Animation Magic

Animation Magic Inc.
Founded1991 (Massachusetts branch)
1992 (Saint Petersburg branch)[1]
FoundersIgor Razboff and Dale DeSharone
Defunct2001 (2001)[2]
FateDissolved by Vivendi
Headquarters
Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.
Number of locations
3
ProductsVideo games and animation
OwnerCapitol Multimedia
Number of employees
~150
SubsidiariesООО "АМИ"

Animation Magic (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Магия анимации», romanized: Magiya Animatsii) was a Russian-American animation studio founded in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1991, with offices later added in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a 100%-owned subsidiary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The company developed animations for CD-based software. It was acquired in December 1994 by Capitol Multimedia.

By 1994 Animation Magic had 90 employees, including 12 software engineers and approximately 60 animators, computer graphic, background and sprite artists. Its products included Link: The Faces of Evil,[3] Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon,[4] Mutant Rampage: Bodyslam, Pyramid Adventures,[5] I.M. Meen,[6] King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride, Darby the Dragon, and the cancelled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans.[7][8]

  1. ^ Puffer, Sheila M.; McCarthy, Daniel J.; Satinsky, Daniel M. (2018). Hammer and Silicon: The Soviet Diaspora in the US Innovation Economy. Cambridge University Press. pp. 152–153. ISBN 978-1107190856. I went back to computer design and computer manufacturing, and in 1991, I started my own business in multimedia called Animation Magic. When I started that business, Russia opened up and my partner, who was also from Massachusetts but originally from California, suggested that we should probably hire some animators from Russia because that would make us more competitive in the marketplace. We would have better animation and therefore more success, so I went to Russia and we opened a business there in 1992.
  2. ^ Игорь Варнавский (Igor Varnavsky) (January 31, 2008). Закрытые страницы истории. Крупные игровые компании в России были еще в 90-е, но мы об этом не знали. Igromania (in Russian). Vol. 1, no. 124 (published January 2008). Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "Link: The Faces of Evil". MobyGames. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon". MobyGames. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  5. ^ "Pyramid Adventures Episode 1: Treasures of the Lost Pyramid - The Cutting Room Floor". tcrf.net. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  6. ^ Brad Cook. "Test of I.M. Meen". Allgame. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  7. ^ "Animation Magic". The Video Animation Company. Archived from the original on August 5, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2017.