Bong Joon-ho is officially heading into animation. The Oscar-winning director’s first animated feature, “Ally,” will open in France on July 14, 2027 and reach Korean theaters the same month, Segye Ilbo reported.
With the Cannes International Film Festival set for May 2027, “Ally” could world-premiere on the Croisette before its summer theatrical run. Both key distributors, NEON and Pathé Films, are veterans of international festival rollouts, which only fuels that speculation.
“Ally” follows deep-sea fish living in an underwater canyon, centering on a baby piglet squid who dreams of seeing the sun and appearing on TV. Her world is upended when an unidentified aircraft crashes into the sea. Crew from 12 countries are taking part in the production.
The voice cast is stacked: Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri alongside Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Finn Wolfhard and Rachel House, with Werner Herzog also voicing a role. “Okja” directing-department veteran Yu Jae-seon co-wrote the script, “Toy Story 4” animator Kim Jae-hyung is animation supervisor, and DNEG, the VFX studio behind “Inception” and “Dune,” has joined the project.
Bong has kept the festival door wide open. After receiving the Stella della Mole award in Turin on September 23, he said of the unveiling plans: “Sundance or Berlin are possible, Cannes is possible too. It depends on the distributors’ release strategy.”
With July 2027 dates now set on both sides, all eyes turn to the spring festival circuit. KpopFizz will update this story as premiere plans become official.
