Author | Paul McCartney Philip Ardagh |
---|---|
Illustrator | Geoff Dunbar |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's |
Publisher | Faber and Faber |
Publication date | 2005 |
Pages | 96 pp |
High in the Clouds is a children's adventure novel written by musician/songwriter Paul McCartney and Philip Ardagh, illustrated by Geoff Dunbar, and published by Faber and Faber in October 2005. [1] [2] As writer/producer and animator/director, McCartney and Dunbar had collaborated on the 1984 animated film Rupert and the Frog Song , and High in the Clouds was scripted and sketched for several years by the two of them as another film. [2]
When the characters' home, Woodland, is attacked by human development, a young squirrel (Wirral) is left without a home and without his mother. Guided by his mother's final words and aided by his fellow animal friends he meets on his journey, Wirral goes on a quest for the secret island sanctuary of Animalia. Wirral finds himself in an epic journey filled with evil realities and wild dreams. He and his friends experience tragedy, war, joy and victory, all in the name of freedom and peace.
The book has an overall theme of preserving nature and letting animals live free and in their natural habitat. In The Observer it was described as "a tale about the perils of unchecked global capitalism". [2]
In 2013, it was reported that an animated feature film adaptation of the book was in development by producers Michael Lynne and Bob Shaye through their Unique Features banner and RGH Entertainment. Tony Bancroft was set to direct the film, written by Josh Klausner, and was originally going to have a theatrical release in 2015. [3] The film was optioned by Gaumont. [4] In 2019, it was announced Netflix had partnered up with Gaumont to co-produce. [5] Jon Croker has written the script [6] and Timothy Reckart would replace Bancroft as director [7] while former Beatle singer and author Paul McCartney serves as executive producer and songwriter, of which he composed original songs and score for the film. [7] [8] In October 2023, Netflix dropped their involvement, reverting the film back to an independent production with Toby Genkel replacing Reckart as director, and Michael Giacchino re-composing the score. The film's production will initiate around early 2024 and is expected to release around early 2026. [9]
Tropic Island Hum, released in 2004, but originally recorded in 1987, is a song from Paul McCartney's second animated film for children. The associated single reached #21 in the UK and #30 in Ireland.
Philip Ardagh is an English children's author, primarily known for the Eddie Dickens series of books. He has written more than 100 books including adult fiction and children's non-fiction.
Rupert and the Frog Song is a 1984 animated short film based on the comic strip character Rupert Bear, written and produced by Paul McCartney and directed by Geoff Dunbar. The making of Rupert and the Frog Song began in 1981 and ended in 1983. The film was released theatrically as an accompaniment to McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street. The song "We All Stand Together" from the film's soundtrack reached No. 3 when released in the UK Singles Chart. It was released in 2004 as one of the segments of Paul McCartney: Music & Animation.
Tuesday, written and illustrated by David Wiesner, is a 1991 wordless picture book published by Clarion Books. Tuesday received the 1992 Caldecott Medal for illustrations and was Wiesner's first of three Caldecott Medals that he has won during his career. Wiesner subsequently won the Caldecott Medal in 2002 for The Three Pigs, and the 2007 medal for Flotsam.
Gaumont Animation is a French animation studio. It was acquired by Gaumont Film Company in 2008 as a return to television production, and an entry into English-language productions, after Gaumont Television was sold in 1999. It was rebranded as Gaumont Animation in 2013. The company's animated catalog comprises over 800 half-hours, broadcast in over 130 countries.
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Philip Anderson Lord and Christopher Robert Miller are American filmmakers, animators, and voice actors. They are the creators and co-stars of the adult animated sitcom Clone High, and the writers and directors of the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as the directors of the live-action comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, 22 Jump Street (2014). Lord and Miller are best known for working on the Spider-Verse franchise, which won them the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). They have also worked on the television series The Last Man on Earth (2015–2018) for Fox and Unikitty! (2017–2020) for Cartoon Network.
Hemlock Grove is an American horror streaming television series produced by Eli Roth and developed by Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman. It is a production of Gaumont International Television. The series is based on McGreevy's 2012 novel of the same name. The series premiered on Netflix on April 19, 2013, with all 13 episodes made immediately available for online viewing.
Timothy Reckart Jr. is an American animator and director based in Los Angeles, specializing in puppet stop motion. He is best known for his 2012 film Head over Heels, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2013.
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Unbelievable is an American true crime television miniseries starring Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, and Kaitlyn Dever. It follows a woman who was charged with a crime for reporting that she was raped, and a police investigation that led to the perpetrator's conviction for the rape of multiple women. The show was co-created by Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman, and Michael Chabon. All three co-creators and Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, and Katie Couric were executive producers. It was released on September 13, 2019, on Netflix.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a 2021 animated science fiction comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation. The film was directed by Mike Rianda and co-directed by Jeff Rowe, from a screenplay written by both of them. Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Kurt Albrecht served as producers. The film stars an ensemble voice cast that includes Danny McBride, Abbi Jacobson, Maya Rudolph, Rianda, Eric André, and Olivia Colman, with Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Blake Griffin, Conan O'Brien, and Doug the Pug as supporting roles. It follows the dysfunctional Mitchell family that winds up having to save Earth from a global uprising of robots while on a road trip.
Firefly Lane is an American drama streaming television series created by Maggie Friedman for Netflix. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah. The series premiered on February 3, 2021, and navigates the lives of two teenage girls in the 1970s, all the way through to their adulthood in the mid 2000s. In May 2021, the series was renewed for a second season. In October 2022, it was announced that the second season will be its final season and will consist of 16 episodes, split into two parts. The first part of the second season was released on December 2, 2022, and the second part was released on April 27, 2023.
Geoff Dunbar is an English animator and director known for his animated music video Rupert Bear and the Frog Song for Sir Paul McCartney and The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends from the stories by Beatrix Potter. He championed a hand-sketch style of animation.
Clickbait is a drama miniseries, created by Tony Ayres and Christian White. Ayres serves as showrunner, while Brad Anderson, Emma Freeman, Ben Young, and Laura Besley are directors. It was released on Netflix on August 25, 2021.
Netflix Animation is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018. The studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and feature films.
The Magician's Elephant is a 2023 animated fantasy adventure film directed by Wendy Rogers, written by Martin Hynes and produced by Julia Pistor. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, the film features the voices of Noah Jupe, Mandy Patinkin, Natasia Demetriou, Benedict Wong, Miranda Richardson and Aasif Mandvi. Animated by Animal Logic, the film was distributed by Netflix and released on March 17, 2023.
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