GFM Animation Has Acquired Global Rights To Uli Meyer’s Debut Feature ‘Molesworth’

GFM Animation has picked up the global sales rights to Uli Meyer’s upcoming debut feature Molesworth.

The project has been in the works for several years now. We spoke with Meyer about it when he pitched the project at Cartoon Movie 2020. But the GFM news is the first update we’ve had in quite some time.

Here’s what we know about Molesworth following this week’s announcement:

• Molesworth is based on the best-selling books of the same name by Geoffrey Willans and illustrated by Ronald Searle. Not adapted from any single book, the film is an original story by Meyer.
• Meyer’s film will follow young Nigel Molesworth, a self-confident public schoolboy with a mischievous nature and a sometimes-problematic habit of daydreaming. Matt Lucas will voice the character.
• Molesworth is Meyer’s feature directorial debut. Known by most for the work he’s done on films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, or more recently Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns and Aladdin (2019). It was a brief animation test (linked below) that inspired Searle to hand-pick Meyer as the person to adapt Molesworth.
• “I went to visit him in the south of France, and he was really excited about it,” Meyer told Cartoon Brew in 2020. “He called his agent and said that if I ever wanted to use one of his creations to make a film, I’d have permission to do that. Actually, I’m the only one who has explicit permission from Searle to work with his characters.”

• Lupus Films, a U.K. studio with a history of adapting prestige literature, are producing with Luxembourg’s Melusine Productions along with Meyer’s London-based Uli Meyer Studios. GFM is now working with Lupus and producers Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding on production financing.
• GFM head of production Sean Feeney said in a release: “Bringing to life this much-loved character, using Uli Myer’s fabulous 2d skills and great script, creates a great adventure story that we’re confident will appeal to a modern audience worldwide. We are delighted to partner with Lupus Films. It’s great to be working with a proven British animation studio.”