The Oregon based stop-motion studio – Laika – behind movies like Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, has announced plans to increase the size of its facility by almost 70 per cent.
The studio, which is headed by Travis Knight (son of Nike co-founder Phil Knight), had been planning of purchasing a new facility but has decided to build on its current 150,000 square foot renovated warehouse location after finding nothing suitable in the area.
Fueling the decision to expand are Laika’s storage needs due to the amount of puppets, props and replacement faces generated for each of their films, as well as the company’s plans to speed up its release schedule.
Travis Knight, who took charge of Laika in 2009 several years after his father acquired the studio from Will Vinton, is currently directing the company’s fourth feature: Kubo and the Two Strings that is set for a 19 August, 2016. With production on Kubo geared up, the current employee headcount at Laika is 394.
