Watch movies outside the country with secure Aeroshield Smart DNS
What do you get when you cross a chicken and a hare? Chances are you might get a hero. At least, that’s according to the next feature film out of nWave Studios, Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness! The trailer can be viewed below.
Chickenhare started as a graphic novel series written and illustrated by Chris Grine. The series follows the adventures of Chickenhare and his turtle friend as they try to survive while being on the run from an evil taxidermist. Aside from Chickenhare, Grine has also worked on Alien Bones, Time Shifters, and the comic adaptation of K. A. Applegate’s Animorphs. A film adaptation of Chickenhare has been in the works since 2011 when Sony Pictures Animation and Dark Horse Comics made the first announcement. Sadly, in 2016 Grine announced that the film had been canceled on his Twitter account. But now it looks like this hybrid wasn’t going down without a fight.
nWave To the Rescue
So, how did we get here? From Sony Pictures to nWave? Well, the answer lies in the film’s co-director, Ben Stassen. Stassen teamed up with Benjamin Mousquet to direct the film out of a script penned by David Collard. Stassen had this to say in an interview with Screen Daily.
“We stumbled on a script that [Sony] had. Studios develop a lot of films. Some end up being great later on but are not produced at the studio itself. We read it, we loved it and we asked Sony – who had put it on hold – if we could take over. They said yes.”
nWave Pictures you’re probably familiar with, even if you’re not aware. The Belgium-based studio is behind such pictures as A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures, The Queen’s Corgi, Fly Me to the Moon, and Son of Bigfoot as well as its sequel Bigfoot Family. The studio has certainly come a long way since its first feature debut in 2008. According to Cartoon Brew, Chickenhare has a budget of €20m-€25m ($24m-$30m). This will make it one of the most expensive nWave productions to date (their most expensive film is currently 2013’s The House of Magic at $34m).
Glancing at the trailer, the film seems to deviate pretty far from the original source material. There are kings, an Indiana Jones-themed quest for ancient artifacts, and all-new characters. There’s even a tribe of pigs that shoot out of canons! But that seems to be part of the charm here, and if it’s still faithful to one of the scripts, then there’s a chance the blessings of Chris Grine will still be relevant. According to the illustrator, he really enjoyed the film when he got his screener copy! It’s always a good sign when the author gives a thumbs up to an adaptation of his work!
As of now, Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness is set to launch later this year in various European countries. South America is also slated to release the film in theaters. Currently, there are no distributors for a U.S. release but hopefully, that will change soon! Keep your eyes peeled for when the rarest animal in the world makes its way to the United States!
Read Next
About The Author
.