CANNES – South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, the director behind the Oscar-winning film Parasite and recipient of three Academy Awards and the Palme d’Or, is set to release his first animated feature film.

The project, titled “Ally,” follows the story of a clever piglet-like squid living in the depths of the Pacific Ocean and explores how interactions between humans and deep-sea creatures can transform both worlds, according to its producers.

Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, Bong said he hopes the film can stand alongside works by animation masters such as Hayao Miyazaki and George Miller.

“I’ve always wanted to create an awesome action sequence that can surpass the great ones created by George Miller or Miyazaki, and I felt this film was my chance to practice that ambition,” he told the film industry bible Variety at the Cannes Film Festival.

Bong, who also gained critical acclaim for the sci-fi film Snowpiercer and the creature feature Okja, said fans may be surprised by his move into animation.

He admitted his fans “might be surprised that it’s an animation.”

“But once they actually see the film” next year “it’ll be quite familiar to them and they might be happy to see my signatures.”

The director, 56, said he has been developing the project on and off for nearly seven years and first revealed images of the film last month.

“Ally” is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027 and released later in the year, according to its producers.

—AFP