GENSOCIAL
Disney+ released the trailer for their upcoming comedy-adventure Flora & Ulysses. The movie is all set to premiere exclusively on the streaming service Friday, February 19th, 2021. The footage teases a new kind of adventure with a furry little superhero who has definitely mastered the superhero landing pose. Ulysses has more than likely seen his fair share of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, thanks to Disney, because he appears to be doing a pretty good Iron Man impression when he lands.
Flora & Ulysses is based on the Newbery Award-winning book about 10-year old Flora, an avid comic book fan and a self-avowed cynic, whose parents have recently separated. She is seen flipping through the pages of Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel comic books in the trailer. After rescuing a squirrel, she names Ulysses, Flora is amazed to discover he possesses unique superhero powers, which take them on an adventure of humorous complications that ultimately change Flora’s life–and her outlook–forever.
Flora & Ulysses stars Matilda Lawler, Alyson Hannigan, Ben Schwartz, Anna Deavere Smith, Danny Pudi, Benjamin Evans Ainsworth, Janeane Garofolo and Kate McCucci. It was directed by Lena Khan and produced by Gil Netter. Unlike a lot of recent Disney+ projects, this adventure was made with the streaming service in mind. The idea was to make a movie that families could watch and enjoy from home, which happens to fit really well into 2021 (though that was unintentional). Associate Producer Jennie Lee had this to say about the movie before the pandemic hit.
“It’s hard for families to get to the movie theater. It’s expensive. It’s an ordeal. It’s so much money. This way, you can watch it again and again. This particular story I think speaks to many age levels. If your kid’s five or 15 or even other adults at home. Everyone can watch it. Everyone can find something they identify with. So, I think it’s going to be great to just watch as a family when you’re at home, hanging out, many times in a row.”
Alyson Hannigan recently spoke about the chance to bring Flora & Ulysses to Disney+. As it turns out, she and her family were already big fans of the book series. “We were introduced to her books when my oldest was in kindergarten, and we’ve been huge, huge fans ever since,” the actress said. “In fact, when my agents brought it to me, my first instinct was, YES! [Then I thought,] ‘You should probably read the script first,'” Hannigan said while laughing. From there, it all became about doing the book series justice.
Based on the novel Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo, the movie’s screenplay is by Brad Copeland. Katterli Frauenfelder and James Powers served as executive producers. As for doing the books justice, it seems that Alyson Hannigan and crew were able to deliver on that promise, even in the short amount of footage provided in the trailer. You can check out the trailer for Flora & Ulysses above, thanks to the official Walt Disney Studios YouTube channel.
