COMPANY TOWN : Miramax Signs Pact to Form New Animated Film Company : Movies: Sources deny that the agreement caused any turf problems with Disney’s existing animation group.

In an unusual deal for Walt Disney Co., the company’s Miramax Films unit signed a long-term agreement to form a stop-motion animation production company.

Disney’s feature animation efforts are usually centered in its lucrative and highly autonomous animation group, responsible for such hits as “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.”

Sources denied that the Miramax arrangement caused any turf problems with Disney’s existing animation group. They also noted that Walt Disney Chairman Michael D. Eisner and Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group Chairman Joe Roth were personally involved in the deal and instrumental in averting any friction. A Disney spokesman said all parties involved in animation were informed of the deal.

The arrangement involves Miramax’s becoming partners with San Francisco-based Twitching Image Inc., formerly Skellington Productions, headed by animator Henry Selick. He directed the stop-motion film “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” a 1993 Disney release spearheaded by producer Tim Burton. Selick is currently working on an animated version of Roald Dahl’s “James and the Giant Peach.”

William Morris agent Mike Simpson, who has been working with Selick since Selick left Creative Artists Agency this summer, stitched together the deal with Miramax senior vice president Scott Greenstein. Sources said it was nearly derailed by the intense bidding wars going on for animated talent in Hollywood.

Buoyed by the success of Disney and the lucrative home video market, animators are much in demand. Burton is said to be among those reportedly trying to hire some of Selick’s crew, and Fox is said to have made a strong effort to lure Selick’s operation to its fold.

Simpson said that Twitching Image went with Miramax because of the company’s “marketing savvy and the worldwide distribution strength of the Walt Disney Co.”

Miramax Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein said the deal allows the company to “get into family filmmaking in a good way.”

Miramax, acknowledged as an industry innovator in marketing independent films, has come under fire from conservative groups for such controversial--and often sexually explicit--films as “Priest” and “Kids.” “Kids” was eventually shunted to a new distribution entity, Excalibur, founded by Weinstein and his brother, Bob.

Weinstein also said that a European partner may be sought for the venture. In addition, Weinstein suggested that a number of filmmakers with ties to Miramax, including Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson and Robert Rodriguez, may get involved in Twitching Image projects.