End of an era: Phil Tippett closing his studio after 40 years
Four decades in, the force behind a landmark stop-motion and visual effects legacy is shuttering a legendary Berkeley studio.
The doors are shut and the shelves are bare at Tippett Studio in Berkeley. After bankruptcy proceedings, the company cleared out its longtime facility with a three-day liquidation sale held August 28–30, 2026 , moving out props, models, equipment, artwork, and memorabilia from four decades of monster-making and movie magic. Phil Tippett, the Oscar- winning animator who founded the shop, has said he’s keeping the two Academy Awards he earned along the way.
Tippett’s fingerprints are all over modern genre filmmaking. He helped design the Dejarik holographic chess sequence in the original Star Wars, then pushed “go-motion” techniques on The Empire Strikes Back and Dragonslayer, marrying motion blur to stop-motion for smoother, more lifelike creatures. He opened Tippett Studio in 1984, turning it into a go-to home for practical animation and, later, digital effects.
- RoboCop — created the stop-motion ED-209 enforcement droid
- Jurassic Park — brought stop-motion know-how into the new CGI era
- Return of the Jedi — earned one of Tippett’s two Oscars ( the other for Jurassic Park)
The Tippett Studio liquidation ran August 28–30, 2026, emptying the company’s Berkeley home.
Brad Bird’s new noir
While Tippett’s shop closes a chapter, Brad Bird is finally rolling out a long-gestating passion project. His animated sci-fi detective story Ray Gunn lands on Netflix December 18, 2026, plunging viewers into Metropia — a sprawling, Art Deco metropolis imagined from a 1939 future of towering skylines, flying cars, and jetpacks. Bird has said the concept has been percolating for more than 30 years, blending hardboiled mysteries with gleaming retro futurism.
- Sam Rockwell — Raymond “Ray” Gunn, private investigator
- Scarlett Johansson — Venus Nova, a multimedia superstar tied to the case
- Tom Waits — Eyera, Ray’s one-eyed alien associate
Bird’s focus on Ray Gunn also clarifies his Pixar plans: he’s stepping back from the director ’s chair on Incredibles 3. Pixar now lists Peter Sohn as director, with Bird staying on as writer and producer. The superhero sequel is set to hit theaters June 16, 2028.