IMAX Corporation has announced that Steve Oedekerk's original animated film, SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN, will be reformatted into IMAX 3D and anchor a special IMAX holiday film program launching in November 2002. Produced by Oedekerk's O Entertainment, animated by DNA productions with additional footage being animated by Omation, a division of O Entertainment, the film features the voices of Oedekerk, Emmy Award-winning comic Jonathan Winters, Ben Stein and Victoria Jackson. SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN tells the tale of a lonely Snowman, at first in awe of the magical wonders of Santa's Village, whose eventual jealousy of all the attention Santa gets during Christmas leads to an epic-scale polar war. The humorous battle features such holiday defense mechanisms as hot chocolate squirt guns, giant igloo robot walkers and even a 50-foot tall toy soldier manned by Santa himself. Oedekerk commented, "I'm excited that 'Santa' will lead the launch of IMAX's holiday family programming. When I saw the animation come alive in 3D, I couldn't believe it and I'm sure that audiences will have the same reaction. This is the perfect format for this classic holiday story and I'm very excited to be working with IMAX on this and potential future projects." Oedekerk has written and directed films that have grossed over $1 billion in worldwide box office including PATCH ADAMS, ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE, ACE VENTURA 2: WHEN NATURE CALLS and THE NUTTY PROFESSOR.He is currently producing Nickelodeon's computer-animated JIMMY NEUTRON franchise. He is also directing and starring in the martial arts spoof, ENTER THE FIST for 20th Century Fox, due late 2001. He has also performed stand-up comedy in numerous top comedy clubs across America. An updated version of IMAX's award-winning SANDDE short PAINT MISBEHAVIN' will also be featured in the holiday program.
Dan Sarto(link sends e-mail) is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
