Netflix announced that it will be producing an animated feature Escape From Hat, from Kung-Fu Panda and The Little Prince director Mark Osborne. The screenplay is by Adam Kline and Osborne, based on the book of the same name by Kline, a middle-grade novel that will be published by HarperCollins in winter 2020.
“Escape From Hat tells a story about friendship and magic, which perfectly mirrors how I feel about getting to reunite with my friend Mark at Netflix after ten years,” said Netflix VP of kids and family Melissa Cobb. “I cannot wait for audiences around the world to immerse themselves in our fantastical magic trick gone awry, where they will find an epic and imaginative world of good versus evil.”
The novel tells the story of a magic rabbit who tries to free himself from a magician’s hat and wish to return to the human boy he loves, after a trick goes amiss. “Netflix is shaking up the animated feature world in highly inventive ways, including offering filmmakers the rare opportunity to turn their dream project into a reality. I’m thrilled that Escape From Hat is now one of them,” Osborne commented.
Jinko Gotoh will be producing and directing with Osborne, and the production will begin in New York for a debut on Netflix in 2022.
