{"id":80562,"date":"2025-08-19T18:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T18:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/80562\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T18:35:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T18:35:07","slug":"spin-master-greenlights-first-original-film-directed-by-david-soren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/80562\/","title":{"rendered":"Spin Master Greenlights First Original Film Directed by David Soren"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSpin Master<\/a> Corp. has greenlit an animated, four-quadrant film directed by BAFTA and Annie Award nominee David Soren. This is the first original film by Spin Master\u2019s entertainment studio, signifying a major milestone for the company behind some of the world\u2019s most recognizable kids\u2019 television series.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe announcement of this original film showcases our ambition to expand our foothold in the family animated theatrical business,\u201d said Jennifer Dodge, President of Spin Master Entertainment. \u201cAs we broaden our content portfolio, we\u2019re partnering with leaders in the industry to tell original, engaging stories, while also leveraging our established catalogue of IP. With David\u2019s well-earned reputation in family entertainment, we believe this feature film will inspire and entertain audiences around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film is written by Ian Southwood, based on a story by veteran animation creator Chris Dicker. Spin Master\u2019s Dodge, Laura Clunie and Toni Stevens, previously at the helm for the studio\u2019s powerhouse \u201cPAW Patrol\u201d theatricals, are producing the film. Spin Master is financing the production with plans for a 2029 release.<\/p>\n

\n\tSoren directed and co-wrote \u201cTurbo,\u201d the BAFTA Award-nominated DreamWorks Animation feature film starring Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed \u201cCaptain Underpants: The First Epic Movie,\u201d starring Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll and Jordan Peele. He also directed and co-wrote \u201cUnder the Boardwalk,\u201d starring Keke Palmer, Michael Cera and Bobby Cannavale; served as Story Artist and Head of Story on hit films including Academy Award winner \u201cShrek,\u201d \u201cShark Tale,\u201d \u201cChicken Run\u201d and \u201cOver the Hedge\u201d; and was a key contributor on the \u201cMadagascar\u201d franchise.<\/p>\n

\n\tSouthwood is known for contributing to the script of Netflix\u2019s \u201cNimona,\u201d which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. Prior to his work with Spin Master, he served as a screenwriter for DreamWorks Animation, before which he was with Blue Sky Studios, the 20th Century Animation company behind the \u201cIce Age\u201d franchise.<\/p>\n

\n\tDicker, an award-winning creator from Ireland, has worked for 25 years in the kids and family space. He creates original IP across many mediums. This original story is his first to come to life on the big screen.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe just felt that the time was right at Spin Master to come out with an original family animated theatrical feature, and there are several reasons behind that,\u201d Dodge tells Variety of the new film. \u201cWe love our own homegrown IP \u2014 \u2018Paw Patrol\u2019 started as homegrown IP inside of Spin Master entertainment. That\u2019s what we do: create characters and worlds and bring them to life. We also felt like it\u2019s really a moment for family theatrical experiences. What we\u2019ve seen this year and in the last few years, since COVID, is that families are still very much looking for that theatrical experience to bring their kids to. We strongly believe that that holds true, not just for known IP, but also for great original stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong the company\u2019s other upcoming films is \u201cPAW Patrol: The Dino Movie,\u201d set for theatrical release on July 24, 2026. The third film in the hit franchise is based on one of the most popular children\u2019s television series, featuring a star-studded cast including EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, Emmy nominee Mckenna Grace and Fortune Feimster. Spin Master is also in active development on a live-action \u201cBakugan\u201d film to be directed by Brad Peyton, based on the toy line that has generated over $1 billion in sales since its launch.<\/p>\n

\n\tDodge is still staying tight-lipped on the film\u2019s plot details, but promises \u201ca four-quadrant, family-friendly\u201d flick with \u201clots of fun action, lots of comedy and a really heartwarming character story in a very beautiful landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe looks forward to utilizing the robust resources within Spin Master to give the project life across many different mediums. \u201cWe\u2019re really planning and preparing for this first film to be just one of several pieces of content within this new IP. As we do with everything, we\u2019re looking at it from a franchise point of view. We\u2019re thinking about subsequent movies. We\u2019re thinking about other kinds of content. We\u2019re thinking about all the things that we do at Spin Master, being an entertainment, toy and digital games company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpin Master will continue to grow its film slate in the coming years, Dodge says. \u201cOutside of animation, we\u2019re also looking at live action for those family-friendly, big moments at the theater. And we have a whole slate of both live action and animated properties in our feature film development slate. This should be the first of many announcements coming!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSoren is represented by Verve and WME Books. Southwood is represented by Culture Creative, Adrian Garcia at Recon Literary, and Emily Downs at Meyer & Downs, LLP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spin Master Corp. has greenlit an animated, four-quadrant film directed by BAFTA and Annie Award nominee David Soren.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,134,344,61184],"class_list":{"0":"post-80562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-spin-master"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}