New Line’s new toon

While still scrambling for a new potential franchise (and with the jury still out on the exorbitantly expensive GOLDEN COMPASS becoming viable for further entries), New Line is searching all corners and traveling all avenues for possibilities.

They’ve taken their first stab at animation, acquiring a $60 million CG toon called PLANET 51 from Spanish whiz-team Ilion Animation. The story follows an astronaut who lands on the distant world of the title, where he befriends an alien youngster (harmlessly, not bad-touch). The green lad helps the hero escape the paranoid people of the planet, who presume any visitors are there to invade.

The project has already been in the works for five years and is on track for a 2009 release, while A-list vocal-throwers are currently being sought. New Line is obviously praying for their own SHREK, as opposed to the next VALIANT.