List of unproduced 20th Century Fox animated projects

This is a list of unmade and unreleased animated projects by 20th Century Studios. Some of these films and shows were, or still are, in development limbo. These also include the co-productions the studio collaborated with in the past (i.e. 20th Century Fox Animation, Fox Animation Studios, Blue Sky Studios, DreamWorks Animation, 20th Television Animation, and Locksmith Animation), as well as sequels to their franchises.
== 1990s ==
=== 1995[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Betty of the Jungle	In 1995, animator Bill Kopp (creator of Fox Kids' Eek! the Cat) pitched an idea for an original adult animated film called Betty of the Jungle, in which he describes it as a sexy George of the Jungle about jungle warrior woman Betty (set to be voiced by Loni Anderson) and her gun-caring poodle (set to be voiced by Bruce Willis) who battle evil to protect their jungle village. However, after an animation test and conceptual artwork, Fox Animation declined to approve the project.
Feature film	Dracula 	At one time, Fox Animation had planned to produce an animated musical adaptation of Dracula.
=== 1998[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Santa Calls	In their first partnership with Blue Sky Studios, their first feature film with them was an adaptation of the children's book Santa Calls by William Joyce. The story was to tell of Santa Claus asking three gifted children to help him defeat an army of dark elves and save Christmas.
=== 1999[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Barlowe's Inferno	In 1999, Fox Animation had optioned Barlowe's Inferno by Wayne Barlowe into a potential adult animated film that would follow one man's journey into Hell.
Feature film	Rhapsody 	Fox Animation had intended to produce an animated film based on the first installment of the Rhapsody trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon. The story was to tell of a human girl named Rhapsody going on an epic quest with the warrior Achmed and a Firbolg named Grunthor.
== 2000s[edit] ==
=== 2000[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description 	Status
Feature film	Africa 	Fox Animation had been planning to produce an adult animated epic film set in Africa for which animator Will Makra posted conceptual artwork for. Unfortunately, however, the studio has been shut down due to the financial failure of Titan A.E.. 	Cancelled
Feature film	Over the Hedge 	Fox Animation originally acquired the film rights to the United Media comic strip Over the Hedge for a feature film produced by Fox Animation Studios. The idea of the film was conceived when Don Bluth and Gary Goldman showed the comic strip to its head Chris Meledandri, who was impressed by its humour and acquired rights to the strip. He asked the screenwriting duo of Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman to write the screenplay for the film. However, in February 2001, it was later picked up by DreamWorks Animation under the leadership of its CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg when Fox put the film in turnaround.	
Feature film	Party Animals 	In June 2000, it was reported that the Farrelly brothers were developing an animated adaptation of the novel Frisco Pigeon Mambo by C.D. Payne. In June 2003, it was reported that Seth MacFarlane was attached to write and direct the project. 	
Feature film	Fathom 	In June 2000, it was reported that Fox was adapting the comic book series Fathom. 	
Feature film	The Little Beauty King	In 2000, it was reported that Steve Oedekerk was developing The Little Beauty King, which was supposed to be a satirical animated film of the Disney Renaissance films. 	
=== 2001[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Buffy: The Animated Series	In 2001, Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox started the development of Buffy the Animated Series, an animated spin-off of Whedon's popular TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Whedon and Jeph Loeb were to produce the show while many actor of the original series were attached to reprise their roles. It was initially planned to be aired on Nickelodeon,
=== 2003[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	The Iguana Brothers 	In September 2003, 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios planned to adapt Tony Johnson and Mark Teague's children's book The Iguana Brothers: A Tale of Two Lizards into an animated film.
Feature film	The Wainscott Weasel	In November 2003, 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios planned to adapt Tor Seidler's children's book The Wainscott Weasel into an animated film. However, in August 2006, it was announced that the project was shelved.
=== 2006[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Sheepish	In October 2006, Fox, Starz Animation, and Odyssey Entertainment announced Sheepish, with Odyssey doing international sales, an CG animated family comedy about the brazen leader of a pack of macho wolves who undergoes karmic retribution when he is transformed into a sheep, to be directed by Daniel St. Pierre and Kevin Johnson, and written by Bart Coughlin. Kristen Bell was also going to voice a character. Elements may have been recycled for Alpha and Omega and Sheep and Wolves.
=== 2008[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Anubis	In April 2008, Fox and Blue Sky acquired the film rights to the fantasy novel The Anubis Tapestry by Bruce Zick for an animated film titled Anubis. David H. Steinberg wrote the first draft for the film. The film was scheduled for release on July 15, 2016, but pushed back to March 23, 2018, in favor of Ice Age: Collision Course, but, by June 2017, it had been removed from its schedule.
=== 2009[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	The Magician's Elephant	On August 17, 2009, 20th Century Fox announced that Martin Hynes would adapt a novel titled The Magician's Elephant, which was yet to be released, into a feature film. In that same announcement, Julia Pistor was also confirmed as a producer of the film. On December 15, 2020, after languishing into development hell for a number of years, it was announced that Netflix has acquired the film rights to the book to develop the animated feature film, with Animal Logic working on the animation. In the same announcement, Noah Jupe, Benedict Wong, Pixie Davies, Sian Clifford, Brian Tyree Henry, Mandy Patinkin, Miranda Richardson, Cree Summer, and Lorraine Toussaint were all cast to star in the film.
