Laika 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.
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The company’s milestones:
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.
1998 – Knight made his initial investment.
2002 – Phil Knight acquired the financially struggling Will Vinton Studios to pursue feature-length productions.
2003 – Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, joined the studio as a supervising director.
July 2005 – Will Vinton Studios was rebranded as Laika – named after Laika, the dog sent to space by the Soviet Union in 1957.
2009 – 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.
2012 – Laika’s second stop-motion feature film, ParaNorman, directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler. 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.
2014 – 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.
Laika’s third film, The Boxtrolls, was released on September 26, 2014. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, 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.
2016 – Laika’s 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.
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.
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.
According to en.wikipedia. com; Source of photos: internet
