Skydance Animation announced Tuesday that it has finalized a multi-year partnership with children’s entertainment company Spin Master to develop toys and merchandise based on their properties.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with a company like Spin Master that is as committed to quality and attention to detail as we are,” Luis Fernández, head of consumer products at Skydance, said in a statement. “As we ramp up production on our slate of animated features, we could not imagine a better partner to bring our visually stunning and epic animated worlds to life.”
The first Skydance Animation film included in the deal will be the upcoming Apple TV Plus original film “Spellbound,” which will receive a product line from Spin Master encompassing fashion dolls, mini-dolls and vehicles. Following “Spellbound,” Spin Master will have the rights to develop toy lines for all future films produced by Skydance.
“Spellbound” is a musical fantasy film that follows Eileen, a teen girl that sets out to break a spell that has divided her kingdom between light and dark. Vicky Jenson (“Shrek”) directs the film, which is written by Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin and Linda Woolverton and features an original score by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater. The executive music producer for the project is Chris Montan.
“Spin Master strives to work with the best partners on long term-licenses and we are honored to align with Skydance, to infuse our marquee innovation on the fantastical worlds and enchanting characters they create,” Chris Beardall, Spin Master’s president of toys and chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “We know that children around the world are going to fall in love with the magic of Spellbound and we can’t wait to deliver that magic to the playroom through an innovative and imaginative toy line.”
Skydance Animation was initially launched in 2017 after its parent company Skydance Media formed a multi-year partnership with Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios. In 2019, former Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios CCO John Lasseter was hired as head of animation for the studio. The decision proved controversial at the time, owing to workplace misconduct allegations that Lasseter faced during his time at Disney.
Last year, Skydance announced a multi-film partnership with Apple that would give the company’s exclusive streaming rights to their films. These include “Skybound,” the upcoming film “Luck” and the animated series “The Search for WondLa.” “Luck” will premiere Aug. 5 and will be the debut feature film for the company.
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