The Ghostly Film

Stuck in development hell for many years, highly secretive at one time and constantly delayed, DreamWorks' B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations has gone full steam ahead... You could say the film was truly a ghost!

Back in 2009, B.O.O. began life as a "Super Secret Project" slated for a fall 2012 release... That was, if it got the spot. Two other films were runner ups for the holiday season of 2012: The Croods and an adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Truckers. Funny how none of those films even got the spot, one came the spring after and the other... Well it's presumably dead in the water at this rate.

Later on, this film about ghosts' thoughts on humans became something different. It was about a not-so-scary ghost going back to scare school, with Boo U as the title. Seth Rogen was attached to voice the main character in the summer of 2010. Then DreamWorks' nightmare came in mid 2011, when Pixar had announced that their follow up to Monsters, Inc. was going to be set in college, a university called Monsters University! We didn't hear much about Boo U after that, until last autumn when DreamWorks unexpectedly unveiled their new upcoming slate, the film was placed in the September 2015 spot with a new title and premise that had nothing to do with a "scare school". Inevitably, it moved a months back taking the early June spot from Trolls and sending that film to the autumn of 2016.

Now, we have the official logo for the film and a plot synopsis. Melissa McCarthy is also now on board, an expected move from DreamWorks considering their tendency to cast big names.

Animation historian Jerry Beck spilled the news on IndieWire's Animation Scoop a few days ago. What's the plot? Well...

"B.O.O. (Bureau of Otherworldly Operations) is the super classified agency you've never heard of and certainly never seen. Dedicated to protecting humans from evil hauntings, the agents of B.O.O. have a secret weapon: they are ghosts themselves! When newbie agents Jackson Moss (Seth Rogen) and his odd-ball partner Watts (Melissa McCarthy) uncover a plot to destroy B.O.O. by the agency's Most Wanted Haunter, they must use every trick in their arsenal to defeat his powerful ghost army and save Earth from a ghostly fate."

While I do like the plot, it is a bit too similar to DreamWorks' own Rise of the Guardians. The whole idea of ghosts protecting humans from evil hauntings does ring a bit familiar, since the titular Guardians protected children around the world from nightmares. Not saying it's the exact same thing, but there is a slight similarity there. Other than that, the idea sounds like fun and it should make for a different offering from DreamWorks. Maybe it'll tread into some darker territory, which the studio did experiment with in both Guardians and some of their recent fare like Kung Fu Panda 2.

The film will be helmed by Igor director Tony Leondis (he also came up with the concept), written by Tom Wheeler (ABC's Empire, Puss in Boots) and produced by Maryann Garger (a DreamWorks veteran who produced Flushed Away). It's good to see it moving forward...

B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations in theaters nationwide on June 5, 2015. What is your take on this project from DreamWorks? Does it sound exciting to you? Or not? Sound off below!

Another Switcheroo

20th Century Fox adjusted their animation schedule a bit today, moving some DreamWorks films while also announcing dates for two new Blue Sky films...

As I had predicted, one of the four DreamWorks films once slated for release in 2015 got moved. Which one was it? Trolls. I saw it coming because Trolls currently has no names attached to the voice cast, whereas B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations and Kung Fu Panda 3 do. Trolls is now scheduled to open on November 4, 2016. B.O.O. now occupies the film's original June 5, 2015 spot, which indicates that Fox and DreamWorks will let Sony Animation occupy the September 2015 spot with Hotel Transylvania 2... Or Popeye. The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda 3 remain in the same place. I had a feeling that this was going to happen, because there was no way DreamWorks was going to have four animated films ready for release that year.

Blue Sky has two new films on its upcoming slate: Anubis and Ferdinand. The former is scheduled for a July 15, 2016 release while the latter is pegged for April 7, 2017... Talk about thinking ahead!

Anubis, based on Bruce Zick's The Anubis Tapestry: Between Twilights, has been in the works for quite a while. The plot and Ancient Egyptian theme are ripe for animation, so this one could work out pretty well... That is, if it isn't anything like Epic where the the setting seems compelling but there's hip-talking characters and celebrity/paycheck-seeking celebrities doing the voices. But then again, I might be judging that book by it's cover. I may end up really liking that one so, we'll see!

Ferdinand seems to have come out of left field, and I'm not really sure what they will do with the classic 1936 book. I expect Ice Age-esque goofiness and comedy, but they could surprise us.

So now DreamWorks' upcoming slate (2015 onwards) looks like this...

The Penguins of Madagascar - March 27, 2015
B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations - June 5, 2015
Kung Fu Panda 3 - December 23, 2015
Mumbai Musical - March 18, 2016
How To Train Your Dragon 3 - June 18, 2016
Trolls - November 4, 2016

Hopefully we'll hear about what DreamWorks is planning to release in 2017 sometime soon... The optimist in me hopes for Me and My Shadow, rather than something like... I don't know, The Croods 2?

It also seems like Blue Sky will continue to have one film ready for release each year.

What do you think of these recent changes to the schedule? Do the two new Blue Sky films sound good to you? Do think DreamWorks made a good decision moving Trolls? Sound off!

Move Over

Though these dates for the following four animated films were announced a while back, it seems like the studios behind them aren't sure where to put their upcoming films. Mainly DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Animation and Laika...

Sony Pictures Animation's computer animated Popeye film is scheduled for release on September 26, 2014. They got that date first, but all of a sudden, Laika's next film (currently untitled) was announced. It's also slated to open the same day.

The same situation will occur at the same timeframe in 2015. DreamWorks' B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations was originally given a November 6th release date, but the company wisely moved it to September 25th in order to get it out before Halloween. Guess what else is opening that day: Hotel Transylvania 2 from Sony Pictures Animation.

I have a feeling that there will be some movement soon. Who will move? Here's my theory.

Laika's untitled project will end up being given an August 2014 release, since ParaNorman was an August release. ParaNorman might not have done so well at the box office, but I don't think this will deter Focus Features from releasing the next film in August. It's still a lucrative time of year, and it's away from all the heavy competition. Sony Pictures Animation always settles for the late September release date since Open Season, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Hotel Transylvania were all late September releases.

In 2015, I think Sony Pictures Animation will also keep the late September spot. Again, Sony usually has that date and Hotel Transylvania 2 opening that day would make perfect sense since it has Halloween-themed material in it. DreamWorks' B.O.O. is of course about ghosts, where will that go? September 25th seemed like the perfect day to release it, unless they decide to pull a Don Bluth and go head-to-head with Sony's film. That would make it the first big duel in feature animation since All Dogs Go To Heaven opened against The Little Mermaid in 1989.

Animated films opening weeks away from each other is the norm nowadays given the amount of competing studios, but two films from rival studios opening on the same day? That probably won't happen, but where else will B.O.O. go? DreamWorks could release it in early-to-mid October and still score a hit. Maybe they'll move it to the beginning of September, so it has time to breathe before Hotel and then the two can go head-to-head before Halloween arrives.

That all being said, I think Sony will keep the late September weekend for both 2014 and 2015. What do you think will move? And where will these films be moved to?