A feature-length fully-animated model of smash hit Korean sequence “Yumi’s Cells” will launch subsequent month on the European Film Market in Berlin. International rights to the property have been picked up by Barunson E&A, a part of the Korean Barunson conglomerate that additionally produced Oscar-winning live-action movie “Parasite.”
“Yumi’s Cells: The Movie” is a 3D characteristic animation primarily based on the favored Naver webtoon sequence of the identical title that debuted in 2015. Production of the movie is by Locus Animation (previously Sidus Animation), which was beforehand accountable for “Red Shoes and Seven Dwarfs” and Studio N, a subsidiary of Naver Webtoon. The movie is at present in post-production and will likely be delivered later this yr.
Locus’s newest work, “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” can be debuting on the EFM.
“Yumi’s Cells” revolves round an workplace employee Yumi and the myriad of cells inside her mind – comparable to Rational Cell, Emotional Cell, Anxiety Cell, Love Cell, Naughty Cell, and extra – every accountable for Yumi’s feelings and actions. The narrative explores Yumi’s progress alongside her cells in imaginative methods.
In 2021 and 2022, the property was tailored right into a TV sequence that mixed live-action and animation for Korean streamer Tving. It lifted fundamental actor Kim Go-eun (beforehand identified for the Okay-drama sequence “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”) to additional worldwide recognition.
The characteristic film, a primary for the franchise, delves into the love story of Yumi and Babi, selecting up from the ultimate a part of the second season of the TV sequence. It additionally explores Yumi’s pursuit of her dream to change into a author.
The authentic “Yumi’s Cells” webtoon achieved a median person ranking of 9.9 factors out of ten, per episode, establishing itself as a formidable mental property. Before the launch of the TV adaptation, Naver reported that the webtoon had been considered 3.2 billion occasions.
The subsequent TV sequence ran for 28 episodes, corresponding to 2 seasons, with the second season reportedly having fun with a 60% enhance in viewership over the primary.
Tving reported over rights gross sales for the sequence to over 150 territories. Overseas distributors included Viki, China’s Bilibili and iQiyi and Amazon’s multi-territory platform Prime Video.
Studio N has been recurrently parlayed its content material portfolio into dramas, motion pictures, and animations with examples together with the Netflix Original “Sweet Home” and “Bloodhounds,” Disney+’s “Vigilante.”
Sylvie Kim, head of Barunson E&A’s worldwide enterprise unit, mentioned: “We are delighted to add the feature animation adaptation of ‘Yumi’s Cells,’ a globally beloved IP, to our sales lineup. We plan to consistently introduce original and powerful content without limiting ourselves to specific countries, genres, or formats.”
At the EFM, Barunson E&A may even start pre-sales of slates of different titles which are additionally in post-production. These embody the journey comedy “Amazon Bullseye,” starring Ryu Seung-ryong (“Extreme Job” and Disney+ “Moving”) and “Forbidden Fairytale, which it pitches as a daring and imaginative horny comedy.