Disney Veteran Kirk Wise To Direct ‘Sunny,’ Enderby Entertainment’s First Animated Feature

Kirk Wise has signed on to direct Sunny, the debut animated feature from L.A.-based Enderby Entertainment. With Gary Trousdale, Wise formed one of the most successful directing partnerships in Disney history, responsible for Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Sunny will tell the story of “a boy named Sunny who must learn to control his emotions because his emotions control the sun,” according to Deadline, which first reported the news. The story is by Enderby CEO Rick Dugdale and Darrell Brown of Creative Anarchy, who are also producing. Todd Ireland (Reboot: The Guardian Code, Continuum) is writing the screenplay.

Enderby has produced over a dozen live-action features, including An Ordinary Man and Blackway. It has also launched a television division. The production company was founded in 2006 by Dugdale and Dan Petrie Jr., the latter of whom is executive-producing Sunny with Cam Cannon and Zac Reeder.

Wise said in a statement, “Sometimes a single sentence is enough to win me over when it comes to ideas that I think are uniquely suited to the animation medium, and Sunny passed that test with flying colors! I couldn’t be more excited to help the Enderby team bring this story to audiences all over the world.”

Dugdale added, “It’s exciting to enter the animation space with one of the biggest names in animation and a story that is fresh, engaging, and family-friendly. We are aiming to create a story that has a positive impact on our culture and society. These are the stories we want to tell.”

Since leaving Disney, Wise has directed one feature, the 2020 home entertainment release Bobbleheads: The Movie. In the intervening years, he led a team of Disney veterans in developing Galaxy Gas, a sci-fi comedy feature that never made it to production. Last year, Cartoon Brew exclusively premiered the project’s sizzle reel.