Raise the Bar!

Raise the Bar! is an upcoming American computer-animated sports drama film based on the graphic novel of its same name written and illustrated by Fernanda Frick, which was originally announced in production as a Netflix original series. Produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Movie Land Animation Studios and directed by Dylan Brown, from the screenplay by Steven Melching, Emma Dudley, Bill Wolkoff, and Fernanda Frick and story by Wolkoff and Frick, the film is also produced by its Canadian studio, like Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, making it the second feature film to be made at the Canadian studio, following Tomb Raider. The film stars the voices of Kausar Mohammed and Timothée Chalamet. It features an underdog story centered around the victories and defeats of a group of Latin-American teenage athletes striving to reach the highest of sports achievements. The protagonist is Sam Sanchez, a stubborn teenager who wants to be Chile's 1st Gold Medallist in Weightlifting at the World Games.
Netflix announced a television series project for its same name in 2018, but was cancelled in early 2020, being adapted into a graphic novel instead. However, the series has been reworked into a theatrical feature film by November 7, 2021, with Dylan Brown confirmed as director.
Raise the Bar! is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 6, 2024.
==Premise==
TBA
==Cast==
*Kausar Mohammed as Sam Sanchez, a female high school student who works toward her dream of becoming a world champion weightlifter.
*Timothée Chalamet as Tyler
==Production==
===Development===
In 2018, Netflix announced that they were to develop Chilean animation director Fernanda Frick's Raise the Bar! as an animated series. Fernanda Frick worked on the Oscar-winning animated short from Chile, Bear Story, before writing and directing her own short film, Here's the Plan for Cartoon Brew's CB Fest shorts program. But in early 2020, Netflix dropped its development of the series, and then adapted Raise the Bar! into a graphic novel instead.
However on November 7, 2021, Sony Pictures Animation announced that the former Netflix original series had been reworked into a theatrical feature film, with Dylan Brown remaining attached to the project as a film director, after he was fired from Paramount Animation's Wonder Park and then joined MLAS Toronto.
===Casting===
In April 2022, Kausar Mohammed and Timothée Chalamet will join the voice cast as Sam and Tyler.
===Animation and design===
While most of the animation for the film was created at Movie Land Digital Production Services' San Francisco, Vancouver, Montreal, London, Sydney, Mumbai and Bangalore studio, with pre-production and storyboarding services made at the MLAS Toronto studio, MLAS Canada also handled their Carmen Sandiego-stylized animation design using proprietary software like Premo and RenderMan. Kumar Coca and RedCrackle VFX will also handle their Arcane-stylized imagery and animation design.
===Music===
Music score for the film was composed by Dario Marianelli, replacing Tyler Bates.
==Release==
Raise the Bar! is scheduled to be released in theaters on September 6, 2024. A sneak peek at the film is set to screen at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2024. It was originally scheduled for September 27, 2024.
===Marketing===
The first official trailer was released on June 8, 2024.
==References==
==External links==
*Official website
*Raise the Bar! at IMDb
Category:2024 films
Category:2024 computer-animated films
Category:2024 3D films
Category:Sony Pictures Animation films
Category:Columbia Pictures films
Category:Columbia Pictures animated films
Category:Movie Land Animation Studios films
Category:Animated films based on novels
Category:Films produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Category:Films produced by Amy Pascal
Category:2020s American animated films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:Upcoming IMAX films
Category:Films scored by Dario Marianelli