Mike Johnson, co-director of the Oscar-nominated animated feature Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, is replacing Triplets of Belleville helmer Sylvain Chomet as director of Universal Pictures’ The Tale of Despereaux. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chomet dropped out when his attempt to juggle two films at once proved unmanageable. He is currently adapting a screenplay by late French scribe and actor Jacques Tati (Parade, Trafic).
Universal’s animated feature is based on the Newberry Medal-winning children’s book, The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie). Screenwriters Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi adapted the story, which centers on a mouse that falls in love with a princess and discovers a thirst for knowledge while other mice are eating books.
Seabiscuit director Gary Ross and Allison Thomas are producing the film through their Larger Than Life Prods, and Mary Parent and Damien Saccani are overseeing the project for Universal. London-based visual effects and animation house Framestore CFC is handling the CG animation. Johnson is reportedly working with the studio to build on character designs started by Chomet.
Before co-directing Corpse Bride with Burton, Johnson served as an animator on the stop-motion features The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, which were both produed by Burton and directed by Henry Selick. He also directed Vinton Studio’s short-lived, clay-animated FOX series, The PJs, before founding Fat Cactus Films In 1996 and producing the short film The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
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