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Jon M. Chu has jumped on board to co-direct with Jill Culton an animated musical version of ‘Dr Suess’ final book ‘Oh The Places You Will Go.’

Warner Bros. set the theatrical release for IMAX on March 17, 2028, for the animation which is set to center on a young adventurer navigating the ups and downs of life.

Rob Lieber wrote the screenplay, while Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are creating original songs for the project. This feature is based on Dr. Seuss’s last published book of the same name, released in 1990.

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The movie comes from Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Bad Robot. The film, which is seen as a priority for the studio, counts J.J. Abrams and Gregg Taylor as producers.

The post Jon M. Chu to co-direct ‘Dr Suess’ animated musical appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Despite not earning a Best Director Oscar nomination, Jon M. Chu is riding high after Wicked earned ten Academy Award nominations. The follow-up film, Wicked: For Good, will be released in November 2025, but Chu already has his schedule booked as the next film is slated for release. Chu is going from Frank L. Baum's The Wonderful World of Oz to The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss as he directs Oh, the Places You'll Go. But fans might have to wait a bit as the animated movie musical isn't expected to hit theaters until 2028.

Variety reports that Warner Bros. has set the animated film Oh, the Places You'll Go for release on Mar. 17, 2028. Chu will co-direct with Jill Culton, who previously directed 2006's Open Season and 2019's Abominable. The film is being produced by J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot through his first-look deal with Warner Bros. Additionally, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul,...

The next animated movie based on the literary works of Dr. Seuss has been given an official release date. However, the wait for the film to hit the big screen will be longer than three years.

Per Variety, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation has dated a feature film adaptation of Oh, the Places You'll Go for a release in IMAX on March 17, 2028. The lengthy wait is not the biggest surprise, as animation can be a very long process, especially with big-budget movies. Despite the wait, the film is reportedly considered to be a "high priority" project with production soon starting in collaboration with Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

Related The 20 Best Dr. Seuss Characters, Ranked

Children's author Dr. Seuss created villains like The Grinch and patient heroes like Horton. That's how he changed children's literature forever

Wicked helmer Jon. M Chu is directing the movie alongside Jill Culton. Rob Lieber wrote the screenplay,...

“Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” now has a release date.

The animated feature, directed by “Wicked” filmmaker Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton, has been given a March 17, 2028, release date in traditional theaters and Imax. J.J. Abrams and Gregg Taylor are producing the project, from Abrams’ Bad Robot, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

Rob Lieber wrote the screenplay for the movie based on Dr. Seuss’ final book, which was published Jan. 22, 1990, and has been a graduation gift mainstay ever since.

Egot winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have written new songs for the movie. Pasek and Paul, as they are known, wrote the songs for “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman” and “Spirited,” and have songs in Disney’s live-action adaptation of “Snow White” and the upcoming Pharrell project “Golden” (formerly “Atlantis”).

“Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” marks Chu’s first animated feature — although there...

Warner Bros Pictures Animation’s feature version of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is getting a theatrical release on March 17, 2028. Warners will have access to Imax screens.

The pic is being produced by Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Bad Robot. As we told you first, Jill Culton and Wicked‘s Jon M. Chu are co-directing with songs by Oscar and Egot winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit) is adapting the book. Bad Robot’s J.J. Abrams is producing. Gregg Taylor is also producing.

The book is the blueprint for a globetrotting animated musical, which follows a young adventurer as they journey the joys and heartaches and the peaks and the valleys of life.

Dr. Seuss’ final book is getting a feature adaptation from Jon M. Chu and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation.

The studio announced Monday that the animated musical movie Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is set for theatrical release in IMAX on March 17, 2028. The film from directors Chu and Jill Culton is set to center on a young adventurer navigating the ups and downs of life.

Rob Lieber penned the screenplay, while Egot winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are working on original songs for the project. The feature is based on Dr. Seuss’ last published book of the same name, which was released in 1990. The acclaimed children’s book author died the following year at age 87.

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! hails from Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Bad Robot. The movie, which is seen as a priority for the studio, counts J.J. Abrams and Gregg Taylor as producers. A...

There is fun to be done! Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s film adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” will release on March 17, 2028 in IMAX.

Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton are directing the film from writer Rob Lieber’s screenplay. J.J. Abrams produces through his Bad Robot Banner alongside Gregg Taylor.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are writing original songs for the film, based upon Dr. Seuss’ final book.

Studio sources indicate that the film is a high priority project for the studio, and is being made in collaboration with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The book is the blueprint for a globetrotting animated musical following a young adventurer as they journey through the joys and heartaches and the peaks and valleys of life.

