Paramount CEO Brian Robbins has revealed a new animation strategy for the studio – and Guillermo del Toro isn't a fan.
Speaking to Variety, Robbins commented: "We're not going to release an expensive original animated movie and just pray people will come." Original animated film Under the Boardwalk has been shifted from a theatrical release to a Paramount Plus streaming debut, while upcoming releases will focus on recognizable IP that millennials grew up with, like SpongeBob SquarePants and Avatar: The Last Airbender, in the belief that the films will appeal to them.
Paramount Picture's next animated movie to release theatrically is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which lands this August 2. A sequel and a spin-off TV show are both already in the works.
"It's not about Disney and Pixar anymore," added Robbins, referencing Lightyear and Elemental's box office performances. "People are looking for animated movies that are irreverent and have a comedic point of view."
Del Toro, though, was not impressed with the news, taking to Twitter to succinctly share his thoughts: "Dear Lord-" The director's animated take on Pinocchio won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature earlier this year.
"This is an ignorant attitude," wrote The Lego Movie director Christopher Miller (he also co-wrote Across the Spider-Verse and produced The Mitchells vs. The Machines). "No studio head would say they wouldn't make an original drama, or action movie, or biopic, or comedy, or wouldn't have made Avatar. To suggest animation alone needs to be IP is absurd."
Pixar's latest release Elemental may have faltered right out of the gate, but the film has proved to have long legs at the box office – ultimately outgrossing Warner Bros.'s big-budget superhero flick The Flash. The animated film's box office total now stands at over $360 million worldwide; its budget was $200 million. You can read our interview with the cast and filmmakers through the link.
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