Circus

Circus would be a 2033 American traditionally animated adventure drama film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and co-produced by Bonnie Radford and Glen Ficarra. Produced by the Warner Animation Group and Lord Miller Productions, the film would star the voices of Hailee Steinfeld, Madeline McGraw, Elizabeth Banks, Harrison Ford, and Will Ferrell, and would center on an animal on an alien circus and her attempts to escape, as she develops a bond with a little girl. Recurrent Pixar composer Randy Newman would compose and conduct the film's score, and would write four new songs for the film.

Development on a hand-drawn film at Warner Animation Group would begin in early 2030, with Lord and Miller set to write and direct the film. Radford and Ficarra would join the film as producers on mid-2030. Steinfeld would join the film as a lead character in late 2030, while Vanks would join the cast in early 2031. Ford would join as the film's main antagonist in mid-2031, while McGraw and Ferrell would join the film in late 2031. Voice recording for the film would begin in early 2032. Lord and Miller would consult with animal right activists in order to make an accurate potrayal of animal rights in the film, as well as would investigate how circus on the 1930s were in order to draw inspiration for the film's settings. Due to the film's animation style, most of the animators on the film would be hired from other divisons from Warner Bros. Animation.

Circus would be released on May 22, 2033, and would become a critical and commercial success. Critics would praise the film for its storyline, pro-animal rights message, voice acting (particularly Steinfield, McGraw, and Ford's), dark tone, musical score, visuals, and use of traditional animation. The film would also be a commercial success, earning 975 million dollars at the worldwide box office over a budget of 90 million dollars, becoming the hightest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, as well as the third hightest-grossing animated film of all time. Circus would also earn three Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Song, and Best Original Song, as well as a Golden Globe for Best Film.

Synopsis
On a far away planet, there is a little girl named Juliet, whose father worked on a circus. This circus seemed to be the most magical and wonderful place in the whole universe, with a lot of funny things and exotic animals. However, the truth is that, for the animals, the circus is the worst place ever. One particular animal, a giant lizard-like creature named Jane, who is keen to escape the circus, but always finds herself stopped by the evil ringmaster, Stefan. One day, Julet finally gets to go to her father's work, where she meets Carol, with whom she admires. Realizing that its her perfect chance to escape, Carol lies to Juliet by claiming that, if she helps her escape, she'll live with her. However, as the two try to find a way to get Jane out of the circus, they slowly begin to develop a bond between each other, with Carol starting to doubt to what lengths is she willing to go in order to escape, and Juliet discovering the true meaning of friendship.

Voice cast
Additionally, John Ratzenberger would voice one of the animals at the circus. Grey Griffin would make a voice cameo as a child in the circus. Dee Bradley Baker would provide vocal effects for the miscellaneous animals at the circus.
 * Hailee Steinfeld as Jane, a lizard-like creature who has been trapped in a circus for most of her life, and tricks Juliet into helping her escape. Steinfeld would define her as "a girl who is desesperate for a shot at freedom, but slowly loses her moral compass along the way, at least until Juliet comes in". Writers/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Milles would write Jane as "being ampathetic and kinda uncaring to Juliet at first", as she wouldn't want audiences to believe that she keeps pretending to be Juliet's friend over the entire movie. Tony Cervone would serve as Jane's supervising animator.
 * Madeline McGraw a Juliet, a little alien girl who develops an admiration for Carol, which latter rows into a genuine friendship after she's foled by her into helping her escape. Spike Brandt would serve as Juliet's supervising animator.
 * Bret Parker as Heather, a cat-like creature trapped in the circus, and Jane's best friend. Parker would define her as "Jane's not-so-listened-to conscience". Dan Haskett would serve as Heather's supervising animator.
 * Harrison Ford as Stefan, an evil ringmaster and the owner of the circus where Jane and Heather are, and who constantly abuses the animals at the slightlest provocation. Seung Hoo Ihm would serve as Stefan's supervising animator.
 * Will Ferrell as Elliot, Juliet's father and a worker at Stefan's circus. Tony Bancroft would serve as Elliot's supervising animator.

Music
Randy Newman would compose and conduct the film's score. Newman would describe his score as "a little darker" than his usual work, but that "[he] would try to make sure it still feels something enterily of [his] own". Newman would compose two themes foor the circus,, one that "feels like typical circus music", and another that "feels like totally the opposite" in order to reflect the circus' dual nature. Newman would describe his theme for Carol as "determined but with a sense of tragedy", while his theme for Juliet would be "innocent and friendly". Newman would also compose a "very excited and helpful theme" for Heather, while his theme for Stefan would be "a very bombastic and monstrous theme", and Elliot's theme would be "full of joy and love".

Newman would also write four new songs for the film. Newman would be inspired by the song "Deliver Us" from Dreamworks Animation's The Prince of Egypt (1998), for the song "Circus", which would be the first song heard in the film, as both songs "have to create sympathy for guys with horrible daily experiences". His second song, "You and Me", would be more inspired by Newman's own "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story (1995), as the song "must be a simple but emotional tune for a very heartfelt moment". Newman would be inspired by Toy Story 2 's "When She Loved Me" for the film's third song, "Why Should I?", which he would describe as "an exploration of the lengths some people can go to in order to get what we want". Star Hailee Steinfeld would also perform the film's end-credit song, "Freedom", which she would describe as "a love letter to freedom and friendship".

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film would have an approval rating of 99%, with an average rating of 9.5/10, based on 234 reviews. The website's critical consensus would read, "Warner Animation Group's first full-time foray into traditional animation, Circus is a dark and timely story that tackles themes such as animal rights in a suprisingly realistic light that will atract children for the animation, and that will atract parents for its very intelligent storytelling". On Metacritc, the film would have a weighted rating of 91 out of 100, based on 51 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Trivia

 * This would be the Warner Animation Group's first full-length film to be done enterily with hand-drawn animation, as well as its second film overrall to be done primarly with hand-drawn animation, after the live-action/animated hybrid film Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021).
 * Lilo & Sticth co-director Chris Sanders would be hired by Sullivan to provide character designs for the animals.
 * According to directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the film's dark tone would be due to "a desire in WGA to gave Carol a true reason to escape that wasn't just that she wants to be free, [the filmmakers] wanted her to have a reason to be free. And the idea of the circus being a place where animals are slaves was just perfect, and [they] felt that the best way to use that idea was by potraying the circus as hell. When that idea came in, we choose to potray Carol as an emotionally tortured and morally grey character because [the filmmakers] felt it was the most logical potrayal [they] could give her".
 * According to producer Bonnie Radford, the film would combine "the traditions of the modern Warner, the looks of the old Warner, and the tone of Studio Ghibli". Similarly, supervising animator Tony Cervone would describe the film's animation as "half Disney and half Studio Ghibli".
 * This would be Harrison Ford's second animated film, after The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019).