diff --git a/browser/devtools/animationinspector/animation-controller.js b/browser/devtools/animationinspector/animation-controller.js
index 22234456b9a5..c5254731f049 100644
--- a/browser/devtools/animationinspector/animation-controller.js
+++ b/browser/devtools/animationinspector/animation-controller.js
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ let AnimationsController = {
     this.onAnimationMutations = this.onAnimationMutations.bind(this);
 
     let target = gToolbox.target;
+    this.animationsFront = new AnimationsFront(target.client, target.form);
 
     // Expose actor capabilities.
     this.hasToggleAll = yield target.actorHasMethod("animations", "toggleAll");
@@ -117,7 +118,6 @@ let AnimationsController = {
       return;
     }
 
-    this.animationsFront = new AnimationsFront(target.client, target.form);
     this.startListeners();
     yield this.onNewNodeFront();