| Series | Title | Description |
|---|
| Feature film | Harold and the Purple Crayon | In February 2010, Sony Pictures Animation and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment were developing a computer-animated film adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon. It would have been produced by Smith and James Lassiter, and written by Josh Klausner.[31] Dallas Clayton was later brought to write the film.[32] The film moved to Columbia Pictures and Davis Entertainment and was released on August 2, 2024. |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon | In 2010, Sony Pictures Animation was developing a film adaptation of the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, with filmmaker Harald Zwart executive producing and possibly directing.[33] |
| Flower Power | According to character designer Sylvain Deboissy, Sony Pictures Animation had an idea for an animated fantasy film set in the 1960s, named Flower Power. On his blog, however, the project is cancelled.[34] |
| Futuropolis | In December 2010, Sony Pictures Animation had entered a four-picture deal with Gotham Group beginning with an animated feature film. Based on his original story, Stephan Franck was attached to direct and David Reynolds was to write the script.[35] |
| Popeye | By March 2010, Sony Pictures Animation was developing a 3D computer-animated Popeye film, with Avi Arad producing it.[36] Jay Scherick and David Ronn, the writers of The Smurfs, were brought to write the screenplay for the film.[37] In June 2012, Genndy Tartakovsky was hired to direct the feature,[38] which he planned to make "as artful and unrealistic as possible".[39] Sony originally scheduled the film for release date of September 26, 2014,[40] but was pushed back to 2015.[41] Sony Pictures Animation later updated its slate, scheduling the film for 2016, and Tartakovsky was hired as the director of Hotel Transylvania 2, which he was directing concurrently with Popeye.[42] Tartakovsky revealed an "animation test" footage in September 2014.[43] Despite the well-received test footage, Tartakovsky left the project, and would instead direct Can You Imagine?, which was based on his own original idea, but it was scrapped.[44] [45] T.J. Fixman was brought to write the film in 2016.[46] In 2020, the project moved at King Features Syndicate, with Tartakovsky returning to helm the film,[47] but in July 2022, Tartakovsky confirmed the project was no longer in development.[48] On July 22, an animatic of the entire film was leaked online, but it wouldn't reach mainstream attention until 4 days later.[49] | |
| Series | Title | Description |
|---|
| Feature film | Untitled Lima/Sussman Project | In 2011, Enchanted director and writer Kevin Lima and David Sussman were hired to produce a live-action/animated project for Sony Pictures Animation. Sussman was to write the film, and Lima to direct and produce the film.[50] |
| Muncle Trogg | In March 2011, Sony Pictures Animation acquired the film rights to Janet Foxley's children's book Muncle Trogg. The story is set in a community of giants who live a volcano and centers on a tiny giant (which makes him human-sized) laughed at for his size. He ends up saving his family in a story that involves a solar-powered dragon, a disgraced brother and a kidnapped child. Jane Startz was set to executive produce, while Kane Lee was assigned to produce the project.[51] |
| How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack | In April 2011, Sony Pictures Animation announced their first R-rated project, an adaptation of Chuck Sambuchino's book How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack: Defend Yourself When the Lawn Warriors Strike (And They Will). It would have been produced by Robert Zemeckis.[52] Chad Damiani and J. P. Lavin were hired as writers in November of the same year.[53] |
| Instant Karma | In April 2011, Sony Pictures Animation picked up the rights to Instant Karma, a comedy fantasy from Paul Hernandez, who wrote the script and was attached to direct what would be a live-action/CGI hybrid film.[54] The film was to follow a misguided safecracker from New Orleans through his life lessons from a near-death experience, only to find himself reincarnated as a fly. He does good deeds to improve his karma, and moves up the food chain through various types of animals, trying to get back to his human body and the woman he loves. |
| Chickenhare | By July 2011, Sony Pictures Animation and Dark Horse Comics were adapting the Chickenhare series into an animated feature film.[55] During 2012 and 2013, Grine revealed on the official Chickenhare Facebook page that he was impressed with screenplays and expressed a hope about the film to be made,[56] [57] but in January 2016, Grine wrote on his Twitter profile that the film was cancelled.[58] The film was brought back in production in February 2021, known as Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness, with Ben Stassen and Matthieu Zeller serving as directors and Dave Collard writing the screenplay. It was co-produced by Sony Pictures International Productions and nWave Pictures, and was released on February 16, 2022.[59] |
| The Cat Burglars | Aardman's stop-motion animated heist action-adventure black comedy film directed by Steve Box, about six cat burglars that steal milk, and their plans to pull off 'the great milk float robbery' before some humans neuter them.[60] |
| Sequel to The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists | | By August 2011, Aardman Animations was working on a sequel idea for The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!,[61] and by June 2012, a story had been prepared, awaiting Sony to back the project.[62] Eventually, Sony decided not to support the project due to insufficient international earnings. According to director Peter Lord, "it got close, but not quite close enough. I was all fired up for doing more. It was such fun to do! We actually have a poster for The Pirates | In an Adventure with Cowboys!. That would have been just great".[63] | |
|---|
| Series | Title | Description |
|---|
| The Smurfs 3 | By May 2012, just two weeks after production of The Smurfs 2 was announced, Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Pictures had been already developing a script for The Smurfs 3, with writers Karey Kirkpatrick and Chris Poche.[64] Hank Azaria, who played the live-action Gargamel, said that the third film "might actually deal with the genuine origin of how all these characters ran into each other way back when".[65] In March 2014, Sony announced to reboot the series with a completely computer-animated film, which eventually became , released in April 2017.[66] |
| Feature film | Untitled Tonka film | In 2012, an animated film based on the Tonka trucks toy line was in development. It was to be produced by Sony Pictures Animation, Hasbro Studios (currently known as Hasbro Entertainment), and Happy Madison Productions, and to be distributed by Columbia Pictures.[67] A script was written by Fred Wolf, and was to be produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Brian Goldner (CEO and president of Hasbro), and Bennett Schneir (Hasbro's senior vice president and managing director of motion pictures). |
| Kazorn & The Unicorn | In 2012, Kelly Asbury was in the talks with Sony Pictures Animation to make an animated fantasy film titled Kazorn & The Unicorn. It would've followed the adventures of a young man and a unicorn as he seeks to locate a powerful weapon and prove his worth to his true love. Lloyd Taylor was writing the screenplay. Sam Raimi, Josh Donen and Russell Hollander were producing.[68] Troy Quane was joined in to co-direct the film with Asbury.[69] |
| ALF | In May 2012, Paul Fusco was pitching an ALF film.[70] Three months later, Sony Pictures Animation acquired the rights to ALF, to develop the property into a CGI-live action hybrid film. The Smurfs producer Jordan Kerner was to produce the film, along with Tom Patchett and Paul Fusco.[71] |
| Secret Histories | In 2012, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were attached to rewrite the script for a live-action/animated film titled Secret Histories, based on the book series by Ari Berk. The previous draft was written by Tom Wheeler.[72] |
| Manimal | By September 2012, Sony Pictures Animation was developing a live-action/CGI film based on Manimal, with series creator Glen A. Larson attached as a producer.[73] By July 2014, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay through their Gary Sanchez Productions, and Jimmy Miller through his Mosaic Media Group were attached to produce the film. Jay Martel and Ian Roberts were hired to write the script.[74] | |
| Series | Title | Description |
|---|
| Feature film | Genndy Tartakovsky's Can You Imagine? | By March 2014, Hotel Transylvania director Genndy Tartakovsky was working on an animated film titled Can You Imagine?.[75] The project was to tell "a fantastic journey through one boy's imagination", but by July 2017, the project was cancelled.[76] [77] |
| Medusa | In June 2014, Lauren Faust was attached to direct an animated comedy feature film titled Medusa, which was based on a pitch from Todd Alcott and Holly Golden. The film was to be a new story about the character of the same name from Greek mythology, in which she sets out on a quest to revert the curse she earned from a jealous goddess.[78] Faust left the project the following year in November.[79] |
| Superbago | In 2014, Sony Pictures Animation was working on a live-action/stop-motion film titled Superbago, with Robot Chicken executive producers John Harvatine and Eric Towner directing, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jared Hess and Eric Robinson producing, and Hess, Ricky Blitt, Hubbel Palmer and Chris Bowman writing the script, which was to center on a pair of superhero wannabes.[80] In 2019, it was confirmed that the film would be turned into a TV series instead.[81] |
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie | In December 2014, information leaked that Sony Pictures made a deal with Nintendo to create an animated film based on the Mario franchise.[82] The project however never went into development. By November 2017, Nintendo teamed up with Universal Pictures and Illumination to make the animated Mario film.[83] [84] [85] [86] The film was released on April 5, 2023.[87] [88] |
| | An animated feature film based on Playmobil, the film originally involved Bob Persichetti as director and screenwriter. Persichetti initially pitched the film to Sony Pictures Animation. Although Sony tried to buy the pitch, it fell through. He was eventually offered instead to direct the 2018 superhero film .[89] The film later moved to Method Animation for a 2019 release. |
| Super Smash Bros. | According to the hacked Sony emails, two emails show that Sony was interested in making a film based on Nintendo's crossover fighting game series of the same name. The email was written by former Sony Pictures Animation president Michelle Raimo Kouyate and was sent to Amy Pascal.[90] |
| Rabbids | In 2014, Ubisoft teamed up with Sony Pictures Animation to potentially make a live-action/animated hybrid film based on Rabbids. However, it never got far into development.[91] The project was eventually moved to Lionsgate, complete with Todd Strauss-Schulson as the director. At the same time, other companies including Ubisoft Film & Television, Mandeville Films, and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios are involved in the project.[92] | |
