Montefiores' rabbits get the royal treatment with 20th Century Fox

Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore’s The Royal Rabbits of London is set to be turned into a hybrid-animated live-action feature film by a division of 20th Century Fox.

British screenwriter and producer Will Davies, of "How to Train Your Dragon", will adapt the book published by Simon & Schuster UK in 2016. The project will be developed by the Fox Family, a recently created section of the 20th Century Fox production studio, which creates films aimed at younger moviegoers and their parents. 

Fox Family’s head Vanessa Morrison and Ralph Millero, 20th Century Fox v.p., will oversee for the project for Fox Family. The book deal was brokered by Luke Speed on behalf of Sheila Crowley at the Curtis Brown Group. The Sebag Montefiores will serve as executive producers.

The story follows a runt of a country rabbit uncovering an insidious secret plot against the Queen, so travels to the city to warn the Royal Rabbits of London, who have secretly protected England’s Royal Family for centuries.

The Royal Rabbits of London was the first children’s book from the Montefiores and was inspired by their son Sasha, who imagined a society of rabbits living under Buckingham Palace, and developed with the advice of their daughter Lily when the children were seven and nine years old, respectively. It is aimed at children aged seven and above, and was illustrated by Kate Hindley.

The third title in The Royal Rabbits of London series, The Great Diamond Chase will be published on the 20th September this year. It will see Shylo and “the brave Royal Rabbits once again embark on a mad-cap adventure to solve the diamond theft and protect the royal family”, according to an S&S UK spokesperson.