Paramount Pictures’ new action-adventure Bumblebee has been hailed by US critics as the “best Transformers movie ever,” boasting a certified fresh 93% in Rotten Tomatoes’ scale. Could this be thanks to director Travis Knight who has added charm, playfulness, and a big heart to a coming-of-age story?
A producer, director and animator, Travis Knight’s 2016 film, ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’, had won multiple awards, including a BAFTA for Best Animated Feature Film, and nominations for a slew of others, among them two Oscars and a Golden Globe.
“Travis is a very skilled filmmaker,” says producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. “When you look at ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’, you see original storytelling and visual execution that make it a stand out film; that’s what we wanted for ‘Bumblebee’.”
More than anything, the project required someone with an original vision and the confidence to back it up, explains producer Mark Vahradian. “Taking a franchise in another direction after it’s been successful for more than a decade can be daunting, but Travis wasn’t afraid of the challenge.”
Maybe it helps, as well, that Travis is an avid fan of ‘Transformers’, having played with the action figures as a child in the 1980s and having watched the animated television series. He is also a devotee of classic motion pictures of the era, including Spielberg’s ‘E.T.’ and the films of John Hughes.
In case you haven’t seen the trailer for ‘Bumblebee’ yet, here it is:
‘Bumblebee’is distributed in the Philippines by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures and will start showing in Philippine cinemas on Tuesday, January 8, 2018. Will you be watching?
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