Happy Feet creator Zareh Nalbandian reels in Netflix deal

Screen producer Zareh Nalbandian seals the biggest deal of his career.

Netflix deal looms … Animal Logic founder Zareh Nalbandian with his illustrated theory of how pigs fly. Picture: John Feder

When screen producer Zareh Nalbandian sealed the biggest deal of his career earlier this month, after signing with global streaming giant Netflix, his immediate response was: “I wish my parents could’ve seen this.”

The visual effects guru – whose three-decade career boasts international smash hits The Matrix, Moulin Rouge!, Happy Feet and The LEGO Movie – moved to Western Sydney as a young boy in the 1960s after his family fled persecution during the Armenian genocide and later in Egypt.

“It’s really an immigrant story as well as an Australian story. My mother was a seamstress and my father took what jobs he could because of his poor English,” he recalls. “I left school early to follow my passions in cinematography. I wish my parents were alive today because I’d love them to see that the sacrifices they made have led me to these opportunities.”

Now the 66-year-old is set for a late career windfall as his world-renowned visual effects company Animal Logic confirmed on Wednesday it was close to finalising a major acquisition deal with global streaming giant Netflix.

While the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, Nalbandian described it as “a very fair” arrangement that would allow him to focus on the creative side of his role instead of the day-to-day management of the business.

“It is the perfect fit and I couldn’t be happier with the deal,” he told The Australian. “The deciding factor was never the money. It was simply that it offers security for my crews, further growth opportunities, and lets me focus more on my creative work.”

After his studio achieved commercial success through the 1990s, winning a series of major advertising contracts, Nalbandian’s breakthrough in film animation came in 1999 with the release of science fiction blockbuster The Matrix and the 2006 George Miller movie Happy Feet.

A scene from Happy Feet.

“Before we started Happy Feet in 2002 we didn’t have an animation pipeline. We just had to invent it from scratch. We weren’t a DreamWorks or a Disney,” he says. “At the time I had friends calling me in LA saying ‘you have no idea what you’re getting into’. They were absolutely right, of course. But I think the Australian psyche was saying ‘let’s just give this a chance’.”

Nalbandian said his core philosophy has remained unchanged since he launched the company in 1991, with creativity and ideas at the forefront of his animations.

“We started as essentially a technology company, and then harnessed that technology for the creative side of animations and thinking about the wider possibilities,” he says.

“The team has been punching above its weight and trying to innovate as we go for a long time. I think it’s also testament to the strength of the industry in Australia and shows what can be done.”

Netflix said the Animal Logic deal would allow the $123bn streaming service to grow its slate of original projects, which already boasts Oscar-nominated films including Robin Robin, Klaus and Over the Moon.

Animal Logic is one of several Netflix acquisitions over the past year, including the Roald Dahl Story Company and visual-effects house Scanline.

Nalbandian said his 800-staff company, with studios in Sydney, Vancouver and California, will remain under his leadership, continuing its partnership with studios and filmmakers across the world. According to both sides, the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals but is tipped to be closed later this year.