Disney announces Greenwich-based Blue Skies Studios to close

Disney announced Wednesday it is pulling the plug on Blue Skies Studios, the Greenwich-based studio behind the "Ice Age" movies.
Former Speaker of the State House Jim Amann was an early proponent of the tax credits that first attracted Blue Sky to Greenwich back in 2009.
"We had brought over 150 some-odd movies to Connecticut, there were four or five studios that opened," Amann said.
Acting Greenwich First Selectwoman Lauren Rabin called the move "further evidence of the financial impact of the global COVID pandemic."
Amann says the writing may have been on the wall since Disney acquired Blue Sky back in 2019.
"Certainly, they probably were thinking about closing it sometime, because they were competition, they were doing well," said Amann.
Blue Sky employs more than 450 people in Greenwich.
The local Chamber of Commerce says this is "not just a loss of tax dollars and employees, but the end of over a dozen years of their being part of our local business community."
Amann says digital films have a bright future in Connecticut, as long as the state can keep providing the right incentives.
"Lamont understands the digital industry, the growing part of it and it certainly is part of our framework of building a strong economy in the state," said Amann.
Disney has said it plans to work with Blue Sky employees to find positions at other internal studios.