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Apple Picks Up Tomm Moore's 'Wolfwalkers'

Three-time Oscar-nominated Irish studio Cartoon Saloon is currently working on their fourth feature, Wolfwalkers. Director Tomm Moore is following up Song Of The Sea with another film steeped in Irish mythology. Swapping the broadly-contemporary setting of Song for a historical setting, the story takes place around the mid-to-late 1500's. It follows the unlikely friendship between Robyn, the daughter of an English wolf-hunter, and local girl Mebh. Through this friendship, she is transformed "into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy."

This project has been on our radar since we first heard it mentioned in our interview with Tomm Moore, and every piece of artwork. and the concept trailer has only fuelled our anticipation further. While a release date for the film has still not been confirmed, the story has taken an unexpected turn. It has now been confirmed that the film will be released by Apple.

Cartoon Saloon's previous three films all been distributed by GKIDS Films in the US and Studio Canal in the UK and Ireland. This deal has seen them nab three Oscar nominations among numerous other accolades so this news does come as a surprise. GKIDS was even a co-producer on their last film, The Breadwinner.

Apple is the latest tech giant to be making the move into producing original content. It has previously announced its first original animated series, but this is its first announced project in animated features.

While Apple has been snapping up big-name talent (its live-action offerings include projects from Steven Spielberg and M Night Shyamalan) it has yet to announce how viewers will be able to see these shows and films. Will they launch their own Netflix-style streaming service? Or will they be sold through the Apple store? Will you need an Apple device to see them? What countries will the service be available in? There are many questions, and as yet, we just don't know the answers.

Apple is one of the biggest companies in the world, so has an awful lot of money to spend. This deal is undoubtedly good for a company like Cartoon Saloon. However, it is understandable if fans are also a little concerned. Not only do we have no idea how we will be able to access it (or when) but does that mean no cinema release? Or no Blu-ray?  We would certainly hope that's not the case.

Apple certainly has the money to make sure that this is the widest seen Cartoon Saloon film yet. But just what exactly its plans entail remains to be seen.