Cinema Management Group announces, Toonz Media Group, the global kids and family entertainment company, will be co-producing in partnership with the impressive ensemble of producers at animation studios, Robert Chandler’s Space Age Films and Gina Carter & Stephen Fry’s Sprout Pictures, the first-ever animated adaptation of the Oscar Wilde Classic, The Canterville Ghost.
The Canterville Ghost producers, assisted by Paul Grindey of Viewfinder Film, have now inked a deal with Toonz for this much-awaited animated theatrical feature, with the animation production for the feature film being undertaken from its studios in India while the pre and post-production will be undertaken in the UK and Ireland animation studios. The feature is being directed by Kim Burdon.
A warm, charming, and humorous tale by Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost, is about a ghost, Sir Simon, who is has been haunting his ancestral home, Canterville Chase, for over 300 years and loving it! But everything changes when an American family buys the estate and moves in. The American family is unimpressed with Sir Simon’s ghostly antics, finding him to be a bit of a nuisance, and does not find him scary at all. This clever classic tale by Wilde is still part of the English language curriculum in various countries such as the United States, Canada, France, Italy, India, Czech Republic and many others.
Edward Noeltner, President of Cinema Management Group, who together with producer Kristina Dubin of DubinMedia, were instrumental in brokering the deal with Toonz, said in a joint statement: “Toonz coming on board this high-quality animated feature was the final piece in giving The Canterville Ghost the required momentum to fly into production. The film is targeted for delivery in 2021.” Effectively, CMG has already pre-sold the film in a number of international territories including German speaking Europe, Russia and CIS territories, Poland as well as other Eastern European territories including the Middle East and Israel.
Toonz Media Group’s CEO P. Jayakumar shared, “We are delighted to be working with the existing team already in place on this wonderful film. Producer Robert Chandler has done a terrific job assembling great talent on this feature. As one of the largest animation studios in the world, Toonz brings 20+ years of experience in animation to this exciting project along with hundreds of skilled animators from India and an accomplished pre and post team in place in Ireland and the UK.”
Space Age Films Managing and Creative Director, Robert Chandler says, “I am delighted with the relationship we have forged with CMG and Toonz to bring this picture to life. Wilde speaks to people of all ages. So, too, will Canterville, with its tale of an uptight American family moving into a stately British house only to find it haunted by a grouchy old ghost. Oscar’s genius was in crafting a story where every character feels they are doing the right thing. The American family are as real and lovable, with their own concerns and worries about the world, as the eccentric English ghost. The battlefield is the house and its grounds. Sparks fly and comedy is the result.”