Henry Selick He is, without a doubt, one of the most important animators in the industry. His specialty lies in stop motion, a handmade technique that consists of animating different figures frame by frame and then, when joined together, generating the sensation of movement. The filmmaker has worked this technique on large projects such as The strange world of Jack (The Nightmare Before Christmas – 1994), Jim and the giant peach (James and the Giant Peach – 1996) and Coraline and the secret door (Coraline – 2009).
Within the framework of Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Selick He revealed that he has another project on the way. It’s about adaptation The Ocean at the End of the Lanein which he will reunite with Neil Gaimanafter their successful collaboration in the adaptation of Coraline.
As revealed by the filmmaker, this film will function as a ‘complement’ for Coraline, the film that tells the story of a girl who, upon breaking through a wall in her house, finds a dark version of her life. In the words of Selick: “Instead of a child going to this other world with a monstrous mother, it is a monstrous mother who comes to our world to wreak havoc on a child’s life.”
This project is in the early stages, with a script in progress and character design being fully explored. Additionally, it has not currently been purchased by any studio, but it has been mentioned that the company behind Pinocchio (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – 2022) would be interested in taking charge of the animation. However, Selick has confessed that he considers Laika (with movies like Coraline, The Boxtrolls and ParaNorman) as his favorite studio, describing it as the home of “the best talents and the best resources”. He especially praised the CEO of Laika, Travis Knight (Bumblebee), which he called “genius”.
These types of projects, due to their complexity in terms of animation, usually take years to develop, so we will have to be patient to receive more updates about this feature film. Meanwhile, we can enjoy the director’s latest film in Netflixtitled Wendell and Wild (Wendell and Wild – 2022), which tells the life of Katea teenager whose existence is marked by guilt after witnessing the traumatic death of her parents.
