The plucky Arctic bird heroes of CG-animated Puffins series are ready for their first big-screen assignment in Johnny Puff: Secret Mission, arriving in Q1 2024 from Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment. A trailer for the feathery feature has arrived, with an early clutch of international pick-ups announced ahead of the American Film Market (AFM) in Los Angeles (Oct. 31- Nov. 5).
The feature film reunites Johnny Puff (voiced in the film and in the series by Johnny Depp) and his friends Tic, Tac, Didi and Pete for a secret mission that will save their community of Taigaville from the latest dastardly plan hatched by the megalomaniacal mastermind, Otto Van Walrus. The story will highlight themes including environmental protection, recycling and team spirit.
Johnny Puff: Secret Mission is directed by Nestor F. Dennis, produced by Cristobal Rodriguez and Dennis at Melies Producciones, in participation with U.S. companies WWPS and Evolution. Italian firm Iuvit is handling sales on the project. Iuvit’s lineup also includes animated feature Sato, A Dog’s Tale.
The pic has pre-sold to AK Entertainment (S. Korea), FrontRow (Middle East), Little Brother (German-speaking Europe), Melies (Spain), NOS Audiovisuals (Portugal) and Wediacorp (Turkey). Discussions for North American distribution are underway.
Created by Danielle Maloni and Peter Nalli, Puffins (2020) is a spin-off of the 2019 animated comedy-adventure film Arctic Dogs, following the five-minute adventures of the five puffins, who work for the wily walrus scientist. The series is produced by Iervolino Studios, based in Belgrade, and launched on Prime Video and Apple TV+ in 2020.
[Source: Deadline]