Chu’s film adaptation of “Wicked” just earned ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The follow-up, “Wicked: For Good,” is due out this November.

With a head full of brains and shoes full of feet, director Jon M. Chu and Dr. Seuss will finally meet. Free from the Waiting Place, where the mind-maker-upper must make up his mind, a Wicked follow-up, Jon Chu did find. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Chu and Jill Culton will...

Jon M. Chu made his feature debut in 2008 with Step Up 2: The Streets and has since helmed several popular titles, including Wicked and In the Heights. However, the director says he has more musicals in the works.

Wicked has been a major success for the director, and only the first part has been released. With Part Two, titled Wicked: For Good, set for premiere in November 2025, the director has other musicals in development. Speaking with Cbr, Chu explained which projects he has in store next, which includes two more musicals.

Related 'Excited to Actually Share That Now': Wicked Director Teases Exciting Bonus Footage for Digital Release

Exclusive: Wicked has set a digital release date, and its director teases several new scenes to flesh out the characters further.

Addressing whether he has any stage musicals in mind after Wicked and In the Heights, Chu revealed: "I'm already developing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,...

Disney had many projects to reveal during the Disney Experiences Showcase at D23 2024, and they involved exciting plans for its parks. Among them is a Monsters, Inc. Land that was introduced by Billy Crystal himself.

D23 was filled with new revelations and projects, including a teaser for the upcoming 2025's Snow White live-action reboot, a look at Mufasa: The Lion King, details about future Marvel projects, and more. Day 2 included the Disney Experiences Showcase, where the studio announced big plans for its parks all around the world, including Monsters, Inc, Land, which will feature the first-ever suspended roller coaster and more themed projects at Walt Disney Worlds Hollywood Studios (via Disney Parks).

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The concept art for Monsters, Inc. Land showed the riders strapped in, riding through the door vault,...

Bad Robot veteran Hannah Minghella has been hired as Head of Feature Animation and Live-Action Family Film at Netflix, Deadline can confirm. We understand that her departure from the J.J. Abrams-led company was amicable.

Also announced today was the news that Sharon Taylor, formerly CEO of Animal Logic Studios, will return to Netflix to head up production on feature animation, based out of Vancouver.

With this change, Karen Toliver and Traci Balthazor are exiting Netflix, we’re told. Both helped build the streamer’s animated film division into a powerhouse in the industry, launching hit films like Leo, Academy Award winner Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, The Sea Beast and Nimona, while also integrating Animal Logic Studios and expanding key creative partnerships.

During her four years at Bad Robot, Minghella served as President of Motion Pictures, working across all live action, animation and documentary features. Prior to that, she...

Veteran studio executive and producer Hannah Minghella has joined Netflix as head of feature animation and live-action family film, Variety can exclusively report.

Minghella joins the tech giant from Bad Robot, where she worked across live action, animation and documentary features. She’ll now report to Dan Lin, the recently installed chariman of Netflix’s film operation. In addition to Minghella, Sharon Taylor will return to Netflix to lead production at the unit. Based in Vancouver, Taylor was previously the CEO of Animal Logic studios.

“Hannah brings her unique skill set and experience to this role, along with strong relationships with top filmmakers. As a studio executive and producer, Hannah has overseen many franchise films across animation and live-action. I believe her expertise will deepen our efforts to bring variety and quality to both our animation and live action family film slate,” said Lin.

As a result of the change,...

Quick Links Oh, The Places You'll Go! Latest News Oh, The Places Youll Go! Production Status Oh, The Places Youll Go! Story Details Oh, The Places Youll Go! Is Part Of A Dr. Seuss Cinematic Universe Oh, The Places You'll Go!: Further News & Info Warner Animation Group will turn Dr. Seusss "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" into an animated film with original music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The film is set to be released in 2027 and includes a second director, Jill Culton, known for her work on Disney/Pixar films. "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" will be part of a Dr. Seuss cinematic universe alongside The Cat in the Hat and a Thing One and Thing Two spin-off.

Warner Animation Group is set to bring the Dr. Seuss classic Oh, the Places Youll Go! to the big screen, and there's already a ton of exciting updates about the book-to-movie adaptation.

Exclusive: Animation veteran Jill Culton has joined Jon M. Chu as directing partner of the Warner Bros Pictures Animation adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Pic is a big priority for the studio, being done with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Bad Robot.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, whose work includes The Greatest Showman, Spirited and La La Land, will write original songs for the film adaptation. Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit) is writing the screenplay based on Dr. Seuss’ final book. The book is the blueprint for a globetrotting animated musical following a young adventurer as they journey through the joys and heartaches, and the peaks and valleys, of life.

