‘My Father’s Dragon’ Releases First Image for Animated Feature Starring Gaten Matarazzo, Jacob Tremblay, and Whoopi Goldberg

Today, Netflix and Cartoon Saloon unveiled My Father’s Dragon, a new animated feature directed by Nora Twomey. The film will adapt the Newbery Medal-awarded children’s book of the same name, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by her stepmother, Ruth Chrisman Gannett.

The first look image at My Father’s Dragon teases the fantastic encounter between a young boy and a scaly mystical creature. Gannett’s original story follows Elmer, a boy who runs away to the magic-filled Wild Island, where he intends to rescue a baby dragon. The first image also teases the incredible artwork developed by Cartoon Saloon, the Irish studio behind animated gems such as The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and Wolfwalkers. Like Pixar, Cartoon Saloon has a history of collecting Academy Awards nominations for its animated features. But, unfortunately, the studio hasn’t snagged an Oscar statue so far – a fact that some of us think is preposterous.

Cartoon Saloon is not the only Oscar-nominated part involved in developing My Father’s Dragon. The director, Twomey, was behind the highly praised The Breadwinner, the touching story of a young girl who has to pretend to be a boy so that she can bring some food home in a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Also, the adaptation script is penned by Meg LeFauve, who worked as a writer for Inside Out, arguably Pixar’s best film to date. The screen story is developed by LeFauve and John Morgan. You can see the first image from the film below.

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My Father’s Dragon also features an absolutely stacked cast with the voice talents of an incredible list of actors including Jacob Tremblay, Gaten Matarazzo, Golshifteh Farahani, Dianne Wiest, Rita Moreno, Chris O’Dowd, Judy Greer, Alan Cumming, Yara Shahidi, Jackie Earle Haley, Mary Kay Place, Leighton Meester, Spence Moore II, Adam Brody, Charlyne Yi, Maggie Lincoln, Jack Smith with Whoopi Goldberg and Ian McShane. Whom each of these actors will be playing remains a mystery right now.

Commenting on the upcoming film, Twomey said:

“Our actors, animators, and artists at Cartoon Saloon have worked together to craft this film, inspired by Ruth Stiles Gannett’s amazing book. We were drawn together by a desire to tell a very special tale of friendship, adventure, and true bravery. I fell in love with storytelling as a child and Netflix excels at celebrating all kinds of stories, through different styles and distinct voices. This has given me the opportunity to look through a beautiful lens and I am excited to share what I see with our audience around the world.”

My Father’s Dragon is produced by Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn of Mockingbird Pictures and Paul Young of Cartoon Saloon. The film is executive produced by LeFauve and Morgan, Tomm Moore and Gerry Shirren of Cartoon Saloon, and Alan Moloney and Ruth Coady of Parallel Films. There’s still no release date for My Father’s Dragon.

Here’s the official synopsis for My Father’s Dragon:

From five-time Academy Award®-nominated animation studio Cartoon Saloon (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers) and Academy Award®-nominated director Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), comes an exquisite film inspired by the Newbery-honored children’s book from author Ruth Stiles Gannett. Struggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer’s adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island and the friendship of a lifetime.

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