On July 22, 2017, Australia's The Daily Telegraph reported that several studios had expressed interest in adapting the series into a film.[1] In March 2018, Variety reported that DreamWorks Animation would develop a film based on the book series, with Etan Cohen writing the screenplay.[2][3][4] The following year, in October, it was reported that the film would be directed by Pierre Perifel in his feature directorial debut.[5] The film was described as having "a similar twist on the heist genre that Shrek did on fairy tales, and what Kung Fu Panda did for the kung fu genre".[5] The crew worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
On July 28, 2021, the cast was announced with Etan Cohen, Patrick Hughes, and author Aaron Blabey set to serve as executive producers for the film.[7]
On October 7, 2019, it was reported that the film would be theatrically released on September 17, 2021, taking over the release date of Spooky Jack.[5] In December 2020, the film was delayed with The Boss Baby: Family Business taking its original slot, though it was confirmed that it would get a new date "within the coming weeks" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] In March 2021, the release date was scheduled to April 15, 2022.[9] In October 2021, it was pushed back again by one week to April 22.[10] The film was slated to stream in the United States on the Peacock streaming service 45 days after its theatrical release,[11] followed by its Netflix debut after Peacock's 4-month exclusive window.[12] On March 1, 2022, Universal pulled the release in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13]
In March 2022, a month before the film was released, Perifel said that he would love to do a sequel.[14] Two years later, DreamWorks Animation officially confirmed a sequel with a release date set for August 1, 2025. Perifel will return to direct and JP Sans, who served as head of character animation on the previous film, will co-direct, with the cast reprising their roles.[15]
A CG sequel short based on the film, The Bad Guys in Maraschino Ruby, was announced in the Blu-ray and Digital release with a story made and directed by head of the story Nelson Yokota, and produced by Angie Howard while executive produced by Pierre Perifel, Damon Ross, Rebecca Huntley, and Michael Vollman.
