Adyora Focus

***Adyora Focus*** is a 1999 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. It was directed by Krista Taylor and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay written by Taylor, Jymn Magon, Roger S. H. Schulman and Ralph Zondag based on an original story by Taylor, and stars the voices of Christina Ricci, Dan Aykroyd, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Wylie, and Christine Baranski. The film follows a young teenage girl named Adyora Focus, who later become a wizard. With the help of her friends and a talking bird, she must save her place from an evil witch.

*Adyora Focus* was released into theaters on September 10, 1999, in the United States, to positive reviews from critics who commended its animation, script, characterizations, and voice acting. It grossed $245 million over a $70 million budget, making it the second highest-grossing animated film of 1999 and the tenth highest-grossing film of the year overall. As its home media release and television syndication, the film garnered a cult following. It has since been expanded into a franchise with the sequels *Adyora Focus 2* (2003), *Adyora Focus: The Rise of Darkness* (2009) and *Adyora Focus: A Magical War* (2018); a spin-off film *Cast & Spell* (2015); several short films, a television special titled *Adyora Focus: Wizard of the Holiday*, and two television series.

## Cast

* Christina Ricci as Adyora Focus
* Dan Aykroyd
* Kirsten Dunst
* Adam Wylie
* Christine Baranski

*More coming soon!*

## Production

### Development

*Adyora Focus* was initially set up in the late-1980s at Universal Pictures via Amblimation, based on a pitch by former Paramount animator Krista Taylor who interested in a "modern-day wizard" story. Taylor was also attached to direct the project.

In early 1995, after meeting with DreamWorks founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, Taylor decided to allow the studio to picked up her project.

*More coming soon!*

### Animation and design

Originally intended as a hand-drawn traditional animated feature produced in DreamWorks' Glendale animation department, *Adyora Focus* was later converted into a CGI animated feature at Pacific Data Images (PDI) in Redwood City, who began production on the film in 1998 while production of *Antz* was almost finished at the time. According to producer Aron Warner, the discussion to move the project to CGI sounded better and more fitting than using traditional animation for the film's themes and elements. Like its previous film *Antz*, PDI used its own proprietary software (like its own Fluid Animation System) for its animated movies including *Adyora Focus*. The studio also utilized Maya for the animation process, as well as for the hair of the titular protagonist.

*More coming soon!*

### Music

*Main article: Adyora Focus/Soundtrack*
The film's score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell, who previously scored DreamWorks' *Antz* (1998). A soundtrack for the film was released by DreamWorks Records on September 7, 1999.

## Release

*Adyora Focus* was originally slated for release on June 11, 1999 before being pushed back to September 10 in order to avoid competition with Disney's *Tarzan* and Paramount's *South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut*.

### Marketing

The film was accompanied with a promotional campaign with licensees including Burger King and Mattel.

### Home media

*Adyora Focus* was released on DVD and VHS on May 16, 2000, by DreamWorks Home Entertainment. The home media release accompanied with a DVD exclusive animated short film *Magical Challenge*. The DVD release also contains audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, music video, production notes, interactive games, and trailers and television spots. A Blu-ray version of the film was released on March 24, 2009, along with its sequel *Adyora Focus 2*. In July 2014, the film's distribution rights were purchased by DreamWorks Animation from Paramount Pictures (owners of the pre-2011 DreamWorks Pictures catalog) and transferred to 20th Century Fox before reverting to Universal Pictures in 2018. In commemoration of the film's 20th anniversary, an Ultra HD Blu-ray edition was released on September 10, 2019, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

## Transcripts

### Main transcript

To see the transcript of the film, click here.

### Trailer transcripts

To see the transcripts for the trailers of the film, click here.