Copenhagen Bombay Launches Production On THE GREAT BEAR

I've long been saying that European animation is on the rise and when out prowling for interesting new material one of my first stops in recent years has been Danish production house Copenhagen Bombay, the outfit co-founded by Princess director Anders Morgenthaler. They're a very diverse, very talent-oriented company dabbling in a broad range of projects and they've just announced a brand new feature scheduled for release in the winter of 2011.

Jonathan, 11, usually spends his vacations alone with his grandfather who lives on the edge of a vast forest populated by mythical animals. This year his kid sister Sophie joins him. But it's not cool to be stuck with a little sister, so he does what he can to avoid her. He succeeds entirely too well: Sophie is kidnapped by a giant, 1000-year-old bear. Now, Jonathan has to venture into the heart of the forest to confront the strange beings that dwell there and retrieve his sister.

The Great Bear is the feature film debut from director Esben Toft Jacobsen and while there's only the one image available so far - the project is so fresh it's not even listed on the Copenhagen Bombay website yet - it's one fantastic image that, coupled with the premise, promises some great things.