Pixar Director Doug Sweetland to Develop First Feature Film THE FAMILIARS

Pixar Director Doug Sweetland has landed his first full-length feature film directing gig! Sweetland is best known for directing the Pixar short film Presto, which was nominated for an Academy Award back in 2009. 

The film he is going to develop is an adaptation of the children's book, The Familiars written by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, who will also write the screenplay.. the story follows three young wizard apprentices who must rely on their animal companions, or familiars, such as an alley cat, a blue jay and a tree frog, to escape an evil queen.

The most interesting part about this is the fact that this is not a Pixar film. Sweetland went straight from CalArts to being an animator for Pixar and worked on films such as A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, Cars and Finding Nemo. It seemed like Pixar was preparing him for something bigger. Sweetland spent the last 16 years at Pixar, but I guess things weren't moving along fast enough because The Familiars is being developed over at Sony Pictures. So he left Pixar to move his career forward. I'd would have done the same thing, if I didn't see any big developments coming up for me. 

I've never really been a big fan of Sony Pictures animated film projects. They always seemed a bit on the weak side. Maybe that will change with Sweetland joining their team. What do you all think?

Here is a description of the book:

THE FAMILIARS are the magical animal companions to a wizard or witch. When three young wizards-in-training get kidnapped by the evil queen of the land, it is up to their familiars to go a dangerous journey to rescue them. You'll meet Aldwyn, an orphan alley cat pretending to have telekinesis; Skylar, a know-it-all blue jay who can cast illusions; and Gilbert, a hapless tree frog with the ability to see visions of the future in pools of water. See what happens when these three animal assistants -- typically relegated to the background or found sitting quietly on their wizard's shoulders -- go on a heroic adventure of their own!