Paramount’s losing partners at a fairly rapid rate. After the release of Captain America: The First Avenger for instance, they’ll lose distribution of those lucrative Marvel Studios pictures as they switch over to their parent company Disney. And now, it looks like they’re on the verge of losing DreamWorks Animation too.
Word is that DreamWorks is leaving to look for a better deal. That would leave Paramount Pictures without any animated movies, so they’re solving the problem with a sort of do it yourself attitude that’s worthy of admiration. They’re starting their own animation division.
In a press release issued today, Paramount Animation announced that it will begin producing one animated movie a year, every year, starting in the year 2014. Right now the only known franchise they have that might be released under that banner is Rango, which is wholly owned by the studio. If there’s a Rango 2 it’ll be a Paramount Animation film. If there isn’t, they’ll be starting from scratch with their own ideas. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, the last thing the computer animated world needs is yet another franchise. Original ideas are wanted.
They’re shooting for mid-range budget animation, with spending up to $100 million per picture. To put that in perspective, Rango cost around $135 million to make. Cars 2 cost Pixar $200 million. For an animated movie, $100 million means making a movie on the upside of cheap. It’s been done successfully before, of course. Critically acclaimed box office winner Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs only cost Sony Pictures Animation around $100 million. That budget range is big enough to let them put out the kind of quality product which could conceivably challenge the likes of DreamWorks and Pixar.
Since you’re kicking off a new company here, Paramount Animation, you’re going to need a new logo. Pixar has Luxo Jr., inspired by one of their earliest animation efforts. That means your logo should be this:
Make that happen. We’ll love you for it.
