheetos Mix-ups - The Book Of Life
• Book of Life Happy Meal - McDonald's
• The Lego Batman Movie - Chevrolet
• UglyDolls - Happy Meal

Production logos

• Pixar Animation Studios (2008, 2009, 2011, 2011, 2018)
• Walt Disney Pictures (2013)
• Relativity Media (2013)
• Warner Animation Group (2016, 2017, 2018, 2020; co-produced with DevaStudios)
• Paramount Animation (2019; co-produced with ATK PLN)