Paramount recently announced their new president of their animation division, Mireille Soria (Home, Madagascar). Viacom, Paramount’s parent company, has tasked them to make movies that are franchise friendly, and easy to adapt to and from television. There is a particular emphasis with using characters from Nickelodeon (which they own).
Soria has a long history in animation, both with original and adapted features. She was a producer on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, the Madagascar franchise, Home, and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. She also served as co-president of feature animation at DreamWorks Animation, and worked on “Trolls” and “Boss Baby.”
Basically, Soria is awesome, and is just the person to bring Paramount-owned intellectual properties to the big screen. With that in mind, here are 5 animated properties that Paramount Animation, and Soria, should consider pursuing:
5. Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
The concept for Maggie and the Ferocious Beast is simple: Maggie is a five-year-old girl who imagines herself on adventures, driven by a map of “Nowhere Land” with her two favorite toys: the entirely not-ferocious Beast, and Hamilton, a fussy pig. This simple concept is what made the show such a hit: it was just a girl and her imagination.
Now take that same idea, but adapt for life-action CGI. Pour the budget into the Beast, make him look incredible. Then throw in a story reminiscent of Inside Out, except earlier and Beast is Bing Bong. Bring on the tears.
