Production kicks off for Lena Khan’s Disney+ original film Flora & Ulysses

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Walt Disney Pictures is looking to embark on a madcap adventure for one of their original film projects destined for Disney+, the subscription-based streaming service set for a November 12 launch in the U.S. that caters to Mouseketeers. Directing Disney's newly-announced motion picture project is Lena Khan, who made a splash with her 2016 directorial debut for THE TIGER HUNTER, a comedy centered around a young Indian man who relocates to 1970s Chicago to become an engineer, but when his job falls through, resorts to an elaborate charade with misfit friends in order to woo his childhood sweetheart.

Khan's newest project, FLORA & ULYSSES, is based on the Newberry Award-winning children's book, "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventure" by Kate DiCamillo.

FLORA & ULYSSES tells the story of 10-year-old girl named Flora, an avid comic book fan and a self-avowed cynic, who saves a squirrel she names Ulysses only to have its unique superhero powers wreak havoc in a series of humorous, antic-filled adventures that ultimately change Flora's life and her outlook forever.

Arriving as the film's titular character is newcomer to the small screen Matilda Lawler. Currently, Lawler stars on Broadway as Honor Carney in Jez Butterworth'sTony Award-winning play "The Ferryman,"as directed by Sam Mendes. Joining the effort on FLORA & ULYSSES, which kicked off its production in Vancouver this week, is AMERICAN PIE and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER alumna Alyson Hannigan as Flora's romance-writer mother, Phyllis. Also set to join the cast is Ben Schwartz (PARKS AND RECREATION, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG) in the role of George, Flora's world-weary, estranged father. New to the scene actor Benjamin Evans Ainsworth plays the role of William, Flora's newfound, but annoying, friend, and Danny Pudi (COMMUNITY, THE TIGER HUNTER) enters the cast as Miller, an overly zealous animal control officer.

Academy Award-nominated film producer Gil Netter (LIFE OF PI), James Powers (THE MAZE RUNNER) and Katterli Frauenfelder (DUMBO) will executive produce, with DiCamillo's book being adapted for the screen by Brad Copeland (FERDINAND, WILD HOGS).

With so many new and exciting projects set to touch down on Disney+, fans of the House of Mouse are going to find themselves hard-pressed not to open their wallets wide and subscribe to the studio's latest method of placing a stranglehold on the film industry. Get ready, Mouseketeers, because November will be here sooner than you think, and Mickey's coming for a slice of that streamer-inspired cash.