Blue Fox Entertainment announced today its acquisition of U.S. distribution rights to the animated comedy adventure The Inventor, which made its world premiere in competition at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival last month. The directorial debut of Oscar nominee Jim Capobianco (screenwriter of Ratatouille), Blue Fox wil release the stop-motion film about the life of Leonardo da Vinci in the U.S. theatrically nationwide on August 25.
The Inventor features the voices of Stephen Fry (The Sandman) as Leonardo da Vinci, Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as Princess Marguerite de Navarre, Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) as Louise De Savoy, actor and French v.o. artist Gauthier Battoue (Emily in Paris, Hotel Transylvania [Fr.]) as King Francis I, Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) as Pope Leo X and L.A.-based clowning performer/director Max Baumgarten (The Idiot Workshop) as Il Boccador and King Charles of Spain.
The film tells the story of the insatiably curious and headstrong inventor/artist Leonardo da Vinci (Fry) as he leaves Italy to join the French court where he can freely experiment, invent flying contraptions and incredible machines, and study the human body. Joined in his adventure by the audacious Princess Marguerite (Ridley), Leonardo attempts to uncover the answer to the ultimate question: “What is the meaning of life?”
The family-friendly feature is written and directed by Capobianco and co-directed by Pierre-Luc Granjon.
“We applaud Jim and his talented team and artist and actors for jumping into the world of stop-motion animation,” said James Huntsman of Blue Fox. “It’s a route few filmmakers take but we are thrilled they did. The results are amazing and we are proud to take Inventor to theaters and audiences nationwide.”
Producers of The Inventor are Robert Rippberger, p.g.a. of SIE Films, Jim Capobianco, Adrian Politowski and Martin Metz. The music is scored by Alex Mandel (Brave). The core creative team also includes director of photography Marijke Van Kets, production designer Samuel Ribeyron and editor Nicolas Flory. The film is a co-production among the United States, France and Ireland.
“I am thrilled that Blue Fox has leaped forward to bring The Inventor to theaters where audiences can experience Leonardo da Vinci’s adventures on the big screen,” said Capobianco. “His legacy proves that through our actions, we can inspire those around us — girls, boys, women and men — to be curious, to challenge the status quo, to think in new ways, and to be inventors in their own lives.”
The deal for The Inventor was negotiated between Blue Fox, The Exchange, Slated and producer Robert Rippberger of SIE Films. International rights are handled by mk2. In France, the film will be released by KMBO in January 2024.
Hired onto the Disney feature aniamtion story department in the 1990s, Capobianco worked on films such as The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Fantasia 2000. In 1997, he left Disney to join Pixar, where he was a story artist on A Bug’s Life and contributed story material to Toy Story 2. He continued to help shape the stories of Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; Up; Inside Out and Coco. He also directed the critically acclaimed end titles for WALL-E.
In 2001, Capobianco helped craft the screenplay for Ratatouille and was a constant presence on the production, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He also wrote and directed the short Your Friend the Rat and the 2D animated sequence in Mary Poppins Returns, winning Annie Awards for both.
Founded in 2015, Blue Fox Entertainment is a global film sales and domestic distribution company. Its current U.S. release slate includes Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of th eUniverse, based on the bestselling novel and produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Blue Fox previously handled distribution for the international animated features Yakari – A Spectacular Journey (2021), directed by Xavier Giacometti & Toby Genkel, and Conni and the Cat (2021), directed by Ansgar Niebuhr.
