Fox Animation released new details this week about Spies in Disguise, the Blue Sky Studios film that will follow its soon-to-be-released Ferdinand.
The film is based on Lucas Martell’s 2009 short Pigeon: Impossible. Martell has said that the independently produced film, about a spy who has to deal with a pigeon in his nuclear briefcase, was “really just an excuse to learn 3D animation.” The film found a following after Martell posted the film on Youtube, and was subsequently optioned by Fox.
Independent animated shorts are increasingly becoming a source of inspiration for Hollywood feature film producers. For example, Illumination Entertainment signed a first-look deal with Korea’s Mofac Alfred based on the success of their online film, Johnny Express.