Sony Pictures Animation Acquires "MUNCLE TROGG"

CULVER CITY, Calif., March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Animation has acquired the motion picture rights to Janet Foxley's MUNCLE TROGG, The 2010 Times (of London)/Chicken House prize-winner, it was announced today by Bob Osher, president of Sony Pictures Digital Productions and Michelle Raimo-Kouyate, president of production for Sony Pictures Animation. The preemptive deal is Raimo-Kouyate's first acquisition since her appointment as president of production. Jane Startz, a distinguished producer of family entertainment, is the executive producer. Kane Lee, Jane Startz Productions Inc.'s vice president of development, is co-producer.

"Great stories begin with great characters and MUNCLE TROGG is one of the most original," said Bob Osher, president of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.

"Strong characters, relatable themes, a unique world and tons of inherent comedy: as soon as I read MUNCLE TROGG, I knew this would speak to the kinds of animated movies I want to make at Sony Pictures Animation," said Raimo-Kouyate.

"I am thrilled to be working on MUNCLE TROGG with Michelle Raimo-Kouyate and her colleagues at Sony Pictures Animation," said Startz, an expert in adapting books into films, whose credits include "Ella Enchanted," "Tuck Everlasting," "The Mighty," "Indian In the Cupboard" and the "Magic School Bus." "Michelle and I have worked together many times in the past so I am confident that 'our little Muncle' is in the best possible hands."

"Janet Foxley's MUNCLE TROGG is already on its way to become a much loved children's classic book around the world, and we are so delighted that Sony Pictures Animation is set to develop the little giant into a magical movie character too," said Barry Cunningham OBE, Chicken House Publisher and Head of Chicken House Entertainment. Cunningham is famous for his literary eye, having been the editor who discovered J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter novel when he was at Bloomsbury.

MUNCLE TROGG, about a fairytale community living in a volcano, hidden from human beings, is published by The Chicken House in the United Kingdom and Australia, and will be published by The Chicken House /Scholastic imprint in Spring 2012 in The United States and Canada.

About Sony Pictures Animation

Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its most recent hit, the mouth-watering 3D comedy CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, and the 2007 Academy Award nominated and Annie Award-winning SURF'S UP with a full slate of feature films including HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA and, in association with Columbia Pictures, the live-action/animation hybrid THE SMURFS. Sony Pictures Animation is also in production with Aardman Animations on their next two films, the CG animated ARTHUR CHRISTMAS and the stop-frame animation and THE PIRATES! OPEN SEASON 3, a sequel to Sony Pictures Animation's first film OPEN SEASON, was recently released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.

SOURCE Sony Pictures Animation