Skydance Animation Hires Away Disney TV’s Shane Prigmore For Top Animation Development Role

Skydance Animation has named Shane Prigmore to its newly created position of senior vice president of development for animation.

Despite the studio not having yet released any films, it is managing to hire away top-tier management and artists from other studios, largely on the name value of Skydance Animation head John Lasseter and the deep pockets of company founder David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison.

Here are details about Prigmore’s hiring:

• Prigmore is an artist turned executive, and was most recently vp, creative at Walt Disney Television Animation, where his team was responsible for developing Ducktales, Big City Greens, Amphibia, and The Owl House, as well as the upcoming Curse of Molly McGee, Phineas & Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, Monsters at Work, and Marvel’s Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur.

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  At Skydance, the studio led by Lasseter and Holly Edwards, Prigmore will be responsible for overseeing the creative development of all feature films and television series for the studio’s upcoming production slate.

• “We are thrilled to have Shane join our team at this pivotal time as we continue to increase our film and series production,” said Skydance Animation President Holly Edwards. “He is well-respected in the animation industry and we are confident his creative instincts and wealth of experience will be an incredible resource as he partners with the studio’s directors and series creators.”
• Adds Prigmore: “This is an amazing opportunity to work with David, John, and Holly, and I believe deeply in this shared vision for the future of animated storytelling. Skydance Animation’s very real commitment to creative excellence and innovation is only matched by their mission to create the most impactful animated stories possible.”
• A 25-year industry veteran, Prigmore has worked at studios including Laika, Dreamworks Animation, Warner Animation Group, and Cartoon Network. He’s won an Annie Award twice for his character design work on Coraline and The Croods. Other projects he’s contributed to include The Iron Giant, How to Train Your Dragon, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Tangled: The Series, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Proud Family, The Boxtrolls, and The Lego Movie.
• Last week, Skydance set release dates for its first two animated features — Luck and Spellbound — both in 2022. The company is expanding quickly, and currently employs over 350 people across its two studios in Los Angeles and Madrid, Spain.