Bad Robot’s J.J. Abrams is producing along with Hannah Minghella, Bad Robot’s Head of Motion Pictures.

Culton is a 30-year veteran in the animated feature film space and is best known for both writing...

Room to Read, a global education nonprofit tackling illiteracy and gender inequality, announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery for the premiere of She Creates Change, the first nonprofit-led animation and live-action film project to promote gender equality through the stories of young women around the world.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the film series will premiere on Friday March 8, 15 and 22 to audiences in Asia. Episodes will air on the Discovery Asia channel in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, and on the TLC and Discovery+ India channels in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Presented in a series of six animated shorts with accompanying live-action mini documentaries, She Creates Change features the narratives of six young women from historically low-income communities in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam. Episodes portray how each girl confronts challenges unique to her life — such as harassment,...

Warner Bros. Discovery and Room to Read have partnered on “She Creates Change,” an animation and live-action film project to promote gender equality through the stories of young women around the world.

Room to Read is a global education nonprofit aiming to creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. Presented in a series of six animated shorts with accompanying live-action mini-documentaries, “She Creates Change” features the narratives of six young women from historically low-income communities in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam. Episodes portray how each girl confronts challenges unique to her life — such as harassment, food scarcity or early marriage — by advocating for herself and her future.

Episodes feature voice performances by Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”), Charithra Chandran (“Bridgerton”), Prajakta Koli (“Mismatched”), Dilshad Vadsaria (“Cloak & Dagger”), Adhir Kalyan (“United States of AI”), Amita Suman (“Shadow and Bone”), Amrita Acharia (“Game of Thrones”) and Quyen Ngo...

The award-winning Dreamworks Animation TV series "Abominable and the Invisible City", Season Two, directed by Jill Culton, streams 10 new episodes March 29, 2023 on Hulu and Peacock:

"...get ready for more 'yeti', as the world of 'Yi', 'Jin' and 'Peng' is forever changed when the public finds out about the existence of magical creatures. With the help of 'Everest', the friends form a 'Creature Brigade' in order to help the mystical beings find a safe haven while protecting them from prying eyes. It’s not always going to be easy for humans and creatures to peacefully coexist, especially when Yi is being watched by a mysterious force..."

Voice cast includes Chloe Bennet as 'Yi', Tenzing Norgay Trainor as 'Jin', Ethan Loh as 'Peng', Michelle Wong as 'Mei', Karen Huie as 'Nai Nai', Darin De Paul as 'Everest' and Alan Cumming as 'Burnish'.

Freida Pinto is lending her voice to a new animated film project in honor of International Women’s Day.

She Creates Change is a new nonprofit-led animation and live action film project from global education organization Room to Read produced by Nexus Studios. The multi-media initiative, which spans a six-episode film series as well as books and audio stories, aims to promote gender equality through telling the stories of young women across the planet. It will initially be available in English, Hindi and Spanish with plans to translate it into dozens more languages and will be distributed across the world via Room to Read and educational partnerships. The project will also be released to general audiences in October.

The film series will be comprised of six animated shorts accompanied by live action mini documentaries. They will feature young women from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam who are...

Are you looking to settle for a movie night with enchanting classics? We’ve got just what you need – an order breakdown of “Open Season” movies. Get ready to experience the roller-coaster ride of emotions that these fantastic animated films bring!

Weighing the heartwarming moments of big-hearted Boog (Martin Lawrence) and cuddly Elliot against their mischievous schemes and interactions with other woodland creatures, the “Open Season” franchise will bring your entire family together for an unforgettable adventure.

The “Open Season” movie series was created by Steve Moore and John B. Carls and produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It was released to the theatres by Columbia Pictures under Sony Pictures.

The movie was also released in the IMAX 3D format, and even a video game for the film was released on multiple platforms.

This blog post is perfect for anyone who loves animated comedy and wants to revisit the lovable characters from “Open Season.

DreamWorks Animation has announced the cast, set the premiere date and unveiled the trailer for Abominable and The Invisible City, the 10-episode series inspired by the 2019 film Abominable. Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) joins Abominable alums Chloe Bennet (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Tenzing Trainor (Liv and Maddie) and Michelle Wong. All 10 episodes of Abominable and The Invisible City will premiere on Peacock and Hulu on October 5.

Bennet reprises her role as Yi and Trainor as Jin, with Cumming joining as Burnish. In addition to Wong, the voice cast also includes Ethan Loh, Karen Huie and Darin De Paul.

