Meg LeFauve’s profile continues to rise. The in-demand screenwriter has signed on to make her directorial debut. She’ll co-helm Disney Animation’s “Gigantic,” a retelling of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Her co-director is Nathan Greno, who directed Disney’s “Tangled.”
“The story is set in Spain during the Age of Exploration and the film follows Jack as he discovers a world of giants hidden within clouds,” Variety writes. Jack befriends Inma, an 11-year-old giant who stands 60 feet tall. Greno described Inma as “fiery, feisty, and a lot to control,” and she treats Jack “like a living doll.”
Dorothy McKim (“Get a Horse!”) will produce, and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the songwriters behind “Frozen,” are signed on pen the music for “Gigantic.”
LeFauve scored an Oscar nomination this year for co-writing “Inside Out.” She also penned 2015’s “The Good Dinosaur.” She and “Guardians of the Galaxy” co-writer Nicole Perlman are writing the script for the highly anticipated “Captain Marvel” film starring Academy Award winner Brie Larson (“Room”).
As HitFix observes, “Gigantic” marks “the second time a Walt Disney Animation Studios theatrical feature has been directed by a woman.” Variety reports, “LeFauve had already been working on the ‘Gigantic’ screenplay when she was promoted to the co-director slot,” as was the case with Jennifer Lee on “Frozen.” Lee was the first woman to direct for Disney Animation Studios.
Women directors are of course underrepresented period, but especially in animation. As The Mary Sue reports, “Only two female solo directors helmed U.S. animated features in the last 15 years.” Those directors are Jennifer Yuh Nelson (“Kung Fu Panda”) and Jun Falkenstein (“The Tigger Movie”).
“Gigantic” is slated for release November 21, 2018, and you can catch “Captain Marvel” in theaters March 8, 2019.
It will be interesting to see if LeFauve also transitions into directing live-action features. Check out an interview with LeFauve discussing career goals below (and watch out for a joke about underdeveloped female characters).
