LAIKA Ent. has secured the film rights for one of the U.K.s bestselling children's novels, HERE BE MONSTERS, by writer/illustrator Alan Snow. LAIKA paid a "significant" six-figure sum to develop it as an animated feature film.
LAIKA ceo Dale Wahl said, "Great animated feature films begin with engaging stories and appealing characters. This book has both, as well as a wonderful sense of humor. It's a great addition to our development and production slate, which currently includes the CG and stop-motion movie CORALINE and the CG film JACK & BEN'S ANIMATED ADVENTURE."
HERE BE MONSTERS will be published in the U.S. this July by Simon and Schuster and was published in the U.K. by Oxford University Press. LAIKA Ent.'s director of worldwide scouting operations Fiona Kenshole first saw drawings for the book five years ago.
"I knew there was something special about them," says Kenshole. "It's been a long effort to bring it to LAIKA, but I'm convinced that a magical chemistry will develop between LAIKA Entertainment's creative team and the unique ideas in Alan Snow's book."
According to LAIKA Ent.'s supervising director Henry Selick, "Like SHREK, HERE BE MONSTERS is packed with multi-layered humor appealing to both child and adult audiences. It has a winning combination of the familiar elements of a boy's fight against evil, set in an extraordinary world, with a whimsical cast of characters."
Illustrated throughout with more than 500 of the author's black-and-white drawings, the story centers on a young boy who tries to save his town from a dastardly takeover plot.
Snow wrote HERE BE MONSTERS as the first volume of a trilogy titled THE RATBRIDGE CHRONICLES. He wrote the recent best-selling HOW SANTA REALLY WORKS, and has illustrated more than 160 children's books. His expertise covers a wide range of projects including books, design and computer animation, as well as the design of a children's science museum in Japan, and a toy robot currently on sale worldwide.
LAIKA is owned by Phil Knight, co-founder and Chairman of Nike. The company was rebranded as LAIKA in summer 2005, when it absorbed Vinton Studios, an animation leader and innovator for more than 30 years. LAIKA/House produces animated commercials and shorts for global clients including Coca-Cola, Wrigleys, ESPN and Esure UK.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
