B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations

***B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations*** was the title of American computer-animated supernatural action comedy film to be made by DreamWorks Animation. It is based on an original idea and directed by Tony Leondis. Tom Wheeler was said to be writing the script, with Maryann Garger as producer and Courtney Pledger as executive producing. The film would have starred Seth Rogen, Matt Bomer, Melissa McCarthy, Bill Murray, Octavia Spencer, Rashida Jones, and Jennifer Coolidge and would have been released on June 5, 2015 by 20th Century Fox.

## Plot

B.O.O. (Bureau of Otherworldly Operations) is the super classified agency you've never heard of and certainly never seen. Dedicated to protecting humans from evil hauntings, the agents of B.O.O. have a secret weapon: they are ghosts themselves! Newbie agents Jackson Moss and his odd-ball partner, Watts, uncover a plot to destroy B.O.O. by the agency's Most Wanted Haunter. They must use every trick in their arsenal to defeat his powerful ghost army and save Earth from a ghostly fate.

## Cast

* Seth Rogen and Davis Cleveland as Jackson Moss
* Melissa McCarthy as Watts
* Bill Murray as Addison Drake
* Rashida Jones as Moss' ex wife
* Matt Bomer as the New Husband of Moss' ex wife
* Jennifer Coolidge as Carol Sue
* Octavia Spencer as Jenny/Captain Book
* Benjamin Stockham as Henry Moss
* Rio Mangini as Dylan
* Cyrus Arnold as Chaz
* Nigel W. Tierney as Child A

Rest of the cast is unknown.

## Development

On May 28, 2009 DreamWorks Animation first time announced plans for "Super Secret Ghost Project." Later in the mid-June 2009, it was reported that DreamWorks is developing the project as Boo U., Tony Leondis has been set to direct and Jon Vitti and Yong Duk Jhun to pen the screenplay for the film, set to be released in the end of 2012. The story would follow a ghost who is bad at his job and must return to ghost school.

## Pre-Production

Seth Rogen was reported in August 2010 to have joined the film as a voice of the lead character. In September 2012, DreamWorks announced the film would star Seth Rogen, Matt Bomer, Melissa McCarthy, Bill Murray, Octavia Spencer, Rashida Jones, and Jennifer Coolidge. Director Tony Leondis said, "Bill Murray is the perfect actor to bring this character to life – or should I say after-life? Along with Jennifer and Octavia, this is a dream cast. I can't imagine a team more capable of packing a funnier punch to this broadly comedic ghost story." DreamWorks set November 6, 2015 for the film's release date (which was moved a few months later up to September 25), this time as an original project by Leondis, re-titled B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, and written by Tom Wheeler. DreamWorks also gave the movie a new synopsis which “was about two bumbling apparitions who find themselves in an extraordinary after-life adventure when they join the Bureau of Otherworldly Operations (B.O.O.) – the ghost world's elite counter-haunting unit – and ultimately must face off against the planet's greatest haunter”.

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. In January 2015, DreamWorks Animation announced the closing of Pacific Data Images (PDI) (their Redwood City, California studio), and the laying off of over 500 artists. As a result, *B.O.O: Bureau of Otherwordly Operations* had been dropped entirely from the production slate for the studio, and pushed back into an “in development” status.
2. DreamWorks Animation pulled the film's June 2015 release date to avoid competition with Disney/Pixar's *Inside Out*.
3. *Rise of the Guardians*, *Turbo*, *Mr. Peabody and Sherman*, and *Penguins of Madagascar*, four other DreamWorks Animation films, underperformed at the box office, despite receiving positive reviews.

## Results

* As of 2024, this film is shelved and will probably remain so indefinitely.
* *Home* was the only DreamWorks Animation film released in 2015.
* In 2015, Tony Leondis moved to Sony Pictures Animation to work on his next film *The Emoji Movie*, which was released on July 28, 2017. Ironically, Jennifer Coolidge, who was going to voice Carol Sue in *B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations*, went to voice as Gene's mother Mary Meh in *The Emoji Movie*. Despite being a box office success, the film was panned by critics and audiences alike.
* Some footage and production material of the cancelled film began surfacing online as of 2023.

## Trivia

* Products for the film were released before the film's cancellation.
* The film was estimated to be approximately 60% fully animated.

## External links

* Page on the DreamWorks Wiki detailing the film.
* An archived version of the official website for the film.
* Page on the Lost Media Wiki detailing the film.
* [1]
* [2]
* B.O.O: Bureau of Otherwordly Operations at Big Cartoon DataBase
* BOO First Look - See New Dreamworks Animation Characters - /Film (slashfilm.com)
* DreamWorks Seeks New Date for 'B.O.O.' (animationmagazine.net)
* Benedict Cumberbatch Steals the Show at SDCC DreamWorks Animation Panel | Animation Fascination (wordpress.com)
* B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations | Cancelled Movies. Wiki | Fandom
* B.O.O: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations (Unreleased 2015 Film) | Lost Media Archive | Fandom
* B.O.O: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations | B.O.O Wiki | Fandom
* B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations: The animation film that disappeared like a ghost (yahoo.com)
* B.O.O.: The DreamWorks Animation Movie You Will Never See | The-Solute (the-solute.com)