Book by Adam Kline
Escape from Hat, one of the animated movies that has been in progress over the past few years for Netflix Animation, is unfortunately no longer moving forward at the streamer after experiencing delays.
The announcement for the movie was made in November of 2018, with Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda, The Little Prince) and writer Adam Kline (Artemis Fowl, The Clockwork War) on board. Production began around the same time as the announcement.
Escape from Hat was one of two projects that Osborne was involved in at Netflix, with the other project, With Kind Regards from Kindergarten, also featuring Adam Kline. Both projects were originally set up at Fox and Blue Sky Studios before transitioning to Netflix.
Osborne’s first project for Netflix, The Little Prince, technically considered a Netflix Original, was distributed by Paramount Pictures in most regions.
Escape From Hat was intended to be a fantasy movie for families, based on the 2020 book authored by Adam Kline and Brian Taylor.
According to Netflix, here’s the movie’s logline:
“In a fairy tale where black cats are undesirable and magical rabbits are favorable, balance is jeopardized when one such rabbit is thrown into a mysterious realm of peril and darkness. In that realm, our desperate hero assembles an unexpected group of allies and embarks on an impossible quest to escape from inside a magician’s hat and reunite with the human boy he deeply cares for.”
Book cover for Escape from Hat
During 2022, throughout what has been dubbed as the Great Netflix Correction, numerous projects and personnel were cut across various departments, including Netflix Animation. The Wrap revealed that several projects were no longer moving forward, and shortly after, Variety reported that With Kind Regards From Kindergarten was among the canceled projects. Others included Wings of Fire, Bone, Antiracist Baby, and many more. While Netflix denied that creative reasons played a part in the cancellations, it remains unclear why shows and movies were axed.
Another recently learned project that was cut (though it will be distributed elsewhere) is High in the Clouds.
Now it has been confirmed that Escape from Hat will not be progressing at Netflix, as it appears to have been canceled at some point in 2022.
Several factors support this, including the fact that most of the individuals involved in the production have moved on to other projects or have listed the project as on hold in their respective portfolios.
Another indication in 2022 was that the movie no longer existed in Netflix‘s database. According to Maft from the NewonNetflix.info site, the Netflix page for the movie was removed from Netflix‘s index and became inaccessible around August 2022.
Despite Escape from Hat no longer being a part of Netflix‘s animation lineup, the streaming service still has a number of highly anticipated animated titles scheduled for release throughout the remainder of 2023 and into 2024.
Are you disappointed that Escape from Hat will not be coming to Netflix?
First appeared at Escape from Hat No Longer in Development at Netflix
