Disney has confirmed that it has joined forces with San Francisco-based Hoytyboy, producing a computer-animated feature called THE WILD in conjunction with CORE Feature Film of Toronto. THE WILD is being helmed by commercial director Steve "Spaz" Williams, best known for the Blockbuster spots with the hamsters, and is scheduled for a summer 2005 release.
THE WILD follows a teenage lion that hails from the New York Zoo, which turns zany when the animals are all alone. According to AIN'T-IT-COOL NEWS, the zoo becomes a Michael Sowa-inspired fantasy world, "where giraffes and elephants play turtle-curling and young creatures run amok."
When the lion accidentally gets trapped inside a crate and is shipped to Africa, some of his zoo friends team up to rescue him. The heroic legion consists of an older lion, a female giraffe, a not so bright anaconda, a little squirrel in love with the giraffe and a neurotic koala.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
