Unified Pictures has partnered with ReDefine Animation for The Ark and the Aardvark, the latest animated feature from Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson.
ReDefine Animation is part of the DNEG Group, the London-based visual affects company. The animation division was responsible for the work on last year’s Nimona, which earned an Academy Award nomination for best animated feature, as well as The Garfield Movie. DNEG recently received $200 million in funding from Abu Dhabi-based VC firm United Al Saqer Group for IP development, a new production studio in Abu Dhabi, and the creation of a new arm centered on AI technology.
The feature is already in production and ReDefine, which was chosen for its artistry, experience and scale, will act as a finishing company, working with Unified’s LA based animation team.
Aardvark explores the famed story of Noah’s Ark from the perspective of the animals and tells the story of an outcast aardvark, to be voiced by Miles Teller, as he joins forces with a rag tag group of misfits as they navigate disasters to reach the mighty ark before the impending flood.
Aubrey Plaza, Jenny Slate, Craig Robinson, Rob Riggle, and Stephen Merchant are also part of the voicecast.
“Joining forces with ReDefine Animation, with their tremendous history of artistic excellence, only solidifies our belief in the film finding a massive global audience,” said Unified partner and executive producer Ben Ruffman.
DeDefine is currently in production on Angry Birds 3 and Animal Friends, a live-action/animation hybrid starring Ryan Reynolds.
Unified recently had its prison drama Dragged Across Concrete, starring Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn, hit No. 1 on the Netflix top film list. It is in post-production on Tin Soldier, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, and has The Beast, which is to star Samuel L. Jackson and Joel Kinnaman, in pre-production.
