Laika is a stop-motion animation studio. At LAIKA, we are committed to telling original, enduring stories and bringing these tales to the widest possible audience while being a leader in filmmaking.
We innovate, and we combine the latest emerging technologies with timeless techniques to create state-of-the-art classics.
Laika is a stop-motion animation studio. At LAIKA, we are committed to telling original, enduring stories and bringing these tales to the widest possible audience while being a leader in filmmaking.
We innovate, and we combine the latest emerging technologies with timeless techniques to create state-of-the-art classics.
Founded in Oregon in 2005 by President & CEO Travis Knight, LAIKA creates films that are born in imagination, shaped into stories, and crafted by passionate artists who give life to unforgettable characters.
In the late 1990s, Will Vinton Studios, known for its stop-motion films and commercials, sought funds for more feature-length films and brought in outside investors, which included Nike owner Phil Knight, whose son Travis Knight worked at the studio as an animator. In 1998, Knight made his initial investment. In 2002, Phil Knight acquired the financially struggling Will Vinton Studios to pursue feature-length productions. The following year, Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, joined the studio as a supervising director. In July 2005, Will Vinton Studios was rebranded as Laika – named after Laika, the dog sent to space by the Soviet Union in 1957.
At LAIKA, we lean into the hard stuff. Filmmaking is an inherently collaborative process that is time-consuming, meticulous, and challenging—the very traits that make our work so unique and impactful. We strive to reimagine animation by showcasing unique voices and hewing to classic stop-motion techniques while embellishing them with state-of-the-art technology. We work hard to raise the bar and redefine where this art form can take us.
When Laika was founded in the early 2000s, stop motion animation had lost its popular appeal. As a matter of survival in this context, Laika animation studio had to carry a meaningful mission with this medium. Specifically, the studio aimed to open a new era, to invigorate stop motion animation. To do this, we've has integrated new technologies and innovations into the 120-year-old technique of making stop-motion animation movies. This idea has allowed the animators to explore new territories and create ‘movies that matter.’