Neon has landed North American rights to Bong Joon Ho‘s first animated film, “Ally.” The acquisition reunites Bong with the company that backed his Oscar-winning dark comedy “Parasite.”
“Ally,” which has been in development since 2019, is expected to debut theatrically in 2027. In addition to directing, Bong co-wrote “Ally” with Jason Yu (“Sleep”).
Described as a “family adventure blending humor and emotion,” the story follows a curious and endearing piglet squid who is living in the uncharted depths of the South Pacific Ocean. She dreams of one day seeing the sun and becoming the star of a wildlife documentary. When a mysterious aircraft sinks into the ocean, though, her peaceful world is suddenly thrown into danger. Per the official logline, the film is “inspired by remarkable real-life marine creatures” and “explores themes of friendship and courage, as encounters between humans and the creatures of the deep reshape both worlds.”
“Ally” marks the sixth collaboration between Bong and Neon’s CEO Tom Quinn. It’s his first project with the company in seven years, since “Parasite” became the first foreign film to win the Oscar for best picture. In addition to awards glory, “Parasite” was a box office hit with $53 million domestically and more than $250 million globally. The director’s other major films include “Snowpiercer,” “Memories of Murder,” “The Host” and “Okja.” His most recent effort was the Warner Bros. sci-fi satire “Mickey 17,” which earned $133 million worldwide against a hefty $118 million budget.
CJ ENM, Penture Invest and Pathé are handling the financing and distribution, with Barunson C&C overseeing production. Seo Woo-sik serves as producer on the film, marking his third collaboration with Bong following “Mother” and “Okja.”
Pathé will handle distribution in France, Benelux, Switzerland and West Africa while CJ and Penture will distribute in South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey and Indonesia. Pathé represents international sales excluding Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, for which CJ and Penture are handling sales. Neon’s senior VP of acquisitions Sarah Colvin negotiated the deal with WME on behalf of the filmmakers.
Neon is readying to head to the Cannes Film Festival, where the indie distributor will unveil a number of titles including Na Hong-jin’s sci-fi thriller “Hope,” Arthur Harari’s “The Unknown,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden” and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Sheep in the Box” in competition, as well as Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Her Private Hell” out of competition.