Guillermo Del Toro Producing Animated Day Of The Dead

We may not have had a new movie directed by Guillermo Del Toro since 2008’s Hellboy II, but he’s a very busy man producing movies for other people and preparing his next directorial outing, Pacific Rim. Now he’s teamed up with Reel FX to produce a CG-animated film that’s going by the working title, Day of the Dead.

The movie will be directed by Emmy Award winner Jorge R. Gutierrez (El Tigre) based on a script by Gutierrez and Douglas Langdale, with a release planned for fall 2014. You’ll be pleased to hear though that it has nothing to do with George A. Romero’s zombie flicks, and is instead a Romeo and Juliet style love story set against a Mexican Day of the Dead backdrop. There’s now a huge amount more info about the plot.

It represents the first time in almost twenty years – since 1993’s Cronos – that del Toro has collaborated on a feature project set in Mexico. Reel FX’s Brad Booker says “We’re thrilled to have Guillermo on board for Day of the Dead. As individuals, Guillermo and Jorge share a cultural background and love for Mexican folklore, which brings a palpable authenticity to our project; however, as artists, each brings to the picture a vastly different aesthetic sensibility. Working together for the first time, we feel that they bring a truly unique balance to the style and story of the film.”

Del Toro himself adds, “I have admired Jorge’s work for a long time. He has a unique aesthetic and sense of humor. Day of the Dead offers a perfect opportunity for his sensibilities to shine. This is a colorful, vibrant, vital fable that utilizes the animation medium in an incredible way. The object of the tale is not only to talk about life but to dazzle us – jolt us – into living to the fullest.”