Netflix to buy animation studio Animal Logic

Netflix plans to acquire animation studio Animal Logic, known for making hits like Happy Feet and The Lego Movie, the streaming company announced Tuesday, along with its second-quarter 2022 earnings.

Netflix wrote in its Q2 2022 shareholder letter, "Today, we announced that we will be acquiring leading animation studio Animal Logic, with ~800 amazing people mostly in Sydney and Vancouver, which will help us accelerate the development of our animation production capabilities and reinforces our commitment to build a world-class animation studio."

The two companies have already partnered on The Magician's Elephant (set for release in 2023) and Ron Howard's first animated film, The Shrinking of Treehorn. According to a press release, the acquisition is expected to close this year.

Netflix has continued to build on its animated programming, including a recently announced series based on the Exploding Kittens card game slated for next year. But in May, he also laid off 70 part-time jobs at his animation studio and dropped some animated projects, Variety reported. Animal Logic has worked on all the Lego Movie feature films, including The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie.