Laika, LLC

"LAIKA" redirects here. For other uses, see Laika (disambiguation).

Laika, LLC

Laika's headquarters in Hillsboro, Oregon
Company type	Private
Industry	Animation, film production
Genre	Animation
Predecessor	Will Vinton Studios
Founded	July 20, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-07-20)
Founders	Phil Knight Travis Knight Will Vinton
Headquarters	Northeast Bennett Street, Hillsboro, Oregon , U.S.
Key people	Phil Knight (Chairman) Travis Knight (President & CEO)[1] Matt Levin (President, Live-Action Film & Series)
Products	Films
Owners	Phil Knight Travis Knight
Number of employees	362 (2020)[2][3]
Website	Official website

Laika, LLC (stylized as LAIKA) is an American production company specializing in stop-motion animation and forthcoming live-action feature films, commercial content for all media, music videos, and short films. The studio is best known for its stop-motion feature films, Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link. It is owned by Nike co-founder Phil Knight and is located in Hillsboro, Oregon, part of the Portland metropolitan area. Knight's son, Travis Knight, acts as Laika's president and CEO.

Laika previously had two divisions, Laika Entertainment for feature films and Laika/house for commercial content. The studio spun off the commercial division in July 2014 to focus exclusively on feature film production. The new independent commercial division is now called HouseSpecial.^[4][5]

History

In the late 1990s, Will Vinton Studios, known for its stop-motion films and commercials, sought funds for more feature-length films and brought in outside investors, which included Nike, Inc. owner Phil Knight, whose son Travis Knight worked at the studio as an animator. In 1998, Knight made his initial investment.^[6] In 2002, Phil Knight acquired the financially struggling Will Vinton Studios to pursue feature-length productions.^[7] The following year, Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, joined the studio as a supervising director. In July 2005, Will Vinton Studios was rebranded as Laika – named after Laika, the dog sent to space by the Soviet Union in 1957.^[8]

It opened two divisions: Laika Entertainment for feature films and Laika/house for commercial work, such as advertisements and music videos. They also announced their first projects, the stop-motion film Coraline, and the CGI animated film Jack & Ben's Animated Adventure.^[6]

The studio laid off a significant portion of its staff in 2008, when its second planned feature, Jack & Ben's Animated Adventure, was cancelled.^[9] The following year, the studio released its first feature film, Coraline, directed by Selick. which received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a nomination at the BAFTAs for Best Animated Feature, a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and eight nominations at the Annie Awards, winning three, for Best Music in an Animated Feature, and Best Character Design and Production Design in a Feature Production.

After directing Moongirl and Coraline but having been unsuccessful in renegotiating his contract, Selick departed Laika in 2009.^[1] At the end of the year, the studio laid off more staff in its computer animation department to focus exclusively on stop-motion.^[7]

Their second stop-motion feature film, ParaNorman, directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler, opened on August 17, 2012. It received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature,^[10] as well as a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the BAFTAs, and eight nominations at the Annie Awards, winning two, for Character Animation and Character Design in an Animated Feature Production.

After working on stop-motion commercials for clients such as Apple Inc., Fox Sports, ESPN and Coca-Cola,^[11] Laika spun off its advertising portion in July 2014, to focus on feature film production exclusively. The new independent commercial division is now called HouseSpecial.^[4][5]

Their third film, The Boxtrolls, was released on September 26, 2014.^[12] It was based on Alan Snow's fantasy-adventure novel, Here Be Monsters!, and was directed by Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature,^[13] a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature, and nine nominations at the Annie Awards, winning two, for Voice Acting and Production Design in an Animated Feature Production.

Their fourth film, Kubo and the Two Strings, directed by Travis Knight, was released on August 19, 2016. It received two nominations at the Academy Awards, for Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects (as only the second animated film to receive that nomination, after The Nightmare Before Christmas). It won the BAFTA for Best Animated Feature. It also received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globes, and ten nominations at the Annie Awards, winning three, for Character Animation, Production Design and Editorial in a Feature Production.

