L’Atelier Animation Boards GFM’s ’10 Lives’; Chris Jenkins To Direct

10 Lives is coming (back) to life. Montreal studio L’Atelier Animation has come onboard as the sole animation studio on the long-gestating cg feature. Surf’s Up writer-producer Chris Jenkins has also joined as director.

The announcements were made by GFM Animation, the London-based production company behind 10 Lives. GFM acquired the project from Original Force, the Chinese company with which it was initially set to produce the film. The project was announced as far back as 2017.

The family comedy tells the story of Beckett, a cat who carelessly uses up his nine lives and bargains to receive more, only to find that he is now being revived as a range of different animals. Animation production will begin in mid-2021.

Jenkins, who has also rewritten the film’s script, started out as an effects animator at Disney (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King). His credits include co-producing the 2015 Dreamworks feature Home and co-writing and directing Original Force’s debut feature Duck Duck Goose, in which GFM Animation was also involved.

L’Atelier was founded in 2012, and its character animation team was until recently headed by Disney and Dreamworks alum Ted Ty. Its productions include French-Canadian feature Ballerina (released in the U.S. as Leap!), the Netflix series Robozuna, and the upcoming feature Fireheart.

“GFM Animation’s decision to involve us early on completely syncs with how we as animators can best contribute to a project’s success,” L’Atelier executive producer Louis-Philippe Vermette said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing how this wonderful synergy will play out on the screen.”