Two relatively smaller studios with plenty of live-action credits to their names are now launching into the lucrative and entertaining world of animated features. First up is Alcon Entertainment's announcement that they will be producing an animated adaptation of the tween adventure book series Darkmouth written by Shane Hegarty. This would be the first animated production for co-founders / co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove's banner, though a Garfield picture was announced as a co-production with Davis Entertainment.
The other production company striding into the world of animation is Skydance, as reported by THR. The studio behind the upcoming release Life has formed an animation division thanks to a multi-year partnership with Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios (Planet 51) with the aim of producing both CG-animated feature films and television series. Skydance already has two projects in the works with some impressive talent lined up.
Speaking of talent, Alcon has debut director David Pimentel (Moana head of story) and the Oscar-nominated Douglas Sweetland (Presto, Storks) attached to direct Darkmouth; Lloyd Taylor (the upcoming film Pigeon Impossible) is attached to pen the adaptation. Based on the popular HarperCollins Children’s Book series, Darkmouth is "a comedic animated fantasy about an overeager kid who bites off more than he can chew when he prematurely jumps into the family business: hunting monsters."
HarperCollins Children’s Books has published the first three installments of Hegarty’s series titled Darkmouth: The Legends Begin, Worlds Explode and Chaos Descends in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and the US. You can watch a book trailer for the series below, via the official site:
As for Skydance's new productions, one has Disney writing veteran Linda Woolverton (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland) writing a script about "a teenager who comes of age using her magical powers to defend her family when the opposing forces of light and darkness threaten to divide her kingdom." That plot is vague and generic-sounding at the moment, but Woolverton is a proven entity so you should expect a crowd-pleaser. Skydance is aiming for a 2019 release for the currently untitled film.
Their second project, with a working title of Luck, is pitched as "a comedy that 'pulls back the curtain on the millennia-old battle between the organizations of good luck and bad luck that secretly affects our daily lives.'" This one has Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, Kung Fu Panda trilogy writers and recent scribes for Trolls, penning the script. That's some big name talent Skydance has lined up.
Here's what Skydance CEO David Ellison had to say about the move into animation:
“It is incredibly gratifying to see one of my deepest passions come to life as we enter the animation business with Ilion. Together we aim to bring together the most creative visionaries, the best-in-class production skills, and the highest degree of technological innovation in the service of great stories.”
Animation fans, keep an eye out for these newcomers in the near future!