Twentieth Century Fox Animation is calling dibs on "The Dam Keeper", announcing its plans to make a feature-length film of the Oscar-winning short in partnership with upstart animation studio, Tonko House. This is in part of Fox Animation's efforts to keep its slate ramped-up for the foreseeable future.
Robert Kondo and Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi, founders of Tonko House, wrote and directed the short, and are being brought on to helm the animation feature. They have worked on Pixar animations in the past, including "Ratatouille" and "Monsters University". John Henry Rinkel, who wrote the screenplay for the short animation "Home", is tapped to pen the screenplay.
"The Dam Keeper" is the story of "Pig, an introverted and bullied youth who lives in a windmill, protecting a town from a looming dark fog, and his relationship with a new student in school, the artistically inclined Fox."
The story will also, according to THR, "take place several years after the events of the short, which was 2D and dialogue free. The movie is intended to be CG with plenty of voice work."
Kondo and Tsutsumi also spoke about finding the perfect home for their story, telling THR: "Since we began working on the story for a feature set in the world of The Dam Keeper, we wondered who the right partners would be to help us take the next steps with Pig and Fox and guide us in introducing them to audiences in this rapidly changing world. We feel that 20th Century Fox, with both its longstanding track record and the exciting direction it's headed, is the ideal home for our characters. We are so excited about the risks we are taking together and the new storytelling possibilities that exist."
"The Dam Keeper" is obviously in its early stages of development and thusly has no official release date yet, but always keep it here with Gamenguide as we will update you as news come about your favorite movies.
Source: THR
