Ron Howard directing first animated movie for Netflix

Director Ron Howard attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival, in Cannes. File picture: Eric Gallard Reuters

Director Ron Howard attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival, in Cannes. File picture: Eric Gallard Reuters

Published May 17, 2022

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Ron Howard is reportedly set to direct his first animated movie.

The 68-year-old filmmaker is said to be working on “The Shrinking of Treehorn” for Netflix, which is an adaptation of Florence Parry Heide's 1971 children's book of the same name, featuring illustrations by Edward Gorey.

As reported by ‘Deadline’, “Peter Rabbit” writer Rob Lieber has adapted the script for the movie, with Howard's own Imagine Entertainment producing alongside Animal Logic.

The film has been described as a musical, set in New York City during the holidays.

The story follows a young boy called Treehorn, who starts shrinking one day – but his parents don't seem to notice.

Howard has become highly respected in Hollywood, and he's impressed as a director for the likes of “Frost/Nixon” and “A Beautiful Mind”.

He also stepped into a galaxy far, far away, when he replaced original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at the helm of 2018's “Solo: A Star Wars Story”.

Explaining the situation earlier this year, he told The Hollywood Reporter: “I understood that this difference had created a schism to the point where they weren't going to be able to go on working together, and that was really unfortunate because I like Phil and Chris, and I also really admire them.

“When I looked at the footage and read the script, which I liked, I felt like I understood what it was that the studio and Lucasfilm were looking for in finishing the movie and re-shooting some of the movie and, in a few places, I thought of re-conceiving a few scenes, which they were open to.

“I had some really comforting conversations with Phil and Chris, who let me know that they weren't leaving because I was coming in.”