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Harlock's Marza Animation Planet Prepares Robodog CG Film

Marza Animation Planet, the wholly owned Sega Sammy Holdings subsidiary that is co-producing this September's Captain Harlock computer-graphics film, announced on Tuesday that it has begun pre-production on its first original feature. Henry F. Anderson III (Gnomeo & Juliet animation director) is directing Robodog off a script by Robert Reese. Paul Wang (Astro Boy, TMNT) is producing this film.

Marza described the film as a "heartwarming family adventure about two dogs that couldn't be more different from one another. One is a bright and energetic Robotic dog and the other, an old and grumpy real dog who's seen it all. The unlikely duo make a classic odd couple as they embark on an adventure of a lifetime as they learn about their place in the world and the true nature of friendship."

Marza aims to make a feature film every year from English scripts for international markets. Masanao Maeda recently became the head of Marza after working at Sega for two decades. He told The Hollywood Reporter that although Sega Sammy has many well-known properties such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Virtua Fighter, "I think the majority of our films will be based on original ideas."

The other executives include Executive Vice-President Kazunobu Takita, head of production Jeannette Manifold (Happy Feet, All Dogs Go to Heaven), and Ai Inoue and Mei Onishi in charge of marketing and distribution. Maeda, Takita, Inoue, and Onishi will be presenting Robodog to prospective distributors at this month's film market in Cannes.

Thanks to Liam and Daniel Zelter for the news tip.

Sources: Animation Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter