Fantasyland (titled Disney Fantasyland: A World Beyond in the United Kingdom)[1] is an upcoming 2015 American fantasy adventure film directed by Steve Purcell, co-written and produced by Purcell and Ridley Pearson.[2][3] The film stars Kevin McKidd, Holly Jackson, Sergi Lopez, Raffey Cassidy, Thomas Robinson, Kathryn Hahn, Tim McGraw, Keegan-Michael Key and Judy Greer.
Walt Disney Pictures originally announced the film under the working title Strange Magic until it was retitled, sharing its name with the magical themed land found at Disney theme parks.[3][4] The film is scheduled to be released on May 22, 2015.[5]
Premise[]
Aspiring paranormal investigator Tamsin Carnacki (Holly Jackson) discovers an alternate universe known as Fantasyland, home to magical entities, mythical beasts and ancient heroes.
Cast[]
Holly Jackson as Tasmin Carnacki. Purcell was inspired to cast Jackson after seeing her in Transformers: Predacons Rising and sent her an email saying, "You must be in this film. No one else can play this part but you." Jackson responded enthusiastically to the script, and stated "I've loved Disney movies since I was a kid; of course I'd want be in one!"
Kevin McKidd as Frank Walker, a grizzled inventor. Purcell had previously worked with McKidd on Toy Story That Time Forgot.
Sergi Lopez as David Nix.
Raffey Cassidy as Athena [13]
Kathryn Hahn as Ursula[14]
Tim McGraw[15]
Keegan-Michael Key[6]
Judy Greer[16]
Garry Chalk
Production[]
The project was green-lit by Walt Disney Studios' Sean Bailey in June 2011 when Ridley Pearson signed to write and produce. After reading the script, Steve Purcell, co-director of the animated Pixar hit Brave and director of the TV special Toy Story That Time Forgot, lobbied Disney heavily for the chance to direct the film. The studio was initially skeptical, since Purcell had never directed a live-action film before, and wanted to make the film without any major stars whose names could guarantee an audience, at least on opening weekend. The screenplay was seen as confusing and difficult to follow. However, the studio approved him as director.[28] Purcell noted he was effectively being "loaned" to Walt Disney Pictures because Pixar is an all-ages brand and Fantasyland was rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of violence and action"
While keeping information about the plot secret, when asked what to expect from the film, Purcell stated that Fantasyland "is fantasy, but not the classic sword-and-sorcery, Lord of The Rings style, we've come to expect from the genre. It's a total reinvention."
Creature design[]
In interviews at Comic-Con, Purcell discussed the creature designs. For the creatures that would be featured, he and the design crew wanted to create creatures that were unique in film. The film's designers include Wayne Barlowe, Oscar Chichoni, monster sculptors David Meng and Simon Lee, and Hellboy II and The Hobbit designer Francisco Ruiz Velasco. They used realistic inspirations, such as animals, as well as the creature designs of Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen. Purcell commented "The way I tried to view it was to imagine these monsters were real creatures and someone in ancient times saw them and ran back to tell everyone about them and was trying their best to remember and draw them. And in our film you get to see them for real."
Purcell also stated "We wanted them to seem essentially outlandish in a way, but on the other hand you realize they come sort of in families: you've got the reptilian monsters, the insect monsters, the mammalian monsters... So to take an outlandish design and then render it with an attention to real animal anatomy and detail is interesting."
Motion capture by the special effects firm The Imaginarium was also utilized in the movement of the movie's monsters in certain sequences. Andy Serkis provided consulting work on the film's motion capture sequences in order to "control the souls" of the creatures.