Last summer, Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins caused an uproar in the animation industry when he said that the company would only focus on IP-driven animated features because original ideas were too risky. “We’re not going to release an expensive original animated movie and just pray people will come,” he said at the time.
His comments were widely criticized by top industry figures including Guillermo del Toro and Chris Miller, and led to a quick retraction by Paramount Animation president Ramsey Naito, who said that the studio would definitely continue developing original ideas.
Today, Naito made good on that promise by announcing five new projects that are currently in development at Paramount. The goal of the studio, she told Variety, is “to make movies that reach kids and families everywhere that have a real relatabililty, that feel broad and diverse.”
The five new projects that she announced are as follows:
- Dropz is “our E.T. about real kids in a super extraordinary situation,” according to Naito. Rob Letterman (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Monsters vs. Aliens) will direct from a script he is co-writing with Ike Holter. Bad Bunny is executive producer, and Will Ferrell will produce alongside Jessica Elbaum and David Koplan.
- Muttnik, a sci-fi comedy in which a spacefaring dog-turned-‘Han Solo-type space bandit” confronts the Earth family that abandoned him. Scriptwriters are Mike LeSieur, Chris Yost, and Michael McCullers. Producers are Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Zareh Nalbandian.
- Once Upon a Motorcycle Dude is described by Naito as a “fairytale disrupter” in which a princess and a ‘post-apocalytic motorcycle dude’ work together to save a kingdom. Karen Rosenfelt will produce.
- An updated retelling of Swan Lake written by Kourtney Kang (How I Met Your Mother) and produced by Temple Hill.
- Yokai Samba is described by Naito as “our The Last Starfighter and a destination movie to Brazil.” The film is to be directed by Brazilian artist Leo Matsuda, who directed the 2016 Disney short Inner Workings. Mitch Watson is scripting and Stacy Lubliner will produce.
