Best Movies from Blue Sky Animation Studios

Hey, People of Earth! Today I did a list of the best animated movies from Blue Sky Animation. On February 9th, 2021, it was announced that Blue Sky will shut down in a couple months due to the fact that Disney didn't have money to support. This is truly a tragic end to a respect animated studio and this list is a culmination of their respected filmography.

9. Epic

While "Epic" had the same narrative from FernGully: The Last Rainforest, that doesn't mean that this film isn't a great watch. Epic follows Mary-Katherine, who has an estranged relationship with her father and grows impatient with her dad's tales of little people in the forest. However, when she's transported to a mythic realm, she joins a race of beings known as the Leafmen to fight the enemies known as Mandrake and his boggans, gaining a new perspective. Directed by Chris Wedge, who helmed Ice Age, Epic benefits from great animation and awesome voice cast consisting of Amanda Seyfried, Jason Sudeikis, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O' Dowd, Pitbull, Steven Tyler and Beyoncé.

8. Ferdinand

Bull fighting is common in Spain, but Ferdinand stands out due to his love for flowers. Ferdinand(voiced by John Cena) is a young bull who escapes from a training camp in rural Spain after his father doesn't return from a showdown with a matador. Adopted by a girl who lives on a farm, Ferdinand's peaceful existence comes crashing down when the authorities return him to the training camp where he escaped from. With help from a goat and three hedgehogs, the gentle bull must find a way to break free before he faces off against El Primero, the famous bullfighter who has never lost a bull fight in his life. It had a pretty solid animation, a touching story benefiting from a solid supporting cast consisting of Bobby Canavale, Kate McKinnon, Gina Rodriguez, David Diggs, Gabriel Iglesias, David Tennet, Anthony Anderson, Jerrod Carmichael and Miguel Ángel Silvestre. 

7. Rio 2

Blu and Jewel have settled down and are now a family with 3 kids. When news breaks that many of the Blue macaws have survived, Blu and his family go look for them at the Amazon rainforest. It's there that Jewel reunites with her long-last father and Nigel comes back with a vengeance, sort-of. While it's not exactly a good sequel, it was great to see Blu and the gang back again.

6. Ice Age: The Meltdown

Ice Age didn't necessarily need a sequel, but The Meltdown was good entertainment. It introduced new characters in the form of Ellie and Crash & Eddie. While Chris Wedge didn't return to direct, Carlos Saldanha was more than up to the challenge to continue Manny, Sid and Diego's adventure in addition to having more Scrat mischief. 

5. Rio

Fresh off his Oscar-nominated performance in The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg made his next career choice of voicing a blue macaw named, well, Blu who never learned how to fly. When he's captured by smugglers, however, he's taken in by Linda and they both live a very domesticated life. Thought to be the last of his kind, word gets out that another blue macaw, a female one lives in Rio de Janeiro and they both go meet her. Smugglers kidnap both Blu and Jewel but the pair escape and they begin a perilous journey to freedom. While the film is kid-friendly, it's got solid-animation, a good soundtrack and solid voice cast consisting of Anne Hathway, Linda Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, George Lopez, Jermaine Clement and Will.I.Am & Jamie Foxx. 

4. Spies in Disguise

The last movie from Blue Sky and the first film released during the Disney-Fox acquisition, Spies in Disguise ended Blue Sky's tenure with a bang. Will Smith voices secret agent Lance Sterling while Tom Holland voices scientist Walter Beckett who are opposites. But what Walter lacks in social skills he makes up for in smarts and invention, creating the awesome gadgets Lance uses on his missions. But when Lance turns into a pigeon due to a failed experiment, he and Walter have to rely on each other in a whole new way and work as a team to save the world. The animation is great, the story is awesome and it will go down as one of the most underrated films ever.

3. Robots

Not only is Robots one of the most under appreciated films in Blue Sky's library but one of the most underrated animated films ever made. We all watched Robots when we young, it was just great! It follows Rodney Copperbottom, a striving young inventor who goes to Robot City who seeks the help of his idol Bigweld, whose company makes spare parts. But Bigweld has just stepped down as CEO by Phineas Ratchet, who wants to make all robots submit to profitable forced upgrades. Upgrades, people! UPGRADES! Rodney gets the help from Fender and the rest of the Robot City citizens and Bigweld to stop Ratchet's plans. Robots is enjoyed by both children and adults, it also has solid animation, a great voice cast consisting of Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Mel Brooks, Greg Kinnear, Amanda Bynes, Jennifer Coolidge, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Paul Giamatti and Stanley Tucci. Remember folks, you can shine no matter what you're made of. Or in this case, you can shine no matter where you're from.

2. The Peanuts Movie

I was a little considered that a Charlie Brown movie was coming, since that Blue Sky's films consist of 3D animation, but then I saw the trailers and it had the traditional 2D animation and I knew that this was going to be something special. The voice cast consisted of mostly kids including Noah Schnapp as Charlie Brown who would later play the iconic role of Will Byers in Stranger Things and Bill Melendez reprised both Snoopy and Woodstock. The 2D animation was fantastic, it had a great story with most of the iconic characters being more fleshed out including Lucy and the soundtrack was amazing. It even had the most satisfying ending from any animated movie. The Peanuts Movie is truly special.

1. Ice Age

The one that started it all. The film begins with a saber-toothed squirrel looking to find a spot to put his acorn in for the winter, when he does, he causes a large crack in a glacier and sets off a large avalanche, nearly crushing him and barely escapes. From that point on, Scrat became a mascot for Blue Sky animation. Loosely inspired by 3 Godfathers, The story then continues with a mammoth and a sloth encountering a baby in the river and with the help of a saber-tooth tiger they all return the kid back to his family and along the way learn more about each other. The film has great animation, brilliant comedy and strong character development. It's such a shame that most of the sequels have nearly ruined its legacy. 

And that's my list, guys. Be sure to comment below what your favorite movie from Blue Sky is.