(Burbank, CA) -- The Northern California studio owned by producer and director Robert Zemeckis is being shut down by The Walt Disney Company. The "L.A. Times" reports ImageMovers Digital of San Rafael produces motion-capture animation technology used in such films as 2009's "A Christmas Carol." Executives at The House of Mouse say IMD is closing to save costs. ImageMovers Digital is bankrolled by Disney and currently employs 450 people. Those workers will be phased out until the studio closes its doors by January of next year. Disney and Zemeckis have been partners since the studio released "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" in 1988.