Laika had considered Philip Reeve's fantasy book Goblins,^[14] for a potential feature film adaptation.

In March 2015, the company announced it would expand the studio in an effort to allow for production of one film per year.^[15]

Their fifth film, Missing Link, directed by Chris Butler, was released on April 12, 2019.^[16] It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature and eight nominations at the Annie Awards.^[17][18] It also won a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature.^[19][20]

On February 8, 2021, Laika signed a distribution deal with Shout! Factory for the United States, covering the studio's first four films.^[21]

On March 31, 2021, Laika announced their first live-action film based on the action thriller novel Seventeen by John Brownlow, who is said to be a fan of Laika's previous work. It was also confirmed that the studio is currently working on their sixth stop-motion animated film, Wildwood.^{[22][23][24][25][26]}

On April 27, 2022, a new Laika stop-motion film titled The Night Gardener was announced as being in the works, based on an original screenplay by Ozark creator Bill Dubuque, with Travis Knight penned to direct it.^[27]

On October 21, 2022, former director for the studio, Selick, openly admitted that he would consider returning to Laika; specifically to helm an adaptation of another Neil Gaiman novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Having previously pitched the adaptation to the studio after the release of Coraline, Selick stated that though Gaiman took the rights back for a time, the filmmaker asked for another chance with it, and that any future development on the film with Gaiman and Laika would depend on the success of his latest film, Wendell & Wild (2022).^[28]

On February 7, 2023, the studio announced that former Netflix executive Matt Levin was appointed as the President, Live-Action Film & Series, and will oversee the studio's entire live-action output, reporting directly to Travis Knight.^[29]

In May 2024 it was announced that Laika: Frame x Frame, an exhibition showcasing "the art, science and innovative wizardry of the studio’s epic films" would be hosted between August to October 2024 at BFI Southbank in London as part of a stop-motion season supported by the studio.^[30]

In June 2024, it was announced that Laika had acquired the rights to adapt Piranesi into an animated feature film, to be directed by Travis Knight.^[31]

In July 2024, Laika announced their original live-action film Crumble, with Brian Duffield writing and directing.^[32]

Filmography

Overview of films by Laika

Title	Release date	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Composer	Distributor/co-production with	Budget[33]	Box office gross[33]	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic[34]
Moongirl (short film)	August 12, 2005	Henry Selick		Helen Kalafatic	They Might Be Giants	—	—	—	—	—
Coraline	February 6, 2009			Bill Mechanic Claire Jennings Henry Selick Mary Sandell	Bruno Coulais	Focus Features Pandemonium Films	$60 million	$161.9 million	91% (278 reviews)[35]	80 (40 reviews)[36]
ParaNorman	August 17, 2012	Sam Fell Chris Butler	Chris Butler	Arianne Sutner Travis Knight	Jon Brion	Focus Features		$107.1 million	89% (192 reviews)[37]	72 (33 reviews)[38]
The Boxtrolls	September 26, 2014	Graham Annable Anthony Stacchi	Irena Brignull Adam Pava	David Bleiman Ichioka Travis Knight	Dario Marianelli			$108.3 million	78% (175 reviews)[39]	61 (37 reviews)[40]
Kubo and the Two Strings	August 19, 2016	Travis Knight	Story by: Shannon Tindle Marc Haimes Screenplay by: Marc Haimes Chris Butler	Arianne Sutner Travis Knight				$77.5 million	97% (219 reviews)[41]	84 (38 reviews)[42]
Missing Link	April 12, 2019	Chris Butler			Carter Burwell	Annapurna Pictures United Artists Releasing	$100 million	$26.6 million	88% (172 reviews)[43]	68 (30 reviews)[44]
Wildwood	2025[45]	Travis Knight	Chris Butler		Dario Marianelli	TBA

