Biography
DNEG Animation (formerly known as DNEG Feature Animation) was founded in April 2014 as DNEG Feature Animation after DNEG formed a deal with Locksmith Animation, with Tom Jacomb leading the studio.[34] It provides animation services alongside IP creators and filmmakers for both feature and episodic animated projects. A Queen's Guard soldier with a giant pencil sometimes alongside a short six-leg robot guard are the mascots of the studio. Its first project was the short film Mr. Spam Gets A New Hat, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker William Joyce and released in 2021, which won 'Best Animation' at 2021 New York Shorts International Film Festival, 'Best Animated Short' at Cleveland International Film Festival, 'Best Animation' at LA Shorts Festival, 'Best Animated Short' at Cordillera International Film Festival and 'Best 3D Narrative Short' at SPARK ANIMATION 2021. Its first feature film was Ron's Gone Wrong, co-produced with Locksmith Animation for 20th Century Studios, also released in 2021, which won for 'Best Longform' at the British Animation Awards (BAA).[35][36][37] With the trailer release of Mr. Spam Gets A New Hat in October 2021, and by early 2022, the studio was renamed to DNEG Animation. The studio then worked on the Netflix television special Entergalactic, created by Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Kenya Barris and released in September 2022.[38][39]
The studio's next feature film was Nimona, an adaptation of the webcomic of the same name by ND Stevenson for Netflix and Annapurna Pictures, released in June 2023; in the production of Nimona, DNEG would take over animation from Blue Sky Studios after the company was shut down by then-owner The Walt Disney Company before their production was completed.[40] It was followed by Under the Boardwalk for Paramount Animation, which was released in October of that year.[41][42][43] The Garfield Movie, for which DNEG is a producer alongside Alcon Entertainment for Sony Pictures, was released in May 2024.[44]
Projects currently in production include That Christmas (2024), a co-production with Locksmith Animation for Netflix, an adaptation of The Cat in the Hat (2026) with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Bad Fairies (2027) with Locksmith Animation and WBPA, The Angry Birds Movie 3 with Rovio Entertainment and Sega Sammy Group, and an adaptation of The Great Gatsby.