Rob Edwards is making his directorial debut with Sneaks and Mumbai-based animation studio Assemblage Entertainment has been roped in as the animation studio. The animated feature is being produced by Len Hartman and Gil Cloyd of Lengi Studios and Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland of Cinema Gypsy Productions.
Rob Edwards is well known for his work in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, Treasure Planet, and consulted on Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen. Previously, he penned and produced episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House, A Different World, Roc, and In Living Color.
In an official press release, Edwards stated: “I try to make movies that my whole family will enjoy, and Sneaks has got heart, humor, friendship as well as some themes that I hope will connect with people. It’s both classic and contemporary at the same time and I can’t wait for people to see it come to life.”
The story follows a misguided, one-of-a-kind designer sneaker’s adventure across New York City in search of his sister.
Assemblage is a well-established studio led by A K Madhavan, popularly known as MadMax. He has produced various animated titles including Arctic Dogs, Norm of the North, Blinky Bill The Movie.
Commenting on the collaboration, Assemblage director Arjun Madhavan said, “Excited to kick-off our next global independent animated feature film! We look forward to working closely with such a talented and seasoned group of people and continue to produce world-class work!”
Assemblage is actively involved in producing animation content for TV series and OTT platforms. Speaking about Assemblage’s projects, CEO Max Madhavan said, “Assemblage is fortunate to produce premium animated content across various formats, various genres, and various platforms! We are producing a host of content for some of the world’s leading streamers such as Netflix, Amazon, AppleTV, HBOMax, and Disney+ and are working on a slate of projects including features, TV series, OTT series, and short-form web content. It’s an incredible time for animation, and an incredible time for India to play such a major role in the global animation ecosystem.”
The independently financed project, Sneaks, will be executive produced by Meko Yohannes and Robyn Klein, and Jeremy Ross (producers of the Oscar-winning short If Anything Happens I Love You). Producer Fishburne will also voice the role of The Collector.
Pre-production, design, and storyboard work are being done at Toronto’s House of Cool (Ferdinand). Matt Ahrens (Next Gen) will serve as editor, Ovi Nedelcu (Space Jam: A New Legacy) as lead character designer, and Grammy-winning Mustard as an executive music producer.
The film is represented by CAA Media Finance (North America) and GFM Animation (International). GFM animation will be launching sales of the film at the upcoming Cannes market.