Laika may pick up Henry Selick's abandoned Disney project

One of the big news items from Disney's quarterly report this September was a $50 million writedown on an unnamed movie, which was shut down mid-production. It was quickly revealed that the movie was the stop-motion animation feature from director Henry Selick, who was poached away from Laika, where he directed Coraline.

Now there are signs that Laika might pick up Selick's unfinished project, which was reportedly too
dark for Disney. Since Laika's film credits also include Corpse Bride and ParaNorman, it's safe to say "dark" won't be a problem for the production company. Of course, dark wasn't always a problem for Disney, since Selick's 1990s movies The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach were made under the mouse house. Since Disney recently underwent a change in leadership, with Alan Horn stepping into the role of chairman, it's possible that the writedown was related to new executives who didn't believe in the project.

$50 million does seem like a steep investment for Disney, especially if the project was unfinished. Dark, animated movies appeal to a niche audience. Coraline, a success, earned $75 million at the box office, with a reported budget of $60 million. Compare that to Brave's $233 million (and $185 million budget), just another one of Pixar's all-ages successes. Maybe Disney, so used to its big animated projects, couldn't adapt to making a smaller, cheaper project. Word is that Selick was also behind schedule, and would have been unable to make the planned October 2013 release date.

Selick's work may not be for everyone, but Coraline is up there in my favorite animated films list. Let's hope Laika takes Selick back into their fold and embraces the creepy, dark animated tale.

 

Studio behind 'Coraline' animates zombie pic 'ParaNorman'

By Sarah Sluis

The Portland, Oregon, studio Laika suffered a big blow last year, when Coraline director Henry Selick defected to Pixar. Not that I blame him--Pixar is just about the coolest place to work, and it helps to be part of a team that's producing hit after hit. But that doesn't mean Laika's over and out. The studio has a couple of projects in the works, including ParaNorman, a dark stop-motion animated picture that's sure to entice adults and scare lots of kids.

ParaNorman centers on a boy (voiced by Kodi Smit-Phee of horror pic Let Me In) who can speak with the dead, which in this movie includes zombies and ghosts. He must use his powers in order to save his town from a hundred-year curse. In a kid movie nod, he must deal not only with the undead but clueless grown-ups. Chris Butler, who has been working as a storyboard artist, character designer, and sequence director, will make his directing debut with the movie. Apparently Butler is big on the lecture circuit. A good communicator = good director in my book. The voice cast includes such well-known names as Casey Affleck, John Goodman, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Like Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and other spooky kids' movies, Laika's latest feature will definitely not be an all-ages hit like Pixar movies or the current worldwide success, Rio. But that's okay. Focus, which is the indie arm of Universal, will distribute the film as part of a two-picture deal with the budding animation studio.

Stop-motion movies take a notoriously long time to make, but fans of dark animated tales can rejoice: ParaNorman has set a release date of August 17, 2012--in 3D, no less.