Catching Up

Looks Paramount Animation has a clear idea of what they're going to do...

The studio has either been dormant for over a year, or they just wanted to keep things a secret. All we heard from March 2012 to now was that they had a couple projects in the works: A SpongeBob SquarePants movie sequel, The New Kid (based on a webcomic) and Beastlies (J. J. Abrams' project, based on a line of hand-sculpted toys). It was also revealed recently that live action portions of the SpongeBob film were being shot. Other than that, it seemed like Paramount Animation was taking a little while to enter the ring.

Now they have announced the release dates for the SpongeBob sequel and a film called Monster Trucks...

Labeled SpongeBob SquarePants 2 on Box Office Mojo, the film is slated for February 13, 2015. Smart, smart move. Originally, Paramount announced that the film would open in November 2014, but over the months we started seeing heavy competition migrating to that month: Big Hero 6, Home, Tomorrowland, Into The Woods and Night at the Museum 3. It would've had no room to breathe. I thought they were going to move it anyway.

Monster Trucks, as reported by Deadline, is said to be a live-action/animation hybrid and it might be directed by none other than Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Epic). The film will open on May 29, 2015. That's right ahead of DreamWorks' B.O.O., but it's opening after 2015's giants - namely Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars Episode VII. Mary Parent, as expected, is producing and the script will be penned by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, the duo who brought you Kung Fu Panda's script. Apparently Paramount Animation is expecting this to be a franchise starter...

Other than that, this news doesn't exactly thrill me though I'm glad to see Paramount Animation getting started. Hopefully, like I've said many times here before, they will try to be bold and take cues from the film that partially motivated the distributor to find an in-house animation studio: Rango. From where I currently stand, their slate seems rather safe. SpongeBob SquarePants 2 is fine for a debut film, being a guaranteed success but... Beastlies sounds like a derivative of cutesy animated films (can't believe that this is Abrams' project!) and this Monster Trucks also sounds kind of bland.

But maybe I'm judging books by their covers. Monster Trucks and Beastlies could be quite different, or maybe not. Who knows. Out of all their projects, The New Kid piques my interest. Again, Paramount executive Adam Goodman talked about secrecy so maybe Paramount Animation has something in store for us... Or maybe they just want to cash in on other studio's successes by making safe surefire hits. Who knows.

What do you think?

J.J. Abrams Gets Animated

Paramount certainly made a wise decision by setting up their own animation studio last summer. They'll be able to compete with the big guns after the deal with DreamWorks comes to an end while also making a name for themselves. Early on, I was hoping that the then-new studio would tackle projects like Rango, films that were unconventional and bold.

Until today, we only knew that a sequel to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was in the works along with an adaptation of the short-lived Penny Arcade webcomic, The New Kid, which is to be directed by long-time executive and producer Mary Parent alongside Cale Boyter. Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) will pen the script.

Today, /Film revealed that Paramount Animation added a new production to its upcoming slate, and it will be directed by none other than J.J. Abrams, the creator of Lost and the director of Star Trek. Knowing Abrams, we probably won't know much about it until a trailer shows up. The sequel to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is set to open sometime in late 2014, so we can only imagine when Abrams' project will be released. It'll probably kept in great secrecy, which Paramount executive Adam Goodman is encouraging. Goodman stated, "the longer-than-average development time for animated films requires some level of secrecy to ensure the kind of original ideas being developed here are protected, so holding back on specific announcements enables us to reveal projects when they are further along in the creative process."

Certainly a smart idea, and one that will keep the animation community guessing and speculating. Though I will admit I am not that familiar with Lost, Abrams did a fine job with Star Trek. He also produced a personal favorite of mine, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield. I am certainly looking forward to what he has in store for us. With that, it looks like Paramount Animation isn't going to take things lightly. Rango was certainly a watershed event for mainstream animation, so it seems as if they are looking to aim high while also making bank with safer projects like the SpongeBob film.

What's your take on this? Are you excited to see an animated film directed by J.J. Abrams? Are you looking forward to Paramount Animation's upcoming projects? Sound off!