A short emergency bonus episode with Emily, Andy, and Jo, recorded in real time as news breaks during Netflix report week. The Skydance Animation partnership with Netflix is coming to an end — and Emily has thoughts.

She walks through the arc of the deal, from its origins with Apple through the flip to Netflix, and makes the case that the timing makes sense: the Paramount-Warner merger consolidating means Skydance Animation has a natural new home in that pipeline. There's one more Skydance Netflix movie still to come — a Jack and the Beanstalk project — before the partnership winds down, and a fairy-tale themed musical called Steps lands around Thanksgiving this year. The bigger question Emily leaves hanging is what Netflix now does with its animated movie pipeline, given it's been publicly chasing Disney-level animation ambition for years and just lost a key supplier.

The silver lining she spots: independent animated movies grinding through theatrical release — Chicken Hare gets a namecheck — may suddenly find their streaming window conversations getting a lot more interesting.

You guys, right?

It's Netflix week.

It's Netflix report week for me, okay.

And news is dropping all over the place.

So what's the goss?

Let me get you.

Spill the tea.

So it was announced that the Netflix Skydance animation partnership is going to conclude.

So Netflix have had a partnership with Skydance Animation for a number of years.

Skyd Animation is helmed by former Pixar exec John Lasseter.

There has been a number of different movies that have gone straight to streaming with Netflix over the past few years.

But obviously there's been lots of change with Skydance since that deal was done.

So that was a deal that was from Apple.

It was a deal with Apple at one stage that Netflix kind of went off well.

I don't know if they went after, but it flip flopped over to Netflix which was kind of controversial at the time.

But obviously controversials even cover like all the different changes and meanderings of Skydance since then.

So obviously it didn't flip then flop did.

Just flipped.

Sorry.

Yeah, my mistake, my mistake.

Remind me.

This kicked off with luck, right?

So look was the last movie of the.

That went to Apple.

Yeah, so look was the last movie that went to Apple.

And then since then there's been a number of movies that have gone to Netflix.

The latest being swapped, which is, has done actually really, really well for Netflix.

It hasn't done K Pop Demon Hunters.

That's the only thing you have to caveat with like, it's not like, it's not like an absolute like yeah, nose beat of a breakout like K Pop Demon Hunters.

But it has done very well.

It's done actually well enough to make it into Netflix's all time top 10 movies.

Top 10 movies.

Where does that, where does that put it?

Just in terms of a comparator.

So obviously nowhere near K Pop Demon Hunters.

But it's come in, it's come in higher than Leo, which was Netflix's previous.

That was going to be the one I asked.

Came in higher than the cd.

Solid.

Yeah, no, yeah, like, like it's, it's, it's done very well.

So this is interesting but ultimately it all forms part of this question around cinemas, I would say.

But ultimately also I think, you know, like obviously with everything that's going on with Paramount and Skydance and Warner, right.

Like that's, that's going to be the lane that this is going to, that Skydance animation are going to follow.

Because the thing is that Netflix had moved, have moved a little bit on the cinema thing.

Obviously they've got, they've softened their stance, of course.

Because in no world would you not put that in cinemas.

Right.

Like, that would just be crazy man talk.

So.

And Netflix are have a history of being very disciplined about when they're building a new muscle.

They like to do it with consistency.

And so I think it made sense for, you know, for them to look at other opportunities to theatrically release animated films, animated family movies ahead of K pop demon hunters 2.

So yeah, it's kind of a crazy.

It's kind of a crazy time.

It's kind of.

What do you think it hints at in terms of Sky Dance's future strategy then?

I mean, ultimately the Paramount Warner entity, as it solidifies, needs a pipeline of, you know, new original animated movies and Skydance Animation sits there as the obvious choice for that.

So it doesn't necessarily surprise me that this is happening.

The timing is a bit interesting.

You kind of wonder whether theatrical with Netflix was ever kind of explored.

Obviously Netflix is a very, very strong distribution platform from a streaming point of view for the film, for lifelong films.

And obviously Netflix is a massive streaming partner for Illumination.

Right.

Like constantly has all the Minions movies in there and DreamWorks will have like Shrek and the like in there too.

So it is, it is very strong from a franchise building point of view.

But ultimately, you know, it makes sense that Skydance Animation are looking to align more with.

With Paramount and Warner.

And Paramount even, even before the Warner deal is done, are very skilled and experienced folks at, you know, marketing and distributing this type of movies like that.

So.

So is will Swapped be the last Skydance animated movie that goes to Netflix or is there some left to run?

There's one more.

I've heard there's one more that's due to go next year, which is around Jack and the Beanstalk, which is kind of actually, if you think about it on a theme because Netflix are releasing another movie which is kind of a play on Cinderella at the end of this year.

Steps.

That one looks very.

Steps.

We know a lot more about Steps.

Steps looks very interesting.

It's got Amanda Seyfried as like voice talent.

It's got Diane Radcliffe, I think was announced as the Prince.

So, you know, it's a big one.

It's musical as well.

So that's hitting around kind of like that Thanksgiving time this year.

And then next year the last Skydance movie we've heard will be, I think it's the Beanstalk movie.

So that will be the last one to hit.

And then obviously it's a question then of where we are at that stage in the Paramount Warner merger.

Who knows?

I wouldn't put any money on anything.

You never know what's going to happen with that situation.

Great stuff.

Live breaking news from the kids podcast.

Yeah.

Yes.

Well, it's just, I just think it's so interesting because of all the different things that are happening with Netflix, the Netflix animated pipeline.

And it kind of felt like they were.

There was momentum suddenly with K Pop Demon Hunters and then swapped and then potentially steps.

If, if steps happens, like if steps, it's a big one, you know, that would be.

I was kind of feel like two's a skirmish, three's a trend.

But then they need to figure out what they're going to do with their long term pipeline because Skydance animation will no longer be part of it.

They have built that capability to be fully produced by Netflix at the moment in animation.

Animalogic based down in Australia are part of that pipeline.

So, yeah, we'll see.

It'll be.

I mean they've always, they've been talking about catching Disney and doing animated movies big for years and I think, you know, maybe this.

Yeah, they're definitely gonna have to get going with that and find something to meet that pipeline or one would hope.

That that pipeline's in train given that, you know, as the deal fell through for Netflix to buy Paramount, that they must have seen this as a potential.

Yes, to buy Warner.

Yeah.

But then it's like, I think, you know, maybe it opens the, opens the doors for things like chicken.

If you say chicken hair.

Yeah.

But movies like that, like indie movies that are out there grinding their grind, doing their theatrical releases, like actually maybe gain more value in terms of what the streaming window could look like for this.

Yeah, I can see that.

You're right.

Interesting.

So there you go.

Live reaction, guys.

Thanks for indulging me.

Okay, well listen, Andy, sign us off there.

Breaking news, you heard it here first.

Tune in for our regular episode on Thursday and we'll see you then.

But.