Framestore’s VFX Supervisor Andy Kind And Animation Supervisor Pablo Grillo Return For ‘Paddington 3’ – Exclusive
The U.K.’s favorite cg bear is coming back for a trans-Atlantic adventure in Paddington in Peru, and Framestore has exclusively confirmed to Cartoon Brew that vfx supervisor Andy Kind and animation supervisor Pablo Grillo will be back for the franchise’s third installment.
On the first two films, Kind and Grillo led a team of vfx and animation professionals that turned the marmalade obsessed bear into an award-winning protagonist who has grossed nearly half a billion dollars at the global box office. Critical success has been equally forthcoming, with the first two films boasting Rotten Tomatoes critics’ scores of 97% and 99% respectively.
Somewhat surprisingly, relative newcomer Dougal Wilson will make his feature directorial debut with Paddington in Peru. A successful commercial and music video director, he takes over for Paul King, director of the first two films. King is currently busy at the helm of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, prequel but will stay involved with the Paddington franchise, executive producing the new film.
Studiocanal and Heyday Films, producers of the first two films, re-team for Paddington in Peru with Studiocanal fully financing. The screenplay was written by Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont from a story co-written by Burton, King, and Simon Farnaby, who collaborated on the previous films. Principal photography will kick off in 2023, filming on location in London and Peru.
Framestore tweeted their excitement to be back working on the franchise, saying:
The news is out! Paddington in Peru begins filming in 2023, with award-winning director Dougal Wilson set to direct. We’ve loved every moment of #Paddington’s journey to date, and we couldn’t be happier to join him again for this latest adventure.
“As a huge fan of the first two films, I am very excited (if not a little intimidated) to be continuing the story of Paddington,” said Wilson in a Studiocanal release. “It’s a massive responsibility, but all my efforts will be focused on making a third film that honors the love so many people have for this very special bear.”
King added, “After ten years of working on the Paddington movies, I feel absurdly protective of the little bear, and I’m delighted that Dougal will be there to hold his paw as he embarks on his third big screen adventure. Dougal’s work is never less than astounding: funny, beautiful, heartfelt, imaginative, and totally original. Aunt Lucy once asked us to ‘Please Look After This Bear.’ I know Dougal will do so admirably.”
On Thursday, Framestore will be at the Annecy Festival to host a recruitment talk. There, Brad Silby, IA – head of animation; Cynthia Crimmins, department manager; Quentin Sur, lead visualization artist; and head of recruitment Ian Landman from Framestore’s London offices will be joined by Daniel Mizuguchi, head of animation in Vancouver, to meet with professionals and discuss how the studio works to push boundaries of what is considered possible within the animation world.
In addition to the Paddington films, Framestore has done animation and vfx work on blockbusters including Tim Burton’s Dumbo, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, Gravity, and Blade Runner 2049, among many others.
News of Wilson’s involvement and the film’s new title was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