Abominable and The Invisible City is a comedy adventure series that continues the wild and wooly fun of DreamWorks Animation’s Abominable. Through Everest the yeti, Yi, Jin, and Peng know that there’s a whole magical world out there, and now it’s even closer than they think!

Exclusive: Peacock will double down on its animated kids programming slate, unveiling a number of new and returning titles including two follow up series to DreamWorks Animation’s Megamind and Abominable.

The streamer has also renewed Babble Bop!, the musical dance jamboree series for preschoolers, for Season 2.

Written by Katherine Stanford, Babble Bop! is a foot-tapping, hand-clapping, baby-bottom wiggling, sing-along world of music, dance and preschool play. With a mix of new takes on classic nursery rhymes and original songs, this inclusive short-form series is intended for social and emotional learning for the pre-k set.

Heroes Lily, Hugo, Miguel, Izzie and Sam will play the day away movin’ and boppin’ and havin’ a ball to awesome, catchy, repeatable – and sometimes very familiar – songs. With new characters, animals and brand-new song styles, the second season continues to hold up a magnifying glass to the little things in their life: having a snack,...

Soul and Wolfwalkers were the big winners at the 48th annual Annie Awards for animation, which were doled out in a virtual ceremony tonight. The Disney/Pixar juggernaut strutted away with seven trophies, including Best Feature, while the “relatively small European movie” — as the filmmakers described it — snagged five wins, including Indie Feature.

After they battled it out all night, both will square off for the Academy Award next weekend against Onward, Over the Moon and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon — all three of which went home empty-handed tonight.

On the TV side, big winners included Hilda, which picked up three awards, and Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, which scooped a pair. Big Mouth took the writing prize, and — from a galaxy far, far away — The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Clone Wars picked up one prize apiece.

So just how will tonight’s wins for Soul and/or Wolfwalkers...

The 48th annual Annie Awards, celebrating the best in animation, are taking place on Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. Pst.

The ceremony — often a predictor for which film will win the best animated feature category at the Oscars — honors winners in 36 different animation-related categories, including independent feature, production design, effects animation, character animation, storyboarding, voice acting and more.

This year’s show will stream live at the Annie Awards’ website, as well as on Asifa Hollywood’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, as well as Variety‘s YouTube channel, which is embedded at the end of this post. Presenters include Josh Gad, Matthew Rhys, Philippa Soo from “Hamilton,” Eva Whittaker, Patrick Warburton, Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino, Sergio Pablos, Jill Culton, Nora Twomey and Matthew A. Cherry.

The Annie Awards will also give out four juried awards during the ceremony. The Winsor McCay Award, which honors career contributions to the field of animation,...

The 48th Annie Awards, like almost every other major entertainment event in the last year, is going virtual on April 16, and the show will have a few surprises in store for those tuning in to the free program.

“We’ve got some animation. We’ve done special graphics for the show. And because we won’t have people walking to and from the stage, which always takes some time, the show will probably be a little more streamlined,” Frank Gladstone, executive director of Asifa-Hollywood and the event’s producer, explains.

Among the presenters slated for the Annie Awards are actors Josh Gad, Philippa Soo (who voices the goddess Chang’e in “Over the Moon”) and Eva Whittaker (the voice of Mebh Óg MacTíre in animated feature — independent nominee “Wolfwalkers”). Other presenters include directors Sergio Pablos (“Klaus”) and Jill Culton (“Abominable”), “Wolfwalkers” producer Nora Twomey, composer Michael Giacchino and the cast of web series “Critical Role.

The ReFrame coalition has awarded 26 feature films released in 2019 with its ReFrame Stamp, which recognizes the top 100-grossing gender-balanced narrative and animated features. The list, which grew from 20 total films that earned the stamp a year ago, includes Booksmart, Captain Marvel, Harriet, Hustlers and Oscar Best Picture nominee Little Women.

This reflects gains for women in the important roles of director, department heads, and women of color leads and co-leads. With an aim to increase the number of women of all backgrounds working in film, TV, and media, the ReFrame Stamp, which is showcased in end credits and appears on IMDb, serves as a mark of distinction for projects that have demonstrated success in gender-balanced hiring. Additional points are awarded to content that has women of color in key positions.

This year’s list included 12 women directors (12 percent) in the top 100 films at the box office compared to 4 in 2018, with...

Exclusive: Jill Culton, who recently directed and wrote Dreamworks Animation-Pearl Studio’s Abominable, has signed with Verve.

