Melody

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“	A classic fairy tale set in NYC, discover the true power of music.	”
—the official ZAG website in 2016

Melody (sometimes known as Melody the Movie) is an upcoming CGI-animated film under the ZAG Passion label. It is a co-production between ZAG Animation Studios, Method Animation, and Cross Creek Pictures.

On January 29, 2022, the production of the film began.^[2]

Synopsis[]

2016 ZAG website[]

"For as long as she can remember Melody has been a dreamer with a passion for music. But she doesn't believe in her voice. She doesn't see herself as [star] material. Not like her idol, Rose Stellar. One day, while playing music at the park she gets an unexpected visit from the queen of pop herself and that was when her life was about to change forever." ^[3]

2022 ZAG website[]

"In this musical spectacle, kindhearted, insecure yet prodigious singer Melody must overcome the evil plans of Rose Stellar, a wicked pop queen filled with jealousy, who has vowed to destroy her. As Melody teams up with fearless optimist Cole, she will grow stronger and find the courage to pave her way to the stars and keep a promise. Packed with magic, love, and wonder, Melody is an uplifting and inspiring story of self-discovery that celebrates the importance of fulfilling one’s dreams and believing in oneself."^[4]

Characters[]

Melody[]

Main article: Melody (character)

Melody (voiced by Katy Perry in the English dub)^[5] is the titular main protagonist of the film. She is a dreamer with a passion for music.

Music Notes[]

Main article: Music Notes

The music notes are a group of seven magical creatures who are the deuteragonists of the film. They would serve as Melody's allies and help her with overcoming her insecurity to defeat Rose Stellar.

Cole[]

Main article: Cole

Cole is the deuteragonist of the film. Described as a "fearless optimist", he would team up with Melody and help her with overcoming Rose Stellar's evil plan.

Rose Stellar[]

Main article: Rose Stellar

Rose Stellar is the main antagonist of the film. Described as the "wicked pop queen", Rose is jealous of Melody's musical talent and wants to destroy her.

Production[]

Melody was first announced on October 29, 2014, after ZAG Animation Studios was launched. It was planned to be the studio's first feature film.^[6]

According to Jeremy Zag on February 3, 2015, the film was slated for Christmas 2017 release.^[7]

On June 15, 2016, the official logo for the film was revealed on Jeremy Zag's Instagram. It was also revealed that the film would be under the ZAG Princess label.^[8]

In September 2016, the official ZAG website was updated to include Melody as one of the company's featured brands. The website also had a release date timeline, which revealed that the film was slated for a 2018 release.^[9]

From April 1, 2017, to January 15, 2018, at least four songs were recorded for the film. The first occurred on April 1, 2017, which is a demo for the first song for the film and was composed by Harvey Mason Jr.^[10] The second recording session occurred on May 4th.^[11] The third song was recorded on October 20th.^[12] The fourth song was revealed named "Sunny's Letter" on January 15, 2018.^[13]

In mid-April, an animatic reel for the film's opening was leaked on Zagtoon Dev, one of ZAG's official Vimeo channels. While there are reuploads of the animatic surfacing online, the original upload was made private again.^[14]

In late April, the release date timeline from the official ZAG website was updated, revealing that the slated release year was pushed back to 2019.^[15]

However, despite four songs being created for the film, the crew was having trouble coming up with the film's story that could "convey a message of empowerment in a fantastical world that has music at its core".^[16] This lead to the film's release to be delayed multiple times after the initial announcement.

From 2018 to 2021, the crew continued to develop Melody as they worked on its other animated projects. In 2019, an early character model for the titular character was created by Kaan Zorlu.^[17] The label that Melody falls under was also renamed to "ZