Production has begun on the Disney+ original movie, Flora & Ulysses based on the children’s novel by Kate DiCamillo.
What’s happening:
- Production started this week in Vancouver on Walt Disney Pictures’ Flora & Ulysses, directed by Lena Khan and based on the Newberry Award–winning children’s book, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo.
- The film is being produced for the upcoming streaming service Disney+, which launches in the U.S. on November 12.
- Director Lena Khan made waves with her first feature film, The Tiger Hunter, which released in 2017 and was financed by crowdfunding.
- The Tiger Hunter —a comedy about a South Asian Muslim immigrant attempting to find his way in 1970s America— garnered positive reviews for Khan, a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and spotlighted her talents as a Muslim woman behind the camera.
About Flora & Ulysses:
- “Flora & Ulysses tells the story of 10-year-old 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.”
Flora & Ulysses cast:
- Matilda Lawler steps into the role of Flora, marking her film debut. She currently stars on Broadway as Honor Carney in Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, directed by Sam Mendes.
- Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother, American Pie) plays Flora’s romance-writer mother, Phyllis
- Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, Modern Family) plays the role of her world-weary, estranged father, George
- Benjamin Evans Ainsworth plays the role of William, Flora’s newfound, but annoying, friend
- Danny Pudi (Community, The Tiger Hunter) joins the cast as Miller, an overly zealous animal control officer
Creative team:
- Produced by:
- Gil Netter (Life of Pi, The Blind Side, Marley and Me)
- Executive produced:
- James Powers (The Maze Runner series)
- Katterli Frauenfelder (Dumbo, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children)
- Screen adaptation by:
- Brad Copeland (Ferdinand, Wild Hogs).
- Director of photography:
- Andrew Dunn (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Crazy, Stupid, Love)
- Production designer:
- Michael Fitzgerald (Medal of Honor, The Tiger Hunter)
- Editor:
- Lee Haxall (Always Be My Maybe)
- Costume designer:
- Mona May (Santa Clarita Diet, Enchanted)