Disney Animation Australia (DAA), also Disneytoon Studios Australia, was a Disney animation studio located in Sydney, Australia.
History[]
In 1988, Taft-Hardie, an Australian joint-venture of Hanna-Barbera Productions who owned an animation studio in St. Leonards, Sydney, was purchased in a management buyout and re-incorporated as Southern Star Productions. Southern Star had very little interest to continue production of animated programming, so they decided sold the studio to The Walt Disney Company in the same year.
With the former Hanna-Barbera studio in their hands, Disney opened up Walt Disney Animation Australia that year. Initially, Animation Australia worked on various television shows, including The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, Bonkers, Aladdin, Timon & Pumbaa, Jungle Cubs, and Quack Pack (originally as Duck Daze). As staffing increased, the studio moved to Castlereagh Street.
Disney began producing direct-to-video sequels of its Feature Animation productions, the first of which was the Aladdin sequel The Return of Jafar. When Aladdin was selected as a possible candidate as an animated TV series (before the film's release), as with many animated series, the first three episodes were one multi-part story which Disney used as a potential 'family movie special' for the Friday night before the series' premiere. With work handed out to the Australia animation studio, the opening story was instead greenlit for a direct-to-video release. Thus with "Jafar" and its success, the direct-to-video unit started. A second sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, provided work to both the Australia and Japanese animation units. The studio also provided animation for the theatrical film A Goofy Movie, in conjunction with Walt Disney Animation France.
Walt Disney Australia's expertise was attention to facial expressions and emotion opposed to action scenes. As a result, often on direct-to-video Disney films, Walt Disney Australia would be used for the comedic scenes and Walt Disney Japan would be used for the action sequences.
Australia was assigned additional film sequels: The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, An Extremely Goofy Movie, and Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure. The company's first feature film was Return to Never Land in 2002 grossing over $100 million worldwide at the box office. In 2005, the studio produced three animated movies: Tarzan II, Lilo & Stitch II and Bambi II.
Walt Disney Animation Australia (then commonly-referred to as Disneytoon Studios Australia) was closed in mid-2006 after finishing Brother Bear 2 and Cinderella III. It was the last of the overseas Disney animation studios to close, as the French, Canadian and Japanese studios had already closed by then.
Filmography[]
Films[]
- The Return of Jafar (1994)
- A Goofy Movie (1995)
- Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)
- Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)
- Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)
- The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)
- Hercules: Zero to Hero (1999)
- Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving (1999)
- An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)
- The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
- Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2001)
- Return to Never Land (2002)
- Tarzan & Jane (2002)
- Mickey's House of Villains (2002)
- The Jungle Book 2 (2003)
- The Lion King 1½ (2004)
- Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004)
- Tarzan II (2005)
- Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005)
- Bambi II (2006)
- Brother Bear 2 (2006)
- The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006)
- Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007)
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008)
Television[]
- Adventures of the Gummi Bears (eight episodes in the sixth and final season)
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Darkwing Duck
- Goof Troop
- Bonkers
- Aladdin
- Gargoyles (one episode; "Seeing Isn't Believing")
- Timon & Pumbaa
- Jungle Cubs
- Quack Pack
- 101 Dalmatians: The Series
- Hercules: The Animated Series (one episode; "Hercules and the Dream Date")
- Mickey Mouse Works
- House of Mouse
Television specials[]
Shorts[]
