GFM Animation (Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, A Greyhound of a Girl) and Threshold Entertainment have teamed up with Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment for the new animated feature X Factor in the Jungle — inspired by Cowell’s long-running singing competition series The X Factor. Pre-production will begin this year for the CG project, slated for distribution in 2026.
The English record exec/TV personality shared in the announcement, “I’ve always wanted to make animated movies and I plan for this to be the first of many.”
The film’s story will follow the events that unfold when a karaoke machine is tossed from a sinking boat and winds up in the jungle. When the little mouse who finds it is challenged for possession by jaguar and a rhino, their resulting singing contest to determine the rightful owner attracts a huge audience of animals all wanting to take their shot.
X Factor in the Jungle is directed by Disney Animation veteran Kirk Wise (Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Atlantis: The Lost Empire), written by Daytime Emmy winner Sean Catherine Derek (Batman: The Animated Series, The Smurfs, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures).
Threshold Entertainment founder Larry Kasanoff (Dirty Dancing, Terminator 2) is producing, while multi-Grammy and Oscar winning studio partner Jimmy Ienner will manage music collaboration with Cowell. GFM Animation Chairman Guy Collins noted that the undisclosed budget will set the stage for “top level voice casting and music collaboration” for the project.
X Factor in the Jungle is the latest feature film to join GFM Animation’s upcoming lineup, which also includes Stitch Head, Sneaks and 10 Lives.
[Source: Variety]
