Atkinson did not like the direction the company was heading in and stated that "I won't produce garbage" while Stevens says he left over disagreements regarding growth and financial risk.

[7] Merilyn Read acquired the rights for Babar the Elephant and discussed creating a special with Atkinson-Crawley.

[8] Sheldon Wiseman and Kevin Gillis formed Hinton Animation Studios, which recruited from Atkinson-Crawley's employment.

In 1987, Stevens attempted to aid the financial ailing company by raising $6 million through a public offering under the name The Crawley Group, but the stock market crashed three days before his presentation.

The company had $4 million in debt by 1988, and owed a large amount of unpaid wages causing more employees to join Hinton Animation.