The emptiest summer season in recent memory has come and gone. While the animation world clings to the commonplace that it is uniquely adaptable to remote working, the ravages of the pandemic continue to be felt in parts of the industry — the news of layoffs at Laika, which produces stop-motion features, is one example.
Corona chaos is but one reason behind the sea changes sweeping the major studios. Warnermedia, under new management, is undergoing a drastic restructuring, while ViacomCBS is turbo-charging its adult animation slate ahead of the relaunch of its streaming platform CBS All Access. Meanwhile, Disney has become the latest company to break ground in queer representation…
Major studios were rocked by the coronavirus and internal reshuffles. Disney, which is highly exposed to the pandemic, posted its first quarterly loss since 2001. Walt Disney Animation Studios announced a big shake-up on the crew of its feature Raya and the Last Dragon, without giving reasons why. Major restructuring continued at Warnermedia, where Sam Register was put in charge of both Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, while a report claimed that parent company AT&T had offered to sell its anime subsidiary Crunchyroll to Sony. Stop-motion studio Laika laid off 15% of its workforce, citing the pandemic.