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Cowell's Which Way to Anywhere and Emily Brown series optioned for screen
WildBrain, an independent entertainment company, has snapped up Cressida Cowell’s Which Way to Anywhere (Hachette) and her Emily Brown picture books (Hachette) for screen adaptation.
WildBrain "exclusively" optioned both titles from Cowell and has signed with producer, and two-time Academy Award nominee, Bonnie Arnold who produced all three "How to Train You Dragon" films for DreamWorks Animation.
"I love the unconventional characters and exciting worlds that Cressida creates," said Arnold. "I’m thrilled to be working with her again on such a fresh and imaginative story. Which Way to Anywhere has all the right ingredients—comedy, heart and a little bit of magic too. WildBrain is an ideal partner for this and Emily Brown. Eric and the wonderful team at WildBrain Studios have so much experience creating outstanding family programming. I look forward to working with them in bringing these and other captivating stories that I am passionate about to the screen."
Which Way to Anywhere is Cowell’s latest novel, which was published in September 2022. The novel follows K2 O’Hero who has a gift — he can draw maps of worlds that "are beyond the wildest imaginations". K2, his sister and his stepsiblings must come together to find their sister Annipeck and use K2’s gift to cross into a new world and "embark on a daring rescue mission".
The five-picture book Emily Brown series, illustrated by Neal Layton, follows Emily and her toy rabbit Stanley as they go on "intrepid adventures" to help others. "Along the way they demonstrate the unbreakable bond between child and favourite toy, and that kindness, determination and a sense of humour can overcome almost any obstacle," the publisher continued.
Layton commented: "I love working on Emily Brown with Cressida – Emily is an explorer at heart, and it’s very exciting that she’ll now be taking her adventures onto screen with WildBrain."
Eric Ellenbogen, c.e.o at WildBrain, said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled that we’ve reunited Bonnie Arnold with Cressida Cowell for two terrific new projects at WildBrain. Bonnie is a treasure in the world of animation, combining not only outstanding creative and storytelling vision, but also a keen commercial sensibility. Given her stewardship of the Dragons franchise, there’s no one better to bring Cressida’s splendid new novel, Which Way to Anywhere, to life on screen. Welcoming a producer of Bonnie’s exceptional taste and experience into the WildBrain fold will further elevate our creative slate both in scope and ambition.”
Cowell added: “I have worked with Bonnie Arnold for over a decade with the How to Train Your Dragon films: she’s a powerhouse of creativity and commercial instinct. I’m delighted to be partnering with her and the ambition, imagination and vision of WildBrain to bring Which Way to Anywhere and Emily Brown to screen.”
