Guillermo del Toro Teaming up with Pixar Animator Rodrigo Blaas for Creepy Toy Story 'Alma'

Guillermo del Toro has been getting involved with a number of animated films since signing a landmark deal with DreamWorks Animation last month.

DreamWorks is preparing to get creepy with a story about an ominous toy store and a little girl who gets sucked in by a rather familiar-looking doll.


Former Pixar animator Rodrigo Blaas is in negotiations for his directorial debut to bring his hot short film Alma about dolls and child-snatching into a full-length movie for DreamWorks Animation. Del Toro will godfather and executive produce the film.

Originally from Spain, Blaas has worked in animation for more than ten years, in Spain and in the United States. While hard at work on Pixar movies like Up, Wall-e, Ratatouille, Cars, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Ice Age; animator Blaas decided to write and direct his own short called Alma his first short film as a director. This small passion project soon began winning awards like Best Animation at the L.A. Shorts Festival.

Blaas asked some of the best artists in their field to take part in this independent project: French animator Bolhem Bouchiba, character designer Carlos Grangel and Sergio Pablos, ArtDirector Alfonso Blaas, music composer Mastretta and sound designer Tom Myers.

Synopsis
Alma tells the story of children facing the specter of dark forces. Alma, a little girl, skips through the snow covered streets of a small town. Her attention is caught by a strange doll in an antique toy shop window. Fascinated, Alma decides to enter.



According to the LA Times Blaas is also in negotiations to co-direct, Trollhunters, with Del Toro, a movie based on a young-adult novel written by Del Toro.

There are similarities between Alma and Troll Hunters: Both are fairy tales about good children interacting with, and possibly victimized by, creatures that exist just below the surface of the world we know. Both have a Pan's Labyrinth vibe.

Since moving over from Disney, Del Toro has come on as a consultant and executive producer on the Kung Fu Panda sequel as well as Puss in Boots. But Alma and Troll Hunters take Del Toro in a more characteristically dark direction.

For the latest news on prolific multihyphenate Guillermo Del Toro's adventures in filmmaking join the Guillermo del Toro Facebook Group for fans.

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Source: LA Times