Contract work by Laika

Title	Release date	Budget	Gross	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	Note(s)
Corpse Bride[46]	September 23, 2005	$40 million	$117.2 million	84% (195 reviews)[47]	83 (35 reviews)[48]	Production, Directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton
Slacker Cats	August 13, 2007	—	—	—	—	Television series; last episode was originally aired on January 23, 2009
King of California	September 14, 2007	$10 million	$1.03 million	63% (67 reviews)[49]	63 (22 reviews)[50]	Animation sequences
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas	November 4, 2011	$19 million	$36.2 million	68% (131 reviews)[51]	61 (29 reviews)[52]	Stop-motion/claymation sequence[53]

Unproduced films

When Laika Entertainment opened, they announced their first projects, the stop-motion film Coraline, and the CGI animated film Jack & Ben's Animated Adventure.^[6] The film was cancelled in 2008, which resulted in the closure of Laika's CGI film division.^[9]

In 2010, it was announced that Jan Pinkava would be directing an original film based on Pinkava's own idea for Laika titled, Little White Lie, with Chris McCoy as co-writer.^[54] Pinkava left Laika in 2011, effectively cancelling the film. ^[55]

In 2012, it was announced that Laika was set to adapt Philip Reeve's book Goblins, with Mark Gustafson set to direct. No updates were given, and Gustafson passed away in 2024.^[56]

In Development

Title	Notes
The Night Gardener[57]	Animated
Piranesi[31]	Animated
Seventeen	Live-action
Crumble	Live-action
Untitled Jon Spaihts film[58]	Live-action

Additionally, Víctor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, best known for directing episodes together on the adult animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots, Pete Candeland, best known for directing many music videos for Gorillaz, and brothers Chris and Justin Copeland, directors for Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and several DC Animated Universe films respectively, are working on animated films for the studio. ^[59][60]

See also

• List of companies based in Oregon
• Arthouse animation
• American independent cinema

