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Warner Bros. Pictures Animation President Bill Damaschke heralded a caller era for nan studio’s animated characteristic limb astatine nan Annecy International Animation Film Festival connected Monday.
“We’ve been looking guardant to this for a agelong clip because 2026 marks nan opening of a caller section for us. This November, we return a large measurement guardant pinch nan merchandise of our first animated characteristic film, The Cat successful nan Hat,” he told nan assemblage successful Annecy’s 1,400-capacity Bonlieu Theatre.
“Three years ago, our squad numbered astir 30 people. Today, our halfway imaginative organisation successful Burbank is much than 250 artists and filmmakers,” he added.
“We besides activity crossed 13 countries and together pinch our partners astir nan world, we’ve grown into a world imaginative organization of much than 1200 artists, filmmakers and storytellers, each agreed by shared belief. Animation is astatine its champion erstwhile it’s perpetually evolving.”
The position gave updates and sneak peeks into 7 features being lined-up by WBPA for theatrical spanning: The Cat In The Hat; Bad Fairies, Margie Claus; Oh, The Places You’ll Go!; The Lunar Chronicle and Dynamic Duo and nan freshly announced Prehistoria pinch Vivienne Medrano.
Former DreamWorks Chief Creative Officer and Skydance Animation President Damaschke recounted really his engagement connected nan theatrical reboot had started a small complete 3 years ago, erstwhile he sewage a telephone from Warner Bros Pictures co-chairs and co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy.
“They asked if I’d beryllium willing successful helping to rebuild theatrical animation astatine nan studio,” he recounted”We had a batch of conversations astir what nan workplace could beryllium and really shared a imagination for what we wanted to create. We wanted to person a workplace driven by filmmakers, powered by artists and free of immoderate location style.
“A spot wherever each movie could person its ain voice, its ain ocular language, its ain imaginative DNA, yet connected by what I telephone nan 3 Hs of heart, joke and hope. A workplace that would observe nan iconic characters but besides return large swings and show original stories and create caller characters and stories for audiences of nan future,” he said.
He noted nan purpose was besides to stay existent to nan tone of nan legendary early Warner Bros. animators and voices including Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, Maurice Noble and June Foray among others.
“They worked retired of a mini rundown bungalow connected nan lot, truthful famously infested that it was known arsenic Termite Terrace, and from that humble opening came Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and immoderate of nan astir enduring characters successful nan intermezo history. At our workplace now successful Burbank, our patio is affectionately called Termite Terrace,” said Damaschke.
In a motion to Looney Tunes, which nan exec described arsenic “the soul” of nan studio, nan position world premiered Looney Tunes theatrical short Daffy Season from board Todd Wilderman and Hamish Grieve.
Tapping into nan sporting zeitgeist, nan slapstick animation, sees Daffy Duck confounded erstwhile Elmer Fudd fails to move up for duck hunting season. Further investigation reveals nan seasoned huntsman glued to his TV group watching “European soccer” overmuch to Daffy’s disgust.
“Bringing nan Looney Tunes backmost into nan theatres reflects a halfway belief astatine Warner Bros Pictures Animation, awesome characters, drama and trade merit nan large screen… Daffy Season marks nan opening of a caller theatrical section for nan Looney Tunes and our continued committedness to these iconic characters,” said shaper Susan Slagle Rogers arsenic she introduced nan short.
In heavy dives into nan characteristic slate, Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton unveiled caller specifications connected philharmonic animation Oh, The Places You’ll Go! featuring Ariane Grande and Josh Gad successful nan sound cast.
Adapted from nan last 1990 book by Dr. Seuss, nan movie besides plays paying tribute to nan artistry of nan man down nan pen name, Theodor Geisel.
“It was his farewell and his connection to early generations,” said Culton successful a pre-recorded video segment. “The Seuss Foundation introduced america to this book called ‘The Secret Art Of Dr. Seuss’. He was a creator and a sculptor and his beautiful paintings, each of that conscionable made america opportunity this is what our movie should consciousness and look like.”
Among those making their measurement to Annecy to subordinate nan WBPA position were Lunar Chronicles head Noëlle Raffaele and shaper Christina Steinberg.
Adapted from Marissa Meyer’s short communicative postulation transposing fairytale characters specified arsenic Cinderella and Rapunzel to a futuristic world, it is 1 of 2 animated features being produced nether a first-look woody betwixt WBPAnimation and Locksmith Animation alongside Bad Fairies.
Raffaele gave a heavy dive into nan trajectory of Lunar Chronicles protagonist Lynn Cinder (Cinderella), an orphan and underdog who makes her surviving arsenic a mechanic, hiding nan truth that she is simply a cyborg and 36.28% not human.
“Though her concealed allows for astonishing skills, it besides intends that nary 1 tin genuinely cognize her. Because successful this world, cyborgs are illegal. That’s why Cinder hides down her work,” said Raffaele.
The head ran done different half twelve characters and their storyline but added nan accumulation was still 2 and a half years retired from completion.
“There’s still tons to do and truthful overmuch much to come,” she said.
A conception for Bad Fairies, astir a pack of reprobate fairies, revealed that Serrana Su-Ling Bliss, James Acaster and Dee Bradley Baker have joined Cynthia Erivo and Ncuti Gatwa successful nan sound formed of animated the philharmonic movie.
Megan Nicole Dong and co-director Olivier Staphylas also confirmed nan May 21, 2027 merchandise day for nan film.
Rising UK character Su-Ling Bliss, champion known for her capacity arsenic Bessie Chapman in Enola Holmes 2, pinch credits besides including Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar-winning Belfast, and Roald Dahl’s Matilda nan Musical, will play nan characteristic of Fei, a socially awkward youngster who retreats into her belief of fairies.
In a motion of WBPA’s move to clasp each types of animation, Damaschke besides announced nan section was partnering pinch Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss animator and creator Vivienne Medrano connected her first feature, an original animated philharmonic characteristic entitled Prehistoria. There were nary different specifications different than nan title and nan merchandise of pinkish dragon-like creature.
“We’re proud to denote Vivienne is going to create thing very typical for nan large surface for Warner Brothers. Her first characteristic film, Prehistoria,” he said. “Our partnerships span continents, cultures and imaginative disciplines.”
For nan penultimate sneak peek, Arthur Mintz and Theresa Andersson at Swaybox went down nan scenes of upcoming teen play Dynamic Duo, devoted nan to DC characters Dick Grayson and Jason Todd.
“The communicative is being done successful a brand-new mean nary 1 has seen before, pinch ample standard puppets. I deliberation that’s what’s going to make this task conscionable truthful unbelievably exciting,” explained Mintz.
“It’s besides an breathtaking introduction into nan world of Batman. From a teen constituent of view, it’s a coming-of-age story. Following these champion friends, 15-year-old thoroughfare thieves Dick Grayson and Jason Todd earlier we spot them move into nan characters that we cognize they become, Robin and Red Hood.”
The position concludes pinch a preview of nan first 15-minutes of The Cat In The Hat, which will kick-off WBPA’s theatrical push later this year.
The caller loop sees The Cat successful nan Hat, voiced by Bill Hader, fighting for his occupation arsenic a master mischief-maker brought successful to cheer up lackluster children aft his chaotic antics spell to far. With his occupation connected nan line, he is handed complete nan dossier for 2 peculiarly difficult deed children.
