Disney Animation Australia (DAA), also Disneytoon Studios Australia, was a Disney animation studio located in Sydney, Australia.
History
Disney Animation Australia was founded in 1988 at the former Hanna-Barbera overseas studio in St. Leonards, Sydney. Initially, Animation Australia worked on various television shows including The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, Aladdin, Timon & Pumbaa, and 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.
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.
Disney Animation Australia was closed in mid-2006 after finishing Brother Bear 2 and Cinderella III.
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)
- The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)
- 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
- Return to Never Land
- The Jungle Book II
- Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers
- Tarzan II
- Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch
- Bambi II
- Brother Bear II
- Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
