Sony Pictures Animation and Dark Horse Entertainment will develop an animated feature film based on the Dark Horse graphic novel series CHICKENHARE by Chris Grine, it was announced by Michelle Raimo-Kouyate, President of Sony Pictures Animation.
CHICKENHARE is the story of a unique animal that is half chicken, half hare and all hero. The eponymous graphic novels in which Chickenhare was introduced, originally published in 2006 and 2008 by Dark Horse, follow him and his shelled sidekick, Abe, on their adventures in an amazing fantasy world filled with monstrous creatures, demonic critters, and danger lurking around every corner. The two pick up a few more friends and a few more problems, all while exploring themes of identity, family, and friendship.
Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg will executive produce on behalf of Dark Horse Entertainment. Michael Lachance will oversee the project for Sony Pictures Animation with President of Production Michelle Raimo-Kouyate.
“Sony Pictures Animation is always looking for original characters, and Chickenhare is a true original,” says Michelle Raimo-Kouyate. “This story has everything we want in an animated film — broad comedy, heartfelt emotion, universal themes, and a one-of-a-kind hero that audiences will love.”
“Chris Grine‘s Chickenhare is one of the quirkiest characters we‘ve ever published”, said Dark Horse President Mike Richardson. “We‘re excited that the good people at Sony Pictures Animation responded so enthusiastically to what has to be one of our greatest comics-to-film projects yet. The more animated movies I see, the more I want to make them, and in Chickenhare we found a character so colourful and three-dimensional that he could only exist in an animated world”.
Dark Horse Entertainment is represented by WME and Gotham Group, with legal representation by attorney Keith Fleer.
In addition to CHICKENHARE, Chris Grine is the creator of 165 Bots with Stuff, which were featured on the Shoebox blog. He graduated from Ringling School of Art & Design in 2000 after completing 3 years at the Kansas City Art Institute.