== 2010s ==
=== 2011 ===
Series 	Title	Description
Feature film	Mutts	In 2011, Blue Sky Studios announced a film adaptation of the comic strip, Mutts. Patrick McDonnell and his brother Robert McDonnell were hired to write the script, while Patrick would also executive produce. In late 2014, Patrick delivered the final draft of the film script, which was then, according to him, on a drawing board.
=== 2012 ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film 	Cardboard 	In September 2012, Fox Animation optioned graphic novelist Doug TenNapel's published Graphix novel Cardboard, with plans for actor Tobey Maguire's Material Pictures, Doug TenNapel and the Gotham Group to be executive producers for the film. Fox planned to have the picture developed under its WedgeWorks subsidiary. WedgeWorks director Chris Wedge (Ice Age) was producing, and considered directing the film as well.
Ology 	Alienology 	In October 2012, it was reported that Carlos Saldanha, the director of the Ice Age and Rio films, was developing for 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios an animated feature film based on Alienology: The Complete Book of Extraterrestrials. As of 2018, it was announced that Paramount Pictures will instead develop the film franchise based on all 13 Ology books.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever	In 2012, Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, had announced the possibility for an animated film to be based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever as the next installment. In an interview for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck, Kinney stated he was working with Fox on a half-hour special based on Cabin Fever, which was scheduled to air in late-2014. The special was meant to be an animated production developed at 20th Century Fox Animation, and had begun development while Kinney worked in the live-action films. As of 2022, there has been no updates on the project.
=== 2014[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
The Book of Life	Sequels to The Book of Life	Director Jorge Gutierrez revealed in an interview that one of the ideas for the next chapter in the story involves Joaquin and his relationship with his father. "I had always imagined the first movie to be about Manolo, the second to be about Joaquín and the third one to be about Maria...I've always conceived it as a trilogy." In June 2017, Gutierrez and Reel FX Animation announced that development on the sequel had begun; however, on June 14, 2019, Gutierrez clarified on Twitter that there are now currently no plans for a sequel.
=== 2015 ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Amulet	In November 2015, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to produce a movie based on Kazu Kibuishi's book series of the same name, which was previously in development under Warner Bros. A year later on June 20, 2016, it was announced that Aron Coleite was signed on to direct. On June 10, 2021, Kazu Kibuishi confirmed on Twitter in a reply that the movie was cancelled and the film rights had lapsed back to him.
=== 2016 ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Mouse Guard 	20th Century Fox was producing an animated feature film based on the comic book series Mouse Guard by David Petersen. The story was described as a fantasy epic about a group of medieval mice sworn to protect their fellow rodents from dangerous forces. Wes Ball was director while Andy Serkis, Idris Elba, Samson Kayo, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Jack Whitehall were attached to star. In April 2019, the project was cancelled two weeks before production was to begin. In the following June, Ball and concept artist Derek Zabrocki posted pre-visualization artwork and a proof of concept demo reel.
Feature film	The Dam Keeper 	In November 2016, it was reported that Tonko House and Fox Animation were co-producing an animated film based on the Academy Award-nominated short film. However, due to the acquisition of 20th Century Fox to Disney, Kondo and Tsutsumi decided to bring the project back to Tonko House, in which the directors would resume finding a new studio partner.
Feature film	The Royal Rabbits of London	In April 2016, Variety reported that 20th Century Fox Animation was developing The Royal Rabbits of London, based on the book series of the same name by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore. Nothing about the film has come up as of 2022.[citation needed]
Feature film	Zita the Spacegirl 	In 2016, it was announced that Fox Animation had picked up movie rights for the Zita the Spacegirl trilogy, written by cartoonist Ben Hatke. The films will be produced by Chernin Entertainment. As of 2022, no updates on the film have surfaced.[citation needed]
=== 2017 ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Frogkisser! 	A film adaptation from Blue Sky Studios was announced in 2017 based on the book of the same name by Garth Nix, with Michael McCullers (writer of the Austin Powers movies, Baby Mama, and The Boss Baby) to pen the script.
Feature film	The Witch Boy 	On May 31, 2017, 20th Century Fox Animation announce that they will be making a film adaptation of Molly Ostertag's graphic novel The Witch Boy. A story in where a world where girls are born as witches and boys are born as shapeshifters, one boy named Aster breaks that by becoming a witch. However, after Disney bought 20th Century Fox, the project was sold to Netflix Animation to be an animated musical and animator Minkyu Lee's directorial debut.
Feature film	Escape from Hat	On April 27, 2017, 20th Century Fox Animation announced they will produce the animated film adaptation of Adam Kline's fantasy book "Escape from Hat" with Mark Osborne set to direct and co-write the script with Kline, and Jinko Gotoh producing the film along with Osborne. However, on November 16, 2018, Netflix acquired the film.
=== 2018[edit] ===
Series 	Title 	Description
Feature film	Foster	An animated fantasy musical film from Blue Sky Studios was announced in 2018 under its name, "Foster," with Tim Federle to pen the script, Marc Platt (La La Land) to produce, Karen Disher and Steve Martino to direct and Pasek and Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman and 2019 version of Aladdin) to write the songs for the film. It was scheduled to release on March 5, 2021, but following Disney's acquisition of Fox in May 2019, it was removed from the release schedule. However, in February 2021, Blue Sky announced that they would be closing down in April, most likely leaving the film cancelled along with other films that are in development. The film was eventually picked up by Walt Disney Animation Studios with Carlos López Estrada, the director of Raya and the Last Dragon, set to direct.