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A 'hacked' bowling ball helped Laika's animators create a crucial underwater scene for the film.

The post How Laika Used a Bowling Ball to Animate the Giant Eyes in ‘Kubo and The Two Strings’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Only in Hollywood animation: seven white dudes discuss representation, feminism, and cultural sensitivity.

The post The Internet Is Disgusted By This Roundtable with Feature Animation Directors appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Six artists and executives will be honored at the 5th Annual World Animation & VFX Summit.

The post This Week in LA: Travis Knight and Butch Hartman Among Honorees At World Animation & VFX Summit appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Laika has some very different projects planned for the future.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Laika Chief Travis Knight Reveals Future Plans For Studio appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

We go behind-the-scenes to learn how Laika animated one of the biggest stop motion puppets ever constructed.

The post Laika Was Crazy Enough To Animate A 16-Foot Tall Skeleton for ‘Kubo and The Two Strings’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Will Laika score big with "Kubo and the Two Strings"?

The post New ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Trailer Dazzles Again appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

A new trailer is out for Laika's next film.

The post New ‘Kubo and The Two Strings’ Trailer appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Laika's fourth film, "Kubo and the Two Strings," is an honest-to-goodness action-adventure film set in a mythic Japan.

The post Teaser: Laika’s ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Is A Stop Motion Action-Adventure Film appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Laika's next film, "Kubo and the Two Strings," will mark the directorial debut of animator Travis Knight.

Five animated features have been nominated for a Golden Globe in the best animated feature category.

A 40-minute video roundtable with six feature film directors and producers contending for an Oscar this year.

What's the coolest thing about having your animation studio run by one of the world's richest men? You get to make as many animated movies as you damn please.

A new commercial studio, House Special, launched in Portland, Oregon last week. The company was started by Lourri Hammack, Kirk Kelly and Al Cubillas, who ran Laika's former commercial division Laika/house.

At a presentation for LAIKA's third stop motion feature "The Boxtrolls," LAIKA's CEO Travis Knight told San Diego Comic-Con audiences that he hopes to make a hand-drawn animated film at some point in the future.

The Venice Film Festival, which is the world's oldest film festival, announced the line-up today for their 71st edition. The festival is known for not giving much consideration to animated cinema, but they always throw in a few animated films.

Laika does amazing work as an animation studio, no doubt about it, but the studio's history is somewhat less admirable. The company was built on top of Will Vinton's eponymous Portland studio in a shrewd corporate takeover by billionaire Nike co-founder Phil Knight. After Knight took control of the company in 2002, he placed his son Travis Knight, a failed rapper named Chilly Tee with little experience in animation, in charge of the entire company.

In this LA Times story about the resurgence of stop motion animated features, Travis Knight, the producer of Laika’s ParaNorman and one of its lead animators, had this to say:

“Stop-motion is probably the worst, most painful way to make a film. It’s a completely awful process to engage in, an anachronism.”

The one thing stop motion has working in its favor? It’s not computer animation. Knight, who is also the president and CEO of Laika, added:

“But the stories have a warmth and a charm. You’re not looking at ones and zeros. You’re looking at the hands of the artists who made it.”

Photo of Travis Knight, with his father, Nike chairman and Laika owner Phil Knight. (Quote via Kirsten Lepore)

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