Surf's Up began with a simple idea -- what if penguins invented surfing? © Sony Pictures Ent.

While the writers strike has put a temporary damper on animated feature development, studios are positioned to resume their quest for narrative gold as soon as the issues are resolved and Hollywood gets back to work.

To generate ideas that are ripe for development, each studio has its own process. Some rely mostly on established relationships, while others are more willing to hear outside pitches from newcomers (through their agents or attorneys). Since a studio typically releases just one or two animated films per year, the competition to fill those slots is intense. Still, the studios are always on the lookout for great concepts, no matter where they originate.

"We look for ideas anywhere and everywhere," says Nate Hopper, SVP, Sony Pictures Animation. He says that some come from preexisting materials and some from traditional pitches, some are internally generated and others come from outside. "We will go after an idea even if it's a kernel of an idea."

Surf's Up is an example of an internally developed project. Sony executives were throwing around an idea: "What if penguins invented surfing?" Producer Chris Jenkins came up with the concept of the mockumentary format and took the lead on the project, putting together a small development team and signing the director early. Things took off from there. In contrast, Open Season was brought to Sony by Steve Moore and John Carls. It evolved over time but always stayed true to the basic story relayed in the initial pitch.

Chris Meledandri developed many of Blue Sky's projects, including Horton Hears a Who, based on the famed Dr. Seuss book. © 20th Century Fox.

Another Sony film, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which is in production for a 2009 release, came from a children's book. Hopper points out that the original book has a big idea, a developed world and great visuals, but it has no real characters. The task, then, was to create the main personalities and a reason people should care about them. "It took a long time to figure out who the characters are and how this world becomes a movie," Hopper explains.

At Twentieth Century Fox Animation, "we want to make sure we don't leave any stone unturned," reports President Vanessa Morrison. Concepts can be generated in-house by the talent at Fox's New York-based animation house, Blue Sky Studios, or by the company's development executives in California, as well as from external submissions such as pitches or screenplays.

Ideas also may be based on preexisting properties such as graphic novels, books (e.g. Horton Hears a Who, set for a 2008 release) or classic properties (this year's Alvin and the Chipmunks, which was developed jointly with Fox 2000). "You have these great stories and characters that people know and remember, combined with the artistry of Blue Sky putting its unique spin on it," Morrison says.

Sequels can be another lucrative area of development. "It's using development to come up with ideas that continue to build on the imaginative stories created earlier," she says, noting that Fox is currently working on Ice Age 3. "We don't make sequels just to make sequels, ever. But people want to see another Ice Age, if you can take it to another level."

An Evolving Process
The processes a studio uses to generate ideas and develop films tends to change over time. This evolution is attributable to various factors; some newer companies simply require new processes as they grow and mature, while others are part of mergers or strategic alliances that result in significant changes to their business models.