References

1. Kapko, Matt (October 6, 2009). "Breaking News: Henry Selick Leaves Laika". Animation World Network. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
2. Milligan, Mercedes (March 11, 2015). "Laika to Expand Studio by 70 Percent".
3. Hayden, Erik (August 14, 2020). "Animation Studio Laika Lays Off Staffers Amid Pandemic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
4. Amidi, Amid (July 28, 2014). "House Special Launches in Portland". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
5. Milligan, Mercedes (July 28, 2015). "Kelly Salmon Named HouseSpecial Northeast Rep". Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
6. Williams, Christina (July 2006). "Laika ramps up Oregon animation industry". OregonBusiness.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
7. Rogoway, Mike (September 18, 2009). "Laika lays off 63, scrubs plans for computer-animated features". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
8. McLean, Tom (December 29, 2015). "LAIKA Reflects on 10 Innovative Years". Animation Magazine.
9. Rogoway, Mike (December 17, 2008). "Laika lays off 65, shelves CG film". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
10. Sarto, Dan (January 10, 2013). "'ParaNorman', 'Wreck-It Ralph' and 'Frankenweenie' lead Oscar Nominations". Animation World Network. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
11. Siemers, Erik (May 20, 2014). "Laika spins off ad business to focus on feature films". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
12. "The Boxtrolls". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
13. Amidi, Amid (February 7, 2013). "Laika's Next Feature Will Be "Boxtrolls"". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
14. L. Dickey, Josh (April 18, 2012). "Laika puts Brit book 'Goblins' in pipeline". Variety.
15. Giegerich, Andy (March 11, 2015). "Laika plans major Hillsboro expansion". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
16. Kit, Borys (April 25, 2018). "Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis Starring in Animated Film From Laika". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
17. Romano, Nick (January 13, 2020). "Your everything-but-Disney guide to the Oscars' Best Animated Film nominees". Entertainment Weekly.
18. "47th Annie Awards" (Press release). Annie Awards. December 4, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
19. Feinberg, Scott (January 6, 2020). "Golden Globes: What to Make of '1917' and 'Rocketman' Wins, 'Irishman' and JLo's Losses". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
20. "Missing Link". www.goldenglobes.com.
21. "Shout! Factory and LAIKA Ink US Distribution Deal". Animation World Network. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
22. Grobar, Matt (March 31, 2021). "Laika Leaps Into Live-Action: Oscar-Nominated Animation Studio To Adapt John Brownlow's Debut Action Thriller Novel 'Seventeen'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
23. Debruge, Peter (September 7, 2011). "Laika to adapt The Decemberists singer's 'Wildwood'". Variety.
24. "LAIKA Studios comes to Wizard World Portland!". Screen Invasion. January 31, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
25. @johnbrownlow (March 31, 2021). "Tweet" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
26. @LAIKAStudios (September 15, 2021). "Magic. Wonder. Danger. Welcome to #Wildwood! The newest addition to the LAIKA family is now in production.…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
27. Milligan, Mercedes (April 27, 2022). "Bill Dubuque Original 'The Night Gardener' Takes Root at LAIKA". Retrieved October 17, 2022.
28. Romano, Nick (October 21, 2022). "Henry Selick wants to revisit scrapped Ocean at the End of the Lane stop-motion movie". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
29. "Laika Appoints Netflix Veteran Matt Levin to New Role of President, Live-Action Film & Series". February 7, 2023.
30. "Stop-motion animation season supported by Laika coming to BFI Southbank". BFI. May 15, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
31. Grobar, Matt (June 20, 2024). "Travis Knight To Direct Animated Adaptation Of Susanna Clarke's Bestseller 'Piranesi' For Laika". Deadline. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
32. "Laika Teams With Phil Lord and Chris Miller for Live-Action Original Feature Crumble, With Brian Duffield Writing and Directing". July 9, 2024.
33. "Laika Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
34. "Laika's Profile". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
35. "Coraline (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
36. "Coraline". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
37. "ParaNorman (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
38. "ParaNorman Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
39. "The Boxtrolls". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
40. "The Boxtrolls Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
41. "Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
42. "Kubo and the Two Strings Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
43. "Missing Link (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
44. "Missing Link Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
45. Butcher, Sophie (June 7, 2023). "Laika Is Staging An Epic Stop-Motion Battle Sequence For Upcoming Movie Wildwood: 'It's The Single Most Difficult Thing We're Tackling', Says Travis Knight – Exclusive Image". Empire.
46. Vinton Studios|Encyclopedia.com
47. "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
48. "Corpse Bride Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
49. "King of California". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
50. "King of California (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
51. "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
52. "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
53. Williams, Alex (November 7, 2011). "Q&A: 'Harold and Kumar' director shares challenges of 3D debut". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011. We hired this company LAIKA who did "Coraline" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" out of Portland and they did it, which is also crazy.
54. Fernadez, Jay; Press, Associated (February 21, 2010). "Two writers ready to tell 'Little White Lie'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
55. "Pinkava's Linkleding". Retrieved September 9, 2024.
56. Dickey, Josh L. (April 18, 2012). "Laika puts Brit book 'Goblins' in pipeline". Variety. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
57. Oddo, Marco Vito (April 27, 2022). "Laika Teams With 'Ozark' Creator Bill Dubuque for 'The Night Gardener'". Collider.
58. ‘Dune’ Scribe Jon Spaihts To Make Directorial Debut With Sci-Fi Thriller For Laika’s Live-Action Division
59. Grobar, Matt (October 25, 2023). "Laika Developing New Animated Features With Victor Maldonado, Alfredo Torres & Pete Candeland". Deadline. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
60. Grobar, Matt (October 21, 2024). "The Copeland Brothers Tapped To Develop Animated Features For Laika". Deadline.

External links

• Official website