Sylvain Chomet, the director the acclaimed THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, is set to direct the animated feature film DESPEREAUX for Universal, reports VARIETY. Larger Than Life Prods' Gary Ross and Allison Thomas, who produced SEABISCUIT, will produce the film.
Based on Kate DiCamillo's Newberry Medal-winning children's book, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX: BEING THE STORY OF A MOUSE, A PRINCESS, SOME SOUP, AND A SPOOL OF THREAD, the story follows an exiled mouse, a light-loving rat and a young servant girl with cauliflower ears as their lives get mix-up with a princess.
Universal's vice chairman of worldwide production Mary Parent will shepherd the project for the studio along with vp Damien Saccani.
Previously Chomet signed a deal with Dimension films to direct an untitled animated feature. The future of that project in light of the DESPEREAUX deal is unknown.
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