Revisionist fairy tales are all the rage in Hollywood right now, thanks to the success of films like Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Huntsman and now Maleficent. Hoping to capitalize on this recent trend, Sony Pictures Animation is throwing its hat in the ring with a comedic take on the classic Greek myth Medusa. Today, we learned that the studio has tapped My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic creator Lauren Faust to direct the project.
Antz writer Todd Alcott and producer Holly Golden pitched Medusa to Sony Pictures Animation as a comedy which reinterprets the myth of Medusa, a powerful creature with snakes for hair whose gaze turns people to stone. This time around, however, Medusa will be portrayed as a sweet and kind girl who accidentally angers a deity but, after being transformed into the fearsome creature, eventually learns to accept her new appearance and believe in herself.
Michelle Raimo-Kouyate, president of production at Sony Animation, told The Wrap:
“I love the originality of it, the comedy take on Medusa. The minute I heard it, it felt ingenious and clever and funny.”
Faust, who previously wrote for TV shows Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and The Powerpuff Girls, feels that the climate for animated films geared toward young girls has shifted. She said:
“In recent years, with movies like ‘Tangled’ and ‘Frozen,’ and not to toot my own horn, the polarity of ‘My Little Pony,’ people are more open to [female protagonists.] … Just because something is about a girl, that doesn’t mean it’s not for them.”
The enduring success of Frozen, which has delivered stunning numbers at the box office, on the music charts for song “Let It Go,” and on home media bestseller lists, certainly proves that there’s a strong appetite for animation aimed at the young female demographic.
It’s very exciting to see that studio execs are listening to what the public wants and committing to risky movies that send positive messages to younger audiences. Medusa sounds like an intriguing and potentially very original project from Sony Pictures Animation, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
