Mark Osborne's 'Escape From Hat' Picked Up By Netflix

Netflix made one of their first forays into animated features with The Little Prince, long before they became the powerhouses of animation they are today. It was a surprising move at the time- particularly as it was previously planned as a theatrical release from Paramount Pictures.

It must have worked out pretty well for everyone involved, as Little Prince director Mark Osborne is returning to Netflix to make his next feature, Escape From Hat. The film is being written by Osborne along with Adam Kline, based on a soon-to-be-published children's book by Kline and Brian Taylor.  Jinko Gotoh (producer of The Little Prince and The Lego Movie: The Second Part) will produce alongside Osborne.

The film takes place in a magical world where evil black cats and good magic rabbits live. One such rabbit falls into a magician's hat- and must try to escape.

"Netflix is shaking up the animated feature world in highly inventive ways, including offering filmmakers the rare opportunity to turn their dream project into a reality," said Osborne. "I’m thrilled that ‘Escape From Hat’ is now one of them."

The book will be published in 2020 and the film is expected to be released via Netflix in 2022. Production begins this month.


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