Gary Rydstrom is Directing an Animated Movie at Lucasfilm

Gary Rydstrom is a distinguished sound designer and director. He was won seven Academy Awards in his career. Gary has contributed to a lot of projects at Pixar, going all the way back to Luxo Jr. John Lasseter proclaimed that it was Rydstrom's work on Luxo Jr., such as creating the lamp's voice like the squeak of a lightbulb being screwed in,  that taught him how sound can be a partner in the storytelling of a film. Gary Rydstrom has done the sound design for numerous Pixar movies including Finding Nemo and Brave. He also has directed short films Lifted and Hawaiian Vacation.

Gary Rydstrom (Image Source: MovieWeb)

Lucasfilm Ltd. announced on Tuesday that Gary Rydstrom is directing and animated movie for them titled, Strange Magic.  The film is written and produced by legendary director George Lucas. Here's the synopsis for the movie: 'Strange Magic' is a "madcap fairy tale musical" inspired by Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Hit songs will help tell the tale of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and the crazy misadventures that come about thanks to a battle over a powerful potion.

Movie still from Strange Magic

The cast for the film includes Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenowirth, Maya Rudolph, Alfred Molina, Evan Rachel Wood, and Meredith Anne Bull. The movie will be released from Touchstone Pictures, which is one of Disney's distribution banners. 

Strange Magic is set to be released on January 23rd, 2015.