Animated Films
Ireland has been home to several noteworthy producers of animated films in recent years. Sullivan Bluth Studios was opened in 1979 as Don Bluth Productions, with its primary location in Dublin, to produce animated films by director Don Bluth and producer Morris Sullivan. Some films produced at Sullivan Bluth's Irish studio include 1988's The Land Before Time, 1989's All Dogs Go to Heaven (co-produced with UK-based Goldcrest Films) and 1991's Rock-a-Doodle. Many of these films competed favourably with productions by Walt Disney Pictures at the time. However, following a number of box-office flops in the mid-90s, including 1994's Thumbelina and A Troll in Central Park and 1995's The Pebble and the Penguin, the studio soon declared bankruptcy and was closed in 1995.
Today, Ireland has a number of animation studios that produce television and commercial animation, as well as feature films and co-productions. Cartoon Saloon, founded in 1999 by Paul Young and Tomm Moore, is among the most prolific. It has produced the award-winning TV series Skunk Fu! as well as a feature film, 2009's The Secret of Kells, animated primarily with Adobe Flash and detailing a fictitious account of the creation of the Book of Kells. The film was nominated at the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. Cartoon Saloon has more feature films in production, including Song of the Sea, to be released in 2013.
Read more about this topic: Cinema Of Ireland
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