Locksmith Animation co-CEOs Sarah Smith and Julie Lockhart formed the studio in 2014 with the support of co-founder Elisabeth Murdoch. For Fox, it brings in another company besides Blue Sky Studios into the studio to rely on for a picture a year.
“As we redouble our efforts in the family and animation space, there is no better partner in world to welcome into our family than Locksmith,” said 20th Century Fox’s chairman/CEO Stacey Snider.

​Locksmith is the first dedicated high-end feature animation studio ever created in the U.K., and will focus on creating a long-term slate of CG animated films for the global marketplace.
 
Locksmith is backed as principal shareholder by Murdoch, who is investing in a personal capacity rather than as chairman of Shine Group. Double Negative, which is also investing in Locksmith, will work closely with the company as they build an animation pipeline in which Locksmith plans to make its films.
 
The company’s plans also feature an international creative board of animation writers, directors and digital experts, to be announced shortly.