Japanese anime giant Toei Animation (One Piece Movie: Red, The first slam dunk) collaborates with Sonic the Hedgehog Game designer Naoto Oshima, Shrek 2 And The Smurfs Author David N. Weiss and acclaimed animation producer Joseph Chou (Ghost in the Shell, Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim) to the English-language animated film Hypergalactic.
Weiss will direct Hypergalactic with the story and characters co-created by Oshima and Chou. Toei describes the film as its largest CGI project to date. The Japanese studio is thrilled with the success of the animated sports drama The first slam dunkwhich has earned more than $279 million worldwide, and One Piece Movie: Redwhich grossed more than $246 million worldwide.
Adam Devine, Elsie Fisher, JK Simmons and Sam Richardson have joined the voice cast of the English-language production. Representing worldwide rights, Charades will launch sales at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin next week alongside Iwashina Corporation founder Kevin Iwashina, an advisor to Toei Animation.
The plot of Hypergalactic follows an adventurous teenage girl (Fisher) and her little brother in the not-too-distant future after they free Earth's forgotten protector, Ohkan (Devine), in the hopes that he can help reunite them with their missing parents to reunite. Together, the unlikely trio embarks on a journey full of surprises and discovers the deeper meaning of family. Hypergalactic is currently in post-production.
Toei's Yoshi Ikezawa is producing with executive producers Kozo Morishita, Katsuhiro Takagi and Tim Kwok.
“With Hypergalactic“The immensely talented game designer Oshima has created a multicultural adventure story of epic proportions – combining memorable global characters with a Japanese anime aesthetic and a Western approach to storytelling,” Ikezawa said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing our brand of high-quality animation to a broader global audience, beyond our existing loyal and dedicated fan base.”
Yohann Comte, Co-CEO of Charades, added: “Toei Animation has established itself as one of the most consistent global developers of high-quality animation. Hypergalactic is the result of their experience in creating recognizable global IPs and the team's ability to adapt manga into successful universal anime – such as: Dragon Ball Z And Sailor Moon – and their interest in delivering stories to a wide audience. I believe Hypergalactic is a rare opportunity for the independent film market to work with one of the most important companies in animation.”
Devine is repped by CAA, Avalon Management and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Finally, Goodell & Gellman. Fisher is represented by Innovative Artists. Simmons is represented by The Gersh Agency. Richardson is represented by UTA, Artists First and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein. Weiss is represented by Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo.
