Animation and visual effects company Animal Logic coming to Vancouver

Sydney-based visual effects company Animal Logic announced it will be opening a studio in Vancouver, after signing a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures.

The three-picture deal will see the production of the Lego Movie Sequel, along with two other animated movies believed to be Lego as well.

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Animal Logic currently has its Sydney headquarters in Australia, along with an office in Los Angeles. The studio will be housed in a 45,000 sq. ft. space in Yaletown.

In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, CEO and co-founder of Animal Logic Zareh Nalbandian described why he chose to open a Vancouver studio.

“The first reason for going to Vancouver is fundamentally that there is a very rich talent pool,” he said. “There’s a lot of product going out at the moment which makes it very attractive to go into the business but makes it very competitive too.”

Nalbandian also went on to explain that the time zone, being the same as LA, complemented his first reason.

Since 2010, tax credits for digital animation and visual effects productions have been at 17.5 per cent in British Columbia, making it a desirable location for many studios.

Animal Logic Vancouver will focus just on animation, over visual effects, in a push for the company to start making its own animated feature films.

The company has already worked alongside Warner Bros for animated films before, on the productions of Happy Feet, Legend of the Guardians and the Lego Movie.

Animal Logic’s prolific visual effects team has also done work on movies such as Insurgent, Avengers: Age of Ultron, 300 and the Great Gatsby.

The company is currently working on Lego Batman and Ninjago, two Lego-based movies set to launch in 2017.

Their Vancouver office is set to open in September, and will create 300 new jobs — most of them being local — with the production of the Lego Movie Sequel.