The CalArts alum is one of the first females in animation history to both direct and write a feature original story following Brenda Chapman’s co-directing and co-writing on Pixar’s The Brave. Abominable made its world premiere at Tiff and went on to gross $190M WW, earning four Annie Awards and a Best Animated Feature nomination at the Critics Choice Awards.

Abominable follows teenager Yi (Chloe Bennet of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) who encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai. She and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have...

A record 10.6% of the directors of 2019’s top 100-grossing movies were women, directing 12% of Hollywood’s biggest hits last year, according to the latest study by Stacy L. Smith and USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

That’s the best gender representation since Smith and her team began studying the prevalence of female directors in 2007 — though the overall percentage remains 4.8% across all 13 years of the research. The top-grossing female filmmaker was Jennifer Lee, who co-directed the year’s No. 4 domestic box office hit, “Frozen II,” with Chris Buck.

“This is the first time we have seen a shift in hiring practices for female film directors in 13 years,” Smith said, noting that Universal alone had five films in the top 100 with female directors: Jill Culton’s “Abominable,” Melina Matsoukas’ “Queen & Slim,” Tina Gordon’s “Little,” Gail Mancuso’s “A Dog’s Journey” and Kasi Lemmons’ “Harriet” (through art-house division Focus Features). “Yet there...

Peilin Chou is very upfront in our recent webchat (watch the video above) that the film “Abominable,” on which she’s a producer, came about simply from wanting to work with writer-director Jill Culton. “We were big fans of her work. We pitched her a number of projects and the one she responded to most was the idea of making a movie about this Yeti.” She goes on to explain that there was a specific link to Culton’s childhood that made the subject resonate with her. “Jill had grown up with very large bloodhound dogs and she was fascinated by how they were able to communicate without speech. So she was very intrigued by the idea of creating this Yeti character that did not have speech.”

Seelatest Oscar Racetrack Odds: Best Animated Feature

“Abominable” centers on a Yeti that’s escaped from confinement in Shanghai. A teenage girl, Yi,...

The full conversation from The Hollywood Reporter's 2019 Cinematographer Roundtable is now available as a special episode of THR's Behind the Screen.

Recorded Sept. 29 in downtown Los Angeles, the conversation features Roger Deakins (1917 and The Goldfinch), Natasha Braier (Honey Boy), Cesar Charlone (The Two Popes), Caleb Deschanel (The Lion King), Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman) and Robert Richardson (Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood).

THR's new Animation Roundtable is additionally available on Behind the Screen. It features Frozen 2's Jennifer Lee, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World's Dean DeBlois, Abominable's Jill Culton, Klaus'...

The full conversation from The Hollywood Reporter's 2019 Cinematographer Roundtable is now available as a special episode of THR's Behind the Screen.

Recorded Sept. 29 in downtown Los Angeles, the conversation features Roger Deakins (1917 and The Goldfinch), Natasha Braier (Honey Boy), Cesar Charlone (The Two Popes), Caleb Deschanel (The Lion King), Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman) and Robert Richardson (Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood).

THR's new Animation Roundtable is additionally available on Behind the Screen. It features Frozen 2's Jennifer Lee, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World's Dean DeBlois, Abominable's Jill Culton, Klaus'...

In the innovative Netflix animated film I Lost My Body, a severed hand skitters across the streets of Paris trying to reunite with its missing anatomical companion. Whether that hand winds up grasping an Oscar is up to Academy voters, in a year when a record 32 contenders qualified for the Best Animated Feature race.

I Lost My Body is an original film, but more than likely a sequel will come away with the Oscar: either Toy Story 4, Frozen 2 or How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the third and final film in the Dragon series.

Walt Disney Studios once again finds itself in prime contention, with the fourth installment in the Pixar Toy Story franchise, which saw the addition of a new character, the spork Forky, voiced by Tony Hale, and an expanded role for Bo Peep (Annie Potts). Toy Story 3 (2010) remains the only sequel to win...

The full conversation from The Hollywood Reporter's 2019 Animation Roundtable is now available as a special episode of THR's Behind the Screen.

Recorded Sept. 26 at the Warwick in Hollywood, the guests are Jennifer Lee, Dean DeBlois, Jill Culton, Jinko Gotoh and Josh Cooley.

Lee is the writer and one of the directors of Frozen 2, as well as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Lee and Chris Buck won Oscars for 2013's Frozen and reteamed to make this sequel.

DeBlois is writer, director and executive producer of DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden ...

The full conversation from The Hollywood Reporter's 2019 Animation Roundtable is now available as a special episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Behind the Screen podcast.

Recorded Sept. 26 at the Warwick in Hollywood, the guests are Jennifer Lee, Dean DeBlois, Jill Culton, Jinko Gotoh and Josh Cooley.

