The new animated feature Richard the Stork 2 is ready to leave the nest at the American Film Market, with global distributor Indie Sales unveiling the sequel and announcing a raft of pre-sales around the world. Buyers can preview the project with an exclusive promo reel at AFM.
Directed by animator Mette Rank Tange (Minions, Captain Underpants) and Benjamin Quabeck from a script they wrote with Reza Memari (Richard the Stork) and Philip LaZebnik (Pocahontas, Mulan, The Prince of Egypt), Richard the Stork 2 picks up with the little feathered hero’s next big adventure…
Synopsis: Richard, the daring sparrow who was adopted by a stork family, is enjoying wintering at the Great Lake in Northern Africa when he realizes he won’t be the one to lead the flock back north. So, he runs away to travel on his own.
On his journey, Richard meets Samia and her sparrow flock, who are being held captive by evil marabou storks under the control of the greedy peacock, Zamano. The only chance of freedom for the sparrows is to solve a riddle and find the Great Jewel, which will call upon teamwork, trust and, most of all, spork skills.
The sequel is produced by Kristine M.I. Knudsen & Lan Rommel for Knudsen Pictures (Germany), Eric Goossens & Anton Robben for Walking the Dog (Where Is Anne Frank) in Belgium, Elisabeth Opdal & Eirik Smidesang Slåen for Den Siste Skilling in Norway, Mia Wallace Prods., BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance, Mediefondet Zefyr and Norddeutscher Rundfunk, in collaboration with ShortCut Nordisk Film.
Animation studios on the project include Walking the Dog, Mideu Films (Germany) and Apparat Animasion (Norway). Richard the Stork 2 also features music by composer Eric Neveux (Samsam, Zombillenium, Richard the Stork).
The movie is due for delivery in 2023, when it will have a domestic release in Germany through Wild Bunch. Indie Sales has secured pre-sales for Richard the Stork 2 in Finland and Scandinavia (SF Studios), France (Paradis/Orange Studio), Germany/Austria/Switzerland (Wild Bunch), Israel (Five Stars), Turkey (Filmarti), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), ex-Yugoslavia (Karantanija), CIS (Nashe Kino) and the Baltics (Garsu Pasaulio Irasai).
The first Richard the Stork movie released in 2017 screened in 155 countries. Also known as A Stork’s Journey in North America and Little Bird’s Big Adventure, the film reportedly grossed over $20 million worldwide. Lionsgate re-dubbed the film into English with a cast list led by Drake Bell and Jane Lynch.
[Source: Variety]
