New Line Cinema’s aborted mission has become Sony’s new animation invasion plan. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has bought North American distribution rights to the CG family feature Planet 51, a production of HandMade Films Int’l and Madrid-based Llion Animation Studios. Featuring the voices of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Jessica Biel, Seann William Scott, Justin Long, Gary Oldman and John Cleese, the film will be released theatrically through Sony’s TriStar Pictures on Nov. 20, 2009. A video game based on the pic is also being developed by Llion’s parent company, Pyro Studios.
Planet 51 is an invasion story with a twist that revolves around Earthling astronaut Capt. Chuck Baker (Johnson), who causes panic when his spacecraft lands on an alien world that bares a striking resemblance to suburban American in the 1950s. In his efforts to avoid capture and get off the planet, Baker is befriended by a local boy named Lem (Long) and his goofy sidekick, Skiff (Scott). Biel will lend her voice to Neera, Lem’s love interest.
The movie was penned by Shrek writer Joe Stillman, who earned an Emmy nomination for his work on the animated FOX TV series King of the Hill, and directed by Jorge Blanco, the lead artist on Pyro’s Commandos video game series. Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez, who worked with Blanco on Commandos, are listed as co-directors on the film. Llion’s Ignacio Perez Dolset produced the flick with HandMade’s Guy Collins. Exec producers include former Nickelodeon head Albie Hecht and Lola Film president Andres Vicente Gomez.
Llion produced the toon comedy for roughly $60 million. HandMade Films, which is handling worldwide sales, initially sold North American rights to New Line, but the deal soured when New Line was absorbed into Warner Bros. Warner execs and the films producers reportedly failed to see eye-to-eye on a release window, and the movie went back on the market.
