The Oscar-winning director of Parasite and Mickey 17 has made Ally, an animated film about a squid. It’s now due for release in 2027. While Korean director Bong Joon-ho was working on the much-delayed Mickey 17, he was also spinning another creative plate: an animated movie. As we wrote in December 2024, Bong drew all ... Ally | Bong Joon-ho has made a $52m animated film about a cute squid, due out in 2027
The Oscar-winning director of Parasite and Mickey 17 has made Ally, an animated film about a squid. It’s now due for release in 2027.
While Korean director Bong Joon-ho was working on the much-delayed Mickey 17, he was also spinning another creative plate: an animated movie. As we wrote in December 2024, Bong drew all the storyboards himself; at the time, it was said to be half-way complete.
That film now appears to be finished, or at least most of the way there, since it’s now been picked up by indie distributor, Neon, who took Bong’s thriller, Parasite, to Best Picture-winning awards glory. (Deservedly so; it’s a masterpiece.)
Plot specifics and even a title were previously unknown; thanks to Deadline, we now know that it’s called Ally, and that it’s about the adventures of a baby squid. Here’s the outlet’s plot description, which reads a lot like an official synopsis:
Ally follows a curious and endearing piglet squid of the same name that lives in the uncharted depths of the South Pacific Ocean. Ally dreams of one day seeing the sun and becoming the star of a wildlife documentary. But when a mysterious aircraft sinks into the ocean, her peaceful world is suddenly thrown into danger.
Sounds quite good, doesn’t it? Sort of like Finding Nemo with (we’re guessing) a dash of the political allegory that marked out Bong’s previous films.
Ally’s budget is said to be $52m – hugely expensive by the standards of Korean cinema; much less so when compared to the usual Pixar price tag.
Mickey 17, a sci-fi comedy about the way capitalism grinds ordinary workers into pulp, was probably too odd to find the mainstream success that Warner Bros were probably hoping for. We thoroughly enjoyed it; it isn’t an instant classic like Parasite, but it’s another imaginative dystopia from the director of The Host, Snowpiercer, Okja and more besides.
We’ll bring you more on Ally – including a UK release date – as we get it.
