Netflix Announces Animated Feature: Minkyu Lee’s “The Witch Boy”

Netflix Announces Animated Feature: Minkyu Lee’s “The Witch Boy”

January 28th, 2021

Jerry Beck

Netflix’s newest animated musical feature was announced today, and it is The Witch Boy. Directed by Oscar-nominated director Minkyu Lee (Adam and Dog), the film is based on the NYT best selling graphic novel series of the same title by Molly Knox Ostertag. Three-time Grammy Award nominated band Haim is attached to write music for the film. It will be produced by Vertigo Entertainment and released by Netflix.

“It has been a life-long dream of mine to create an animated film that pushes the medium forward, both in content and form,” says director Minkyu Lee. “The connection between this dream, my experiences, and Aster and Juniper’s story is what draws me to this film every day. I am grateful to be creating this with the wonderful team at Netflix. My hope is that this film, by celebrating queerness and “otherness”, will come to audiences around the world as something truly special.”

Synopsis: In a secret, magical community where girls are born to be witches and boys grow into shapeshifters, Aster is surprised to discover his emerging and extraordinary witch powers. When a mysterious danger threatens his world, Aster must embark on a journey to uncover the truth behind himself, his powers, and everything that is magical.

The Witch Boy joins Netflix’s fast growing original slate of animated features which includes Academy Award nominated Klaus, Kris Pearn’s The Willoughbys, Oscar winner Glen Keane’s Over the Moon; as well as the Fall 2021 comedy Back to the Outback directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps, Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Adventure, Chris Williams’ The Sea Beast, Henry Selick’s Wendell & Wild, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Wendy Rogers’ The Magician’s Elephant, and an Aardman sequel to Chicken Run.

ABOUT MINKYU LEE
Minkyu Lee is a film director, writer, producer, and artist whose animated short film, Adam and Dog was nominated for an Oscar and won an Annie Award for Best Animated Short. His credits include animating on Glen Keane’s Oscar winning Dear Basketball, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, and The Princess and the Frog, as well as visual development on Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, and storyboarding on Over the Moon. Minkyu is currently writing and directing The Witch Boy, an original animated film at Netflix.

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.