Top Story: A Historic Box Office Weekend: Five Of The Top Ten Films Are Animated Features

The producers of the animated franchise The Nut Job are bringing the concept to stage with a “completely original live entertainment spectacular” made in partnership with some of the creators behind Cirque du Soleil.

The stage show intends to build on the success of the animation film series, which will unveil its second installment, The Nut Job 2, in U.S. theaters on May 19, 2017. The first Nut Job released in 2014 had the biggest U.S. box office opening ever for an independently-financed animated feature.

South Korean animation producer Redrover has teamed up with Canadian performing arts company Monlove to create “The Nut Job Live!” Monlove, founded by Cirque du Soleil composer Ella Louise Allaire, with Martin Lord Ferguson as partner, also created “Ice Age Live!: A Mammoth Adventure,” which is now in its third year of touring.

The stage direction of “The Nut Job Live!” is scheduled to be led by Guy Caron, one of the founding members and first artistic director of Cirque du Soleil, and the world tour of the show will be coordinated by Barry Garber of Garber IMC.

“Nut Jove Live” is intended to run for four years in over 100 countries, and will be accompanied by DVD sales, t-shirts, character plushes, and other merchandise sold on-site.

“We are excited that The Nut Job will be coming out of the screen and into arenas to meet with fans all over the world,” a Redrover representative said in a statement. “This is a bold new step for Redrover, and with the ‘The Nut Job Live!’ being created together with the production team behind some of the greatest Cirque du Soleil productions, we feel that the quality and success of the show are already ensured. We believe Monlove will outdo even the already stellar performance of ‘Ice Age Live!’”

Latest News from Cartoon Brew