Nov 14, 2016

First look at the restart of the "Here comes Grump" feature

The vintage DePatie-Freleng TV series Here Comes the Grump, created by John Dunn, is being rebooted as a feature film by Mexican animation studio Ánima Estudios and vfx multinational Prime Focus World.

The film tells the story of teenage boy Terry who has been transported to a magical land where he and some new friends must defeat a mean-spirited wizard called The Grump.

Anima was also behind rebooted Top Cat movies released in both Spanish and English by Warner Bros in 2011 and 2015. Prime Focus World is part of Prime Focus Limited and delivers vfx (now merged with Double Negative), animation, and stereo conversion services.

Here Comes the Grump is based on a script from Jim Hecht (Ice Age: The Meltdown) and designs by Craig Kellman (Madagascar, Sausage Party, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania). It is being directed by Andres Couturier, who also helmed Anima's 2015 feature Top Cat Begins.

“We are thrilled to announce this project which fully leverages the combined strengths of our two companies, and we look forward to creating a movie which aims to be a fun and groovy comedy for the whole family,” said Jose C. García de Letona, COO at Anima Estudios and a producer of the film.

At this stage, no distribution deals have been announced, but Here Comes the Grump is scheduled to be finished in early 2017. “Our artists are pushing the limits to put as much quality and humor as possible into every last frame,” said Greg Gavanski, Prime Focus' London-based animation head.

The film is being sold by U.K.-based GFM Films' new GFM Animation division.

Here's the opening sequence of the original 1969 series upon which the feature is based: