Upcoming animated feature Spellbound will be enchanting audiences on Netflix, as Apple has opted to end its partnership with Skydance Animation. The film had been slated to premiere on Apple TV+ in 2024, however both partners reportedly agreed that it was ‘not the best fit’ for the Apple Original Films slate. Variety reports that Skydance Animation, run by John Lasseter with president Holly Edwards, will now exclusively release its animated movies directly to Netflix in an arrangement that will span multiple years, with the studios’ existing slate also moving exclusively to the streamer.
The first up will be Spellbound, which was previously set up at Apple. The film, starring Rachel Zegler and Tituss Burgess, is now set for release by Netflix in 2024, followed by Pookoo in 2025. Future films include Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project directed by Rich Moore. Theatrical releases do not seem to be a part of the new Netflix-Skydance Animation agreement.
The companies had previously teamed up to release Luck in 2022. Both films were picked up by Apple from Paramount in a December 2020 deal. This multi-year agreement has come to an end, allowing Spellbound to return to Skydance Animation’s stewardship.
Directed by Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Tale) from a script by Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Maleficent), Spellbound is a musical fantasy-adventure set in the magical land of Lumbria, where a young princess named Ellian set out to break the curse that has split her kingdom into two.
The voice cast features Golden Globe winner Rachel Zegler (Steven Spieblerg’s West Side Story) as Princess Eillian, Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as as Queen Elsinore and King Solon, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, André De Shields, Jordan Fisher and Tituss Burgess. The film features an original score and original songs from eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas), with lyrics by Glenn Slater (Tangled).
A work-in-progress update on the film was presented by Jenson and head of story Brian Pimental at the Annecy Festival in June of this year. (Read more.)
Skydance’s 2025 movie is Pookoo, a buddy comedy about a small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of The Valley, that magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime. Pookoo is directed by Nathan Greno (Tangled, Tangled Ever After) with original music composed by Siddhartha Khosla. The film is produced by John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Mary Ellen Bauder Andrews for Skydance Animation.
Apple and Skydance Media will continue their relationship on live-action films and series, such as Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (out Friday) and Apple TV+ series Foundation.
[Source: Deadline, Variety]
