Robert Animation Studios

Disclaimer: Some of the production content might be subject to change

Robert Animation Studios is an American animation studio in New Haven, Connecticut. The studios is well known for it’s mix of traditional and computer animated films.

Early Years(1995-2000)
In 1994, Robert approached Walt Disney Feature Animation to put his dream project to life, but Disney refused due to their other planned projects. He was then approached by then Disney Animation employees, Michael Wolf and Isa Winslow, in 1995 who were intrigued about his idea. While they wanted to help Robert make the project, Robert was hesitant since it would take a lot of work since they were a smaller group. But they decided to form an animation studio open to anyone who wanted to bring their idea to the drawing board. The studio would become “Robert Animation Studios” and they would begin production of a short film, High School Daze. The short would center around a 16 year old girl who just entered a new school after she moved to the city. The short would star Melissa Joan Hart, David Lascher, Cheryl Chase, and Rodger Bumpass. The short would be shown off at Film Fest New Haven in 1997 and would later be shown theatrically in 1999 with the release of Arlene. The short was well-received by critics for it’s simplicity and the short would be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film of 1997, but lost to Pixar’s Geri’s Game.

After finishing High School Daze, Robert was ready to begin production on his passion project. The studios first feature film, Arlene. The film would feature Winona Ryder as the title character, as well as Daniel Day-Lewis, Jennifer Lopez, Lindsey Lohan, & John De Lancie. In 1998, Robert Nadal announced that Paramount Pictures would distribute the film and would be released in theaters worldwide on July 7, 1999. The film was praised by critics and audiences for its story, characters, relationships, and comedy and would gross around $364 million worldwide being the highest grossing non-Disney traditional animated feature of 1999 and the highest grossing non-Disney traditional animated film overall until Spirited Away surpassed it.

During production of Arlene in 1998, Paramount Pictures has confirmed that they would be distribute Robert Animation Studios’ future projects after the release of Arlene. Starting with the studios second feature film, The Curse of the Dark Sheet, set to be release on May 24, 2000. The film would star Jeremy Renner, Melissa Joan Hart, Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, Robin Williams, & John Cusack. The film was well-received by critics and audiences for its characters and humor, but criticized its story. The film would gross out $182 million dollars worldwide, being the 2nd highest grossing non-disney animated feature of 2000 behind DreamWorks Animation’s Chicken Run.

The Rise of Computer-Animation(2001-2005)
As computer animation began to rise in popularity with the success of Pixar’s Toy Story duology & A Bug’s Life, Robert announced that the studio would open its door for computer animation in 1999. Following the announcement, the studio would confirm their third feature film, Banjo Kazooie, based on the N64 game by RareWare from 1998. The film would star Mark Hamill and Nika Futterman as the title roles

MORE COMING SOON