Imagine Kids+Family and Warner Music Group (WMG) have partnered to co-produce and co-finance Winter Wonderland, inspired by Warner Chappell Music’s – WMG’s publishing arm's – classic holiday song of the same name. The film, which was created and written by visionary filmmaker Cinco Paul (Schmigadoon! Despicable Me, Minions, Secret Life of Pets), will feature live-action and stop-motion animation with original songs written by Paul.

The film will be produced by Imagine Entertainment Chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and Imagine Kids+Family President Stephanie Sperber, along with WMG’s Charlie Cohen, President, TV & Film, Warner Music Entertainment, Meredith Milton, WMG consultant and producer, as well as Kurt Deutsch, SVP, Theatrical and Catalog, Warner Chappell Music.

Charlie Cohen said: “When it comes to joyful and poignant storytelling, there is no one better than Cinco Paul. We are incredibly excited to have him bring this holiday classic to life with his inspiring talents.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to embark on this ambitious project with Cinco Paul, an amazing filmmaker with a vision, and someone with whom I had the pleasure of working with for years on the Despicable Me franchise” said Sperber. “This will be the first feature project from Imagine Kids+Family, and it couldn’t be more perfectly tailored. It takes a classic with a twist, and leverages animation with live action to create the next holiday classic for a new generation.”

Cinco Paul is best known for his long resumé of family blockbusters, which he co-wrote alongside Ken Daurio. Their films combined have made over $4 billion at the box office and include titles such as Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, Despicable Me 3, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and The Secret Life of Pets, among others. Paul is also currently the showrunner and songwriter for Schmigadoon! on Apple TV+.

“Having been a massive fan of all the stop-motion holiday specials since I was a kid – even the not-so-great ones – I’m thrilled to be working with WMG and Imagine on this incredibly fun project,” said Paul.

Winter Wonderland will be the first project to emerge from Imagine and WMG’s multi-year strategic partnership to co-produce and co-finance a slate of music-centered projects across multiple mediums, including film, television, documentary, and other short-form content. The concept for this project first came to life at Warner Chappell and was further co-developed by Imagine and Warner Music Entertainment, WMG’s TV and Film division, as part of an ongoing effort to create new cultural touch points and opportunities that bring the Warner Chappell Music catalog to life.

Imagine Kids+Family recently released its first live-action series The Astronauts, with Nickelodeon, and formed a partnership with James Patterson’s kids division JIMMY Books, and Lion Forge Animation, the award-winning studio behind the 2019 Academy Award®-winning, culturally resonating short, Hair Love, directed by Matthew A Cherry. Imagine Kids+Family also has an equity stake in The Tiny Chef Show and is in production on a new series with Nickelodeon, as well as a global consumer products program.