Netflix cools down on “Ember” by “Klaus” director Sergio Pablos

Another buzzy animation project has been snatched from Netflix's slate, with news that the hand-drawn animated film ember it won't go ahead with the streamer. It's a bittersweet parting, as the project is being helmed by Sergio Pablos, who wrote and directed the Oscar-nominated, BAFTA- and Annie-winning streamer's first original animated film, Klaus.

Pablos retains the rights to purchase the project, which was underway at his The SPA Studios in Spain, to other outlets.

According to Variety, sources say they, like other titles, flopped this year, including Adaptation15. Wings of Fire by Ava DuVernay, Chris Nee's treatment of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's Antiracist Baby, and the Mark Osborne and Adam Kline collaboration With Kind Regards from Kindergarten (originally announced at Fox Animation in 2017) — the streamer's decision was " driven creatively” and not financially, emphasizing that the lengthy development process that brings animation to screens is often derailed or thwarted.

Ember was announced as part of a slate of European-produced films and series for Netflix Animation ahead of the Annecy animation festival in June. Here's how Netflix described it at the time:

From BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated Klaus director Sergio Pablos and The SPA Studios comes Ember, a hand-drawn epic adventure about humanity's quest for fire told through the eyes of young Dikika who embarks on an impossible race to a distant volcano to recover the precious spark that will save his tribe.

Pablos is an animation veteran with over thirty years of experience who rose to fame as an animator, character designer and animation supervisor on Disney's favorite films including A Goofy Movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules and Tarzan as well as Space Jam. More recent credits include Rio, Ferdinand and executive producing Smallfoot and Despicable Me.

Netflix has released several critically acclaimed and audience-approved animated films aimed at children and families this year. The 2022 animated film slate included The Sea Beast, My Father's Dragon, Apollo 10 1/2, Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, Wendell & Wild, and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. Projects in development include High in the Clouds, The Monkey King, Escape from Hat, The Magician's Elephant, and Jorge R. Gutierrez's I, Chihuahua.

Source: Variety