Film director Bong Joon-ho is preparing his first feature-length animation, "ALLY," as his next project.
CJ ENM announced Wednesday that Bong's debut animated feature "ALLY" is in production with a target completion date in the first half of next year. An exact release date has not yet been determined.
"ALLY" is the first feature-length animation from Bong, who gained worldwide acclaim with "Parasite," "Mother," and "Memories of Murder." The project has been in development since 2019. Yoo Jae-sun, director of "Sleep" — which was invited to the Critics' Week section at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023 — is participating as co-writer. The film is a large-scale global project involving top-tier production crews from 12 countries including South Korea.
CJ ENM, the Ventcher K-Content Investment Fund managed by Ventcher Invest, and French major studio Pathé Films are handling co-investment and distribution. Barunson C&C, led by CEO Seo Woo-sik who produced Bong's "Mother" and "Okja," is overseeing overall production.
The story centers on a deep-sea fish living in an underwater canyon who is curious about the human world. The peaceful daily life of "Ally," a baby piglet squid who longs to see the sun, and her friends is thrown into danger when an unidentified aircraft crashes into their habitat. Swept up in an unexpected grand adventure, "Ally" embarks on a journey toward the world above the surface. The film is expected to deliver spectacular visuals, thrilling action, cheerful humor, and heartwarming emotion.
Pathé Films, the French major studio co-investing and distributing alongside CJ ENM and Ventcher Invest, is a film studio known for presenting works that combine commercial appeal and artistic merit. It is one of the oldest film companies in the world. Additionally, DNEG, a global studio that contributed visual effects (VFX) to "Inception" and "Dune" and possesses world-class 3D animation expertise, has joined the project to enhance the quality of the 3D animation production.
Kim Jae-hyung, who worked on "Toy Story 4" and "Inside Out," serves as animation supervisor. Marcin Jakubowski, who worked on Netflix animation "Klaus," participates as production designer. David Lipman, producer of "Shrek" 1 and 2, has also joined the production team.
CJ ENM and Ventcher Invest will handle distribution in South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey, and Indonesia, while Pathé Films will distribute in France, the Benelux region, Switzerland, and West Africa. CJ ENM and Ventcher Invest will also manage sales in Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Macau, with Pathé Films handling all other territories.