Bong Joon-ho unveils Ally, his first animated film inspired by a French book

The new project from the director of Parasite is notably produced by Pathé.

Bong Joon-ho has been working on this project since 2019, after completing Parasite. The Korean filmmaker will take his first steps in animation with Allythe story of a cute little squid that we discover in a first visual accompanied by an official synopsis:

Ally, a small sea creature both curious and endearing, lives in the unexplored depths of the South Pacific. She dreams of one day seeing the sun and becoming the star of an animal documentary. But when a mysterious plane crashes into the ocean, her peaceful world is suddenly threatened. Accompanied by loyal and colorful, if unlikely, companions, Ally is drawn into an extraordinary journey that will take her to the surface.

The director has spent his entire career in cinema in live action, signing landmark films like Memories of Murder, The Host, Snowpiercer and therefore Parasiteawarded the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best film. And he surrounded himself with big names from 12 countries for his anime debut. Among the main collaborators: animation supervisor Jae Hyung Kim (Toy Story 4, Vice Versa), David Lipman (franchise Shrek) and artistic director Marcin Jakubowski (Klaus).

Ally will benefit from a worldwide cinema release in 2027. Pathé, CJ ENM and Penture Invest have joined forces to co-finance the film. Pathé will distribute the film, particularly in France, and will handle international sales, with the exception of certain territories in Asia.

The French touch ofAlly don’t stop there. The film itself is visually inspired by the scientific book Abysssigned by French environmental activist Claire Nouvian, bringing together previously unpublished photos on life in the deep sea. A work that was given to him by his wife, as Bong Joon-ho told it during his master class at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.

Ally also confirms the filmmaker’s passion for creatures, after The Host, Okja or more recently Mickey 17 where Robert Pattinson evolves on a hostile planet populated by “crawlers”, who find themselves at the heart of the intrigue of the last act.