Snow Queen 2: The Snow King to be produced in English with top U.S. talent; Ned Lott announced as casting and voice director.
Russia’s Wizart Animation has released a new teaser trailer for its forthcoming animated feature, Snow Queen 2: The Snow King.
The film is a follow-up to Wizart’s first feature, Snow Queen, which has grossed over $14 million worldwide to date, setting records for a Russian animated feature on international markets.
Snow Queen has been released theatrically in Russia, Ukraine and CIS , Brazil, South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, Middle East, Baltic States, Poland, and Israel, and via strong home video and TV partnerships in France (with Universal – to date more than 13,000 DVD and Blu Rays sold), Germany, Turkey and the US. Releases of Snow Queen are pending in Japan and ex-Yugoslavia countries.
In the domestic U.S. market Snow Queen was released by Vertical Entertainment through partnerships and with Walmart, Netflix, Redbox, leading pay TV platforms. As of January 2014, more than 100,000 DVDs have been sold. Wizart Animation and Vertical Entertainment are in negotiations about Snow Queen 2 and a theatrical release may be in the cards.
Wizart is extending the Snow Queen franchise with and Snow Queen 2: The Snow King, the sequel to the Snow Queen. Produced by Timur Bekmambetov and set for theatrical release in Russia and CIS through Bazelevs Distribution Winter 2014, Snow Queen 2 will follow the continuing exploits of Orm, the troll whose victory over the Snow Queen has given his fellow trolls a taste for freedom, and prompts him to embark on another lively and perilous adventure.
The production will be produced in English and feature Hollywood star talent. Wizart invited Ned Lott as casting and voice director. Lott’s work has brought tremendous value to famed anime director Hayao Miyazaki’s works internationally and he has worked extensively with Disney, Pixar and Warner Brothers. His latest credits include Zambezia, Khumba and the English version of indie favorite Ernest and Celestine.
Wizart’s third feature coming to the international market is the film Sheep and Wolves—the story of a young wolf called the Grey who’s afraid of responsibility and doesn’t want to become the new leader of his pack, and who finds his world turned upside down when he wakes up one morning in the body of a sheep. The script has been co-written with Neil Landau, who worked on Tad, the Lost Explorer for El Toro Pictures, Telecinco Cinema and Lightbox Entertainment, and was recognized with numerous awards: Goya, Gaudi and Critic’s Circle Awards in Spain, including best adapted screenplay.
Source: Wizart Animation
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