Lee is the writer and one of the directors of Frozen 2, as well as chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Lee and Chris Buck won Oscars for 2013's Frozen and reteamed to make the sequel.

DeBlois is the writer, director and executive producer of DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train ...

DreamWorks Animation films How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Abominable set out to tell a story of transformation, growth, and individuality as the characters embark on their perspective journies.

For How to Train Your Dragon 3, that journey has spanned over a decade. The final installment finds protagonist Viking Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), while on a quest to find a mysterious dragon utopia known as The Hidden World, has to come to terms with dragon Toothless falling for a female Light Fury, and he must consider who he would be without his trusted friend by his side.

“The thematic controlling idea of this final installment of the trilogy is a parental one,” said writer and director Dean DeBlois during the studio’s presentation at Deadline Contenders New York. “It’s what every parent has to go through when their child reaches a certain age and that’s...

When “Missing Link” producer Arianne Sutner began her career in the early 1990s, fresh out of college, she had a goal: Get a job working on a film set that didn’t involve doing craft service. Because, she says “as women, they were always kind of either intentionally or unintentionally pointing you in that direction.”

After all, back then the number of women working behind the scenes in animation was almost non-existent. Today, it’s a very different story. Nearly all of 2019’s biggest animated movies featured female writers, producers and/or directors crafting family-friendly stories, from “Toy Story 4” (with a screenplay co-written by Stephany Folsom) to “The Secret Life of Pets 2” (produced by Janet Healy) to some of this fall’s biggest releases.

The increase in diversity is something that “Abominable” writer-director Jill Culton attributes to “interest and education.” When she graduated from CalArts in 1992, only five...

Approached by DreamWorks Animation about the prospect of helming a “Yeti movie,” writer/director Jill Culton seized what she saw as both an opportunity and a challenge, “to reinvent and define a mythical creature in a new way for audiences,” she says.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Culton’s second feature centers on Yi (Chloe Bennet), a rebellious and highly intelligent young woman whose life is forever changed, after encountering a young Yeti on the roof of her Shanghai apartment building. After dragging two of her friends on a journey to the Himalayas to reunite the creature with his family, Yi contends with a zoologist and an ultra-wealthy man who have their own designs on the yeti.

Casting Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Sarah Paulson and Eddie Izzard in the awards-contending animated pic, Culton approached the role of Yi with great care.

“It was important to...

Note to would-be directors of animated features: get your composer involved from the start. That was one of the key observations from The Contenders L.A. DreamWorks Animation panel Saturday, that featured filmmaking talent behind How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Abominable.

“I try to put get [composer] John [Powell] involved as early as possible, sending him scripts from the earliest drafts,” said Dean DeBlois, director of all three Dragon films including The Hidden World.

“This is our third installment of a trilogy so we have honed a partnership over a 10-year period in which I completely trust John and his instincts and know that he is a great storyteller in his own right,” DeBlois added. “He finds themes that I might not be as aware of as I’m writing on the surface and they play like harmonies to the intention that I try to put on screen.

‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.’

In the battle of the sequels Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil beat Sony’s Zombieland: Double Tap last weekend but neither was a match for the third frame of Warner Bros’ juggernaut Joker.

Launching on 60 screens, Universal’s Judy Garland biopic Judy hit a high note while Cinema Live’s Billy Connolly: The Sex Life of Bandages did not generate many laughs or dollars and Icon’s mystery thriller Strange But True bombed.

It was a soft trading weekend at cinemas as the top 20 titles harvested $14.2 million, down 27 per cent on the previous frame, according to Numero.

Todd Phillips’ Joker rang up $4.3 million despite falling by 41 per cent, hoisting its total to $28.5 million. The WB/Village Roadshow/Bron Studios’ production has amassed $738.5 million worldwide: $247.2 million in the Us and $491.3 million internationally, where it now ranks as the fourth biggest DC comics-based blockbuster of all time.

Against the picturesque backdrop of the Alps, the View Conference will celebrate its 20th year in Turin, Italy, with its fullest program ever, featuring top creatives from around the world in film, television and games and more who will give keynote talks and present masterclasses at the weeklong event, Oct. 21-25.

This edition boasts director of DreamWorks Animation’s hit “Abominable” Jill Culton; Brad Bird, director of last year’s “Incredibles 2”; Peter Ramsey, co-director of Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”; “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” director Dean DeBlois; composer Michael Giacchino; “The Lion King” VFX supervisor Rob Legato; “The Addams Family” co-director Conrad Vernon; Industrial Light & Magic’s Rob Bredow; Emmy-winning Baobab Studios’ Eric Darnell and Maureen Fan; and Sergio Pablos, director of Netflix’s first original animated film “Klaus.” A recent addition is “Frozen II” VFX supervisor Steve Goldberg, who will present a preview of...

