Multi-year pact begins with the production of two new animated features to be produced in Spain.

Skydance Media has launched an animation division and entered into a multiyear partnership with Spain’s Ilion Animation Studios to develop and produce high-end animated feature films and television series.

“It is incredibly gratifying to see one of my deepest passions come to life as we enter the animation business with Ilion,” said Skydance CEO David Ellison. “Together we aim to bring together the most creative visionaries, the best-in-class production skills, and the highest degree of technological innovation in the service of great stories.”

The slate will commence with two animated features currently in development, which will be produced at Ilion’s CG animation studio in Madrid.

The first, which will be released in 2019, is being written by Linda Woolverton (Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King). It tells the story of Elian, a teenager who comes of age using her magical powers to defend her family when the opposing forces of light and darkness threaten to divide her kingdom. Woolverton will serve as a producer on the film alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Ilion’s Ignacio Pérez Dolset and Jose F San Román.

The second animated feature film, Luck (working title), is a comedy that pulls back the curtain on the millennia-old battle between the organizations of good luck and bad luck that secretly affects our daily lives. Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger (The Kung Fu Panda trilogy, Trolls) are writing the script and will serve as producers on the film, alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Ilion’s Ignacio Pérez Dolset and Jose F San Román.

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