Among the many, many other projects he’s working on, including production on Pacific Rim, Hellboy 3, and taking directorial duties on the Emma Watson vehicle Beauty and the Beast, it was reported today that Guillermo del Toro will also produce a CG-animated film with the working title Day of the Dead. The director will work in collaboration with Reel FX on the film, which is the first to be set in his native Mexico since Cronos in 1993. [Variety]
Directed by animator Jorge R. Gutierrez, the film is described as an “action-packed, fully CG-animated picture, with a Romeo and Juliet style love story set against a Mexican Day of the Dead backdrop.” In an official press release, del Toro spoke on Gutierrez, who has worked in various roles on cartoon series like El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera and Maya and Miguel, and his involvement with the film:
“I have admired Jorge’s work for a long time. He has a unique aesthetic and sense of humor. Day of the Dead offers a perfect opportunity for his sensibilities to shine. This is a colorful, vibrant, vital fable that utilizes the animation medium in an incredible way. The object of the tale is not only to talk about life but to dazzle us – jolt us- into living to the fullest.”
Gutierrez also penned the script for the film along with Doug Langdale, a long-time writer of animated TV series. Reel FX and del Toro will produce alongside Aaron Berger and Carina Schulze.
Day of the Dead is scheduled for release in fall 2014.
Does you think an animated feature from del Toro sounds promising?