Fox to slash toon staff
Animated film prod'n not affected
The studio said the layoffs aren't a sign that production of animated films will be cut back. Fox Animation president Chris Meledandri said Fox is likely to announce two new animated pics going into pre-production in the near future.
The cutbacks, Meledandri said, reflect the fact that much later-stage animation work on a picture can now be contracted out to independent firms, saving Fox the costs of carrying those operations year-round.
"It's never easy letting go of people who've done great work for you," the animation chief said, but "it's a more efficient and practical way to run our business in the current environment."
The Phoenix operation, started five years ago, produced "Anastasia" and is currently finishing work on "Titan A.E.," which bows June 16.
The main creative elements of art direction, character design, storyboarding and animation will continue to be handled inhouse in Phoenix. But other parts of the filmmaking process will now be contracted out.
When the Phoenix studio was founded, there was a shortage of talent available for all phases of animated production, Meledandri explained. "It was common belief that if you didn't have all those artists under contract 52 weeks a year, you wouldn't be able to make your film."
But with a worldwide boom in the past few years in independent production outfits pursuing animated work, Fox feels the shortage has been alleviated.
The layoffs will leave the number of employees in Phoenix at less than 100.
Fox also has roughly 100 employees at its New York-based digital animation studio, Blue Sky Animation, where the film "Ice Age" is under production.
The studio also has another film, "Monkey Bone," which combines live-action and stop-motion animation, in production in San Francisco, but not at an ongoing animation production facility.