Abominable has been frozen out of theaters in Vietnam.

The animated adventure from DreamWorks Animation and Shanghai-based Pearl Studios ran afoul of the Vietnamese government because of a map in the film illustrating China’s claims to a vast portion of the South China Sea, the BBC reported Monday.

The scene that touched off the controversy shows what’s known as China’s “nine dash line” in the background.

Journalist Mike Tatarski tweeted a picture of the scene.

'Abominable,' the animated movie produced by Dreamworks & Shanghai-based Pearl Studio, has been pulled from theaters in Vietnam after viewers noticed a map apparently depicting China's 9-dash line in the East Sea. (Screenshot & 'X' via Zing.) pic.twitter.com/S2OUR6xyu2

— Mike Tatarski (@miketatarski) October 14, 2019

China and Vietnam have been locked in a dispute over the sea, and tensions escalated in July when the Chinese conducted an energy survey in waters Vietnam claims.

DreamWorks Animation's Abominable has been pulled from all Vietnamese theaters. Moviegoers and Vietnamese officials took offense to a scene which features a map favoring China's disputed geographical claims in the South Sea. The animated family movie hit Vietnamese theaters at the beginning of the month and comes at a time where there is "heightened concern over Hollywood kowtowing to Beijing." DreamWorks Animation teamed up with China's Pearl Studio, which is owned by "Chinese entertainment conglomerate China Media Capital, an entity partially backed by the Chinese government."

The Abominable scene in question shows a map which features the controversial "nine-dash line," "covering a vast U-shaped expanse of the South China Sea." China has claimed sole ownership of the region for years, mainly due to all of the resources in the area. Many Southeast Asian nations disagree wholeheartedly and claim that it is theirs, mainly due to the fact that they are geographically much closer.

Mark Harrison Oct 14, 2019

The first major collaboration between DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio, Abominable isn't nearly as bad as the title suggests...

Having previously co-produced Kung Fu Panda 3 with Pearl Studio, DreamWorks Animation now brings us the Chinese animation house's first original film, Abominable, which is a perfectly lovely movie whose title doesn't suit it at all. From writer-director Jill Culton, the film offers up a lively and colourful road trip across China with three youngsters and the baby yeti they've taken into their care.

When the film begins, teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet) is getting over her father's untimely death by throwing herself into the gig economy and escaping to the rooftop of her apartment building by night. It's there that she finds a big white fluffy creature hiding from a private scientific organization's roving helicopters and staring wistfully at a nearby “Visit Everest” billboard.

With her preening Insta-famous...

‘Hustlers’ (Photo credit: Stx Films).

Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers is a hit in the Us but the crime caper starring Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart and Cardi B was never going to beat the second weekend of Todd Phillips’ blockbuster Joker in Australia.

Meanwhile Ang Lee’s $140 million-budgeted action thriller Gemini Man is shaping as a write-off for Paramount Pictures and co-investors Skydance, Alibaba and Fosun.

Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl maintained a fair clip in its third weekend while two alternate content releases, Nt Live: Fleabag and Metallica & San Francisco Symphony: S&m drew sizable audiences.

The top 20 titles generated $19.2 million last weekend, 13 per cent down on the previous frame, according to Numero.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix as the twisted, disenfranchised clown-for-hire and stand-up comic in 1980s Gotham, Joker rang up $7.4 million, easing by just 24 per cent, hoisting its total to $22 million.

The Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Bron Studios...

Further new openers include Lionsgate’s ‘Farming’, eOne’s ‘The Day Shall Come’.

Two contrasting titles are among the new openers at the UK box office this weekend, as Universal’s animated comedy Abominable goes up against Paramount’s Will Smith action drama Gemini Man.

However the new openers will have to score strongly to knock Warner Bros’ Joker from top spot, which scored a huge £12.6m debut last weekend.

Abominable is a DreamWorks Animation production, about a magical Yeti in Shanghai on a quest to reunite with his family on Mount Everest. Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai and Tenzing Norgay Trainor lead the voice cast.

It took several years, but writer-director Jill Culton has finally seen her animated film “Abominable” come to the big screen, and in a big way. The DreamWorks Animation-Pearl Studio production led the domestic box office with $21 million in its opening weekend. As of Oct. 8, it has taken in nearly $80 million worldwide, and critics have sung its praises.

