John Lasseter, and his extraordinary talent and vision, are woven throughout each of Skydance Animation’s projects. His impact — from the studio’s immense creative direction and storytelling capabilities to its cutting-edge innovation — is seen in every film. Skydance Animation is poised to do what many in the movie industry thought was nearly impossible just a few short years ago.
Turning the Entertainment Industry on its Collective Head
Disney/Pixar, Paramount, Apple — these are just a few of the top-hitting names in the entertainment world that nearly everyone recognizes. The Disney/Pixar studios’ hold on the animation sector, however, is one that many industry insiders thought would never be challenged.
Enter John Lasseter. This vision has helped elevate the Disney/Pixar studio franchise to its current status. With Skydance Animation, however, Lasseter is poised to reach even higher accolades.
Skydance Animation Films Draws Innovative Talent
While John Lasseter sits squarely at the helm of the innovative team leading Skydance Animation, he is by far not the only one doing so. Allen Menken, the beloved composer who lent his multi-award-winning talents to such fan favorites as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Pocahontas, is the musical genius behind Skydance Animation’s fantasy film, Spellbound.
Spellbound is a full-length feature film that is both an animation and a musical. It focuses on a strong female lead who must use her wits, knowledge, and savvy to save her kingdom when it is divided by a spell.
Rich Moore, who worked for a decade at Walt Disney Animation as an advisor on fan-favorite films like Moana, Tangled, and Frozen, is another award-winning talent behind the game-changing films of Skydance Animations. With projects like Wreck-It Ralph, its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Simpsons, Horton Hears a Who, and Sesame Street: Monster in the Mirror, Moore brings his energy, knowledge, and zest to Skydance Animation projects.
Spellbound, Blush, and Luck
Spellbound isn’t the only wondrous project fans can look forward to from John Lasseter and Skydance Animations. Luck features a star-studded cast that feeds on the creativity and innovation fueling the film and breathes life and vibrancy into it.
Jane Fonda, Eva Noblezada, Whoopi Goldberg, Simon Pegg, and Flula Borg are just a few of the celebrities who are part of the cast. The film’s main character, Sam, stumbles upon the Land of Luck at the exact time in her life when she needs it the most. Within it, Sam looks forward to learning the secret of turning her bad luck into good.
Blush — while different from both Spellbound and Luck — has the distinctive mark of Skydance Animation and John Lasseter. Blush is an animated short film that is based on a true story. The director and writer of Blush, Joe Mateo, lost Mary Ann, his wife, to breast cancer.
The film centers on an astronaut/horticulturist and his survival struggles after he crash lands on a foreign planet. The arrival of a visitor in the desolate place helps fuel the main character’s healing. The theme of relying on loved ones and those surrounding you during challenging times is woven throughout the 10-minute-long film.
Each of these projects illustrates the far-reaching abilities of the talented team headed by John Lasseter. The possibilities are simply endless when it comes to this award-winning group behind Skydance Animation as it stands poised to change the landscape of animation forever.
