There’s no way that this isn’t the result of The Lego Movie’s success. When I was a kid, Playmobil was what younger kids got to play with instead of Lego, since there weren’t a bunch of small parts to swallow. That’s kind of the same feeling that the movie announcement has.
Pathe, Wild Bunch, and the Paris-based On Entertainment have partnered to make an $80 million film based on Playmobils. On Entertainment has the PLaymobil rights, while Pathe and Wild Bunch will actually develop the project. Like Lego, there are a bunch of different Playmobile worlds that the film can play with. Unlike Lego, there are no pop culture icons that can be parodied and incorporated into the film.
The person in charge of developing the animated feature is Bob Persichetti, who was head of story on Monsters vs. Aliens, Shrek 2, and Puss in Boots. All of which makes this film sound more promising than it has any right to be. We’ll find out if it works at the end of 2017, when it’s expected to be released.
[Variety]
