View source for Skellington Productions

{{Short description|Defunct film production company}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Skellington Productions
| logo = Skellington Productions.png
| logo_size = 150px
| former_name = {{unbulleted list|Selick/Burton Projects|(1985–1988)|Selick Projects|(1988–1992)}}
| type = [[Joint venture]]
| industry = Entertainment
| fate = Merged with [[Tim Burton Productions]] and absorbed into [[Walt Disney Pictures]]
| successor = {{Plainlist| 
* [[Tim Burton Productions]]
* Walt Disney Pictures
}}
| foundation = {{start date and age|1985}}
| founders = [[Henry Selick]]<br>[[Tim Burton]]
| defunct = {{start date and age|1998}}
| location_city = [[Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)|500 S. Buena Vista Street]], [[Burbank, California]]
| key_people = 
| production = [[Stop motion]]
| num_employees = 
| parent = [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Feature Animation]]
| location_country = United States
}}
'''Skellington Productions''' was an American [[animation studio]] and [[production company]] that was a joint venture between [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Feature Animation]] and directors [[Henry Selick]] and [[Tim Burton]]. The company specialized in [[stop motion animation]] and made use of the art in its two films.<ref>Noell K. Wolfgram Evans  Animators of Film and Television: Nineteen Artists, Writers, ... 2011  0786486031 - Page 129  "To meet this challenge Selick established a separate production unit at Disney. Skellington Productions was filled with hand-chosen artists and technicians who collaborated together perfectly to advance this form of animation."</ref> The studio's last work was season one of ''[[KaBlam!]]'', after which it was closed by Disney.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

==History==
After Tim Burton directed his directorial debut, ''[[Pee-wee's Big Adventure]]'', he and Henry Selick formed the company in 1985 as '''Selick/Burton Projects''', where Burton could direct episodes of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' and [[Shelley Duvall]]'s ''[[Faerie Tale Theatre]]'', while Henry Selick could focus on doing animation. In 1988, Tim Burton left to work on ''[[Beetlejuice]]'', and Selick renamed the studio to '''Selick Projects'''. During this period, Selick Projects produced commercials for [[MTV]], [[Ritz Crackers|Ritz]], and [[Pillsbury Company|Pillsbury]].

In September 1992, Tim Burton returned to Selick's studio, renamed it '''Skellington Productions''', and sold it to [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]. The first film produced by Skellington Productions (which gave the company its namesake), ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', was released theatrically in [[List of American films of 1993|1993]] under Disney's [[Touchstone Pictures]] banner to a positive reception and a successful box office, becoming a [[sleeper hit]]. Since 2006, ''Nightmare'' has been released by [[Walt Disney Pictures]] and in [[Disney Digital 3-D]] format.

Three months later, Disney released Skellington's second feature, ''[[Cabin Boy]]'', starring [[Chris Elliott]] and directed by screenwriter, [[Adam Resnick]]. Tim Burton was a fan of the show ''[[Get a Life (American TV series)|Get a Life]]'' and commissioned Elliott and Resnick to write him a screenplay. When Burton received the script, he liked it very much and was going to direct it. At last minute, Burton got an offer to direct ''[[Ed Wood (film)|Ed Wood]]'' instead, so Burton jumped ship from ''Cabin Boy'' and handed the directing duties to Resnick, who had never directed anything in his life. When the film was released on January 7, 1994, the reception was overwhelmingly negative and was a huge flop at the box office. This film affected both Chris Elliott and Adam Resnick's careers for a long while.

Skellington's third and final film, ''[[James and the Giant Peach (film)|James and the Giant Peach]]'', based on the classic children's novel by [[Roald Dahl]], was released to theaters in [[1996 in film|1996]].<ref>Ken A. Priebe ''The Art of Stop-Motion Animation'' - 2006  Page 182
 1598632450 "I think Skellington Productions was the only studio that I've been a part of that lasted for more than one project, and that was Nightmare and James. There was about a year between those two projects when a few animators were shooting their ..."</ref> Disney closed Skellington after the film became a box office flop despite positive reviews.

Aside from film, Skellington Productions also produced the ''Life with Loopy'' segments of [[Nickelodeon]]'s TV series ''[[KaBlam!]]'' for its first season. Production on ''Life with Loopy'' moved to Custer Avenue Stages after Disney closed Skellington.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!  scope="col"| Year
!  scope="col"| Title
!  scope="col"| Co-production with
!  scope="col"| Distributor
!  scope="col"| Notes
|-
| 1993
| align="left" | ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]''
| rowspan="2" | [[Touchstone Pictures]]
| rowspan="3" | [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]]
|
|-
| 1994
| align="left" | ''[[Cabin Boy]]''
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| align="left" | ''[[James and the Giant Peach (film)|James and the Giant Peach]]''
| [[Walt Disney Pictures]]<br>[[Allied Filmmakers]]
| The last film to be made from the studio
|-
| align="left" | ''[[KaBlam!]]''
| [[Nickelodeon Animation Studios]]
| [[ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks|MTV Networks]]
| ''Life with Loopy'' (season 1 only)
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Disney theatrical animated feature films|List of Disney theatrical animated features]]
* [[List of animation studios owned by The Walt Disney Company]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/company/co0137804/ Skellington Productions] on [[Internet Movie Database]]
{{Animation industry in the United States}}
{{Walt Disney Studios}}
{{Tim Burton}}

[[Category:Film studios in Southern California]]
[[Category:American animation studios]]
[[Category:Disney production studios]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1985]]
[[Category:Companies disestablished in 1998]]
[[Category:Tim Burton]]


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