Tomb Raider Chronicles - THE HISTORY OF ANIMAL LOGIC AND TOMB RAIDER

Creative digital studio Animal Logic partnered with GlaxoSmithKline and Eidos at the turn of the millennium to produce a series of animations starring British adventurer Lara Croft. The resulting output included commercials for Tomb Raider The Last Revelation, energy drink Lucozade and a credit-card for Visa's Pan-Asian market.

Animal Logic's journey with Lara Croft began with Tomb Raider The Last Revelation. "All sets and characters were produced as CGI but the spot was directed as if it was filmed action," Animal Logic's Creative Director Bruce Carter said at the time. "This meant that the director, Phil Meatcham, was able to concentrate on the Lara character and her dramatic predicaments. As with all successful spots it was important that the story and action transcend the technique so that the audience did not respond to the 3D animation but to Lara and her exploits."

Animal Logic then went on to produce Monster Chase, leaving behind the conventions of a normal television commercial to create a project of cinematic proportion for Visa's Pan-Asian market in tandem with Tomb Raider The Angel of Darkness. The campaign, comprising of a 15-second, 20-second, 30-second, 60-second plus a 2-minute cinematic version, includes a total of 123 scenes, all but 15 containing a stunning use of visual effects.

"The live action sequence for Monster Chase was filmed in Prague over four-days, in the grand interior of the Strahov Library, built between 1782-1784. All the past Lara Croft spots have just involved Lara in a game but none of the elements have ever come into a real world situation; whereas in this, we have both," says Luke Hetherington, lead 3D animator on the job.

"Animal Logic's Hugh Seville (Lead Compositor) went to Prague to supervise the visual effects sections of the shoot, recording information about the library dimensions, lighting set-ups, camera lens settings and textures so that the 3D animators could animate and light the monster accurately in the live action library sequence, giving him a real and terrifying presence in the scene." says Animal Logic.

In producing Jungle Lara, Gone to the Dogs, Get the Energy Edge and Gargoyles to promote Lucozade for GlaxoSmithKline, Animal Logic secured the talents of Director Peter McDonald who "adapted his film direction training from national film school AFTRS (Australian Film and TV & Radio School) and his extensive work in film shorts and animation, to help with all creative aspects of the Lucozade spot."

"Overall, the random nature of these design elements combine to give the Lucozade spot a feeling of cinematic verisimilitude. All of these 'imperfections' help to extend the interactivity and believability of Lara Croft, allowing the viewer to appreciate the action and attitude of the commercial and its added layer of realism."

In 2018, Lucozade Energy, now owned by Lucozade Ribena Suntory, and Warner Bros. Pictures partnered to promote the Tomb Raider motion picture starring Academy-award winning actress Alicia Vikander. The campaign included a television spot, in-store and social media advertising.

In July of 2022, streaming giant Netflix announced plans to acquire Animal Logic to "support Netflix's ambitious animated film slate, building on films like Academy Award-nominated Over the Moon, Academy Award-nominated Klaus and the recently released The Sea Beast."