Locksmith Animation

Locksmith Animation was founded in 2014 by media executive businesswoman Elisabeth Murdoch and two Aardman Animations collaborators Sarah Smith and Julie Lockhart. Locksmith was named after Lockhart and Smith's surnames.^[6] In April 2014, visual effects studio Double Negative (now known as DNEG) formed a deal with Locksmith to provide the computer animation for Locksmith's films, following this DNEG started their own animation studio, DNEG Feature Animation (now known as DNEG Animation).^[7]

In May 2016, Locksmith formed a production deal with Paramount Pictures, with Paramount acting as the distributor for Locksmith's films to be produced under the Paramount Animation label.^[6] The following year, however, Paramount abandoned its deal with Locksmith when Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey was replaced by Jim Gianopulos.^[8]

In September 2017, Locksmith formed a multi-year production deal with 20th Century Fox, which would distribute Locksmith's films; 20th Century Fox Animation was brought in to oversee the deal, as Locksmith was aiming to release a film every 12–18 months. The deal was to bolster Blue Sky's output and replace the loss of distributing DreamWorks Animation films, which are now owned and distributed by Universal Pictures, following its takeover by NBCUniversal in 2016.^[8][9] The first film to be produced by Locksmith Animation was Ron's Gone Wrong which was released on 22 October 2021 by 20th Century Studios.^[8][10] In February 2018, it was announced that Locksmith was developing Wed Wabbit, a live-action/animated hybrid film based on Lissa Evans' children's book, originally served as the first live-action/animated hybrid film from Locksmith.^[11] In October 2019, after Disney took over 20th Century Animation, Locksmith formed a new multi-year production deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, which will distribute three Locksmith films under the Warner Animation Group label after the release of Ron's Gone Wrong, which was now the only theatrical Locksmith film to be distributed by 20th Century Studios.^[2]

Sister was announced as Locksmith Animation's parent company following the release of Ron's Gone Wrong in October 2021.

In June 2021, it was announced that Natalie Fischer, the former COO of Illumination Entertainment, DreamWorks Animation and Pixar would step in as CEO. Locksmith co-founder Sarah Smith exited the company to pursue her own creative endeavours. It was also announced that Locksmith is currently in production on That Christmas,^[12] a holiday film based on the children's Christmas book trilogy That Christmas and Other Stories by Richard Curtis and Rebecca Cobb, and they are working on an original musical-comedy film.^[13] That Christmas was unveiled in June 2022 as part of Netflix's slate of animated films.^[14]

In January 2022, Locksmith had optioned to adapt Marissa Meyer's book series The Lunar Chronicles.^[15]

In June 2023, as part of the rebranding of Warner Animation Group (now called Warner Bros. Pictures Animation), it was announced that the studio had signed a first-look deal with Locksmith to develop and produce the two animated feature films Bad Fairies and The Lunar Chronicles for Warner Bros. Pictures.^[16]