Apr 27, 2021

Sony Pictures Animation's "Vivo" has been rerouted to Netflix and the teaser has been released

This year is turning into a very good one for Sony-Netflix relations. The streamer has picked up yet another feature from Sony Pictures Animation (SPA): Vivo, a musical with songs by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The film was previously set for a theatrical release on June 4, 2021. Netflix will release it this summer, but has yet to announce a date. The streamer has licensed all global rights outside China, where it doesn't operate. According to Deadline, which first reported the deal, Sony will distribute the film theatrically in China, and retains home entertainment and linear tv rights globally.

Watch the first teaser below:

Vivo follows a kinkajou (a kind of rainforest mammal) as it embarks on a quest from Cuba to Miami to deliver a love letter from its owner. Songs are written and performed by Miranda, who voices the kinkajou. Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) directs alongside co-director Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2). The script is by DeMicco and Quiara Alegría Hudes, who wrote the book for Miranda's musical In the Heights.

Since the start of the year, two other SPA features have been unveiled as Netflix exclusives in the U.S.: the Chinese co-production Wish Dragon and Mike Rianda's The Mitchells vs. the Machines. The former debuts June 11, and the latter premieres this Friday.

Earlier this month, Sony and Netflix announced a major licensing deal that gives the streamer exclusive U.S. rights to stream Sony's theatrical releases in the first pay tv window, as of next year. Netflix also has a first-look agreement covering all Sony's original direct-to-streaming movies.

The next big-studio animated feature currently scheduled to come out in U.S. theaters is Spirit Untamed, from Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures, which is set for June 4. Other features previously on the summer theatrical calendar have been delayed, like Minions: The Rise of Gru, or also rerouted to streaming, like Pixar's Luca (which will now debut on Disney+).