The longtime animator first started the project at Dwa seven years ago, but left it for awhile after the company experienced exec changes and was sold. Then, not that long ago, Culton was asked to come back on to see it to fruition.

Culton, who will be among the keynote speakers at the 2019 View Conference Oct. 21-25 in Turin, Italy, spoke with Variety about her upcoming View presentation and about her journey to finish the story of a girl who learns to move past the grief of losing her father by helping a...

Launched by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen as DreamWorks in 1994, DreamWorks Animation celebrates its silver anniversary, marking 25 years since embarking on its first voyage with the Academy Award-nominated biblical epic “The Prince of Egypt.”

Since then, DreamWorks Animation has released 38 feature films, including the blockbuster “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Trolls” franchises and its newest release, “Abominable.” Earning more than $15 billion at the global box office, DreamWorks has received a multitude of accolades over its history, including three Oscars and three Academy Sci-Tech Awards.

Women have long been in the spotlight at DreamWorks Animation, well known for promoting female talent within their ranks to leadership roles. Here, six female directors share their memories of working at the studio during its first quarter century: Lorna Cook, Vicky Jenson, Elaine Bogan, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Brenda Chapman, and Jill Culton.

Lorna Cook

Animator-director

For Cook,...

‘Joker’ (Photo credit: Warner Bros)

Is Todd Phillips’ Joker an enthralling masterpiece or a disturbing and deeply derivative incitement to commit violence? The comic book-inspired movie has polarised the critics but audiences in Australia and around the world have voted with their feet.

The action adventure starring Joaquin Phoenix as the twisted, disenfranchised clown-for-hire and stand-up comic in 1980s Gotham smashed industry opening records for October in Oz, the Us and internationally last weekend.

Meanwhile Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl now ranks as the top-grossing Australian release of the year after racing through its second weekend. Ticket sales surged thanks to the school holidays and the new releases including Indian import War and Chinese dramas My People, My Country and The Captain.

The top 20 titles harvested $21.9 million from Thursday through Sunday, 80 per cent up on the previous weekend, according to Numero.

Joker punched up $9.7 million and $11.9 million including the Monday Labor Day holiday.

‘Ride Like A Girl’.

Transmission Films’ Ride Like a Girl, the directorial debut from Rachel Griffiths, has surpassed expectations, topping the Australian box office on its opening weekend.

The biopic covering the rise of Australian female jockey Michelle Payne opened at first place on Thursday and after an opening weekend performance across 269 screens, is hurtling towards becoming the highest grossing Australian film of the year.

According to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australian (Mpdaa) the weekend takings were $1.7 million, with a cumulative total of $2.4 million.

The feature produced by Richard Keddie stars Teresa Palmer as Payne, Sam Neill as her father Paddy, while brother Stevie Payne plays himself.

Transmission Films MD Andrew Mackie tells If the opening result exceeded the distributor’s already high expectations.

“The audience knows what they want. This is an authentic, heartfelt true story, and the audience seems to have recognised that,” he says.

“One...

Update, writethru: In its sophomore frame, Fox/New Regency’s Ad Astra again led the international box office, landing another $18M from 50 material markets. The overseas cume is $53.5M for $89M worldwide. The Brad Pitt-starrer is now out in all markets handled by Disney which is not across China, Taiwan or Hong Kong. Bona Film Group covered 30% of the bill on the expensive space pic which is expected to see a Middle Kingdom release.

New hubs on the James Gray-directed sci-fi thinker this weekend included Russia at No. 1 with $3.1M (54% ahead of Arrival and 425% ahead of First Man); Brazil at No. 2 with $900K (37% ahead of First Man and 44% ahead of Arrival); and Italy with a $1M No. 2 launch — the film premiered in Venice last month.

Holds were good in Europe which dropped 40% regionally. The pricey pic has been expected to play akin to the thrifty Arrival ($103M offshore...

Chicago – The changing view on yetis goes to show just how different my childhood was from kids growing up today. Back in my day, yeti’s were elusive creatures meant to be feared, much like Big Foot or Loch Ness. Films like “Smallfoot” and “Abominable” are paving the way towards acceptance were we ever to encounter a yeti, but the latter is more of a step back than forwards.

Rating: 2.5/2.5

It is impossible to completely dislike something that is so morally good and good-hearted. “Abominable” should be stomping into our hearts, but it feels more like it tip-toes past us. The story follows young Yi (Chloe Bennet) as she deals with the grief over the loss of her father by working constantly so that she can save enough money to take the trip they had been planning to take together. Her self-imposed isolation brings her in contact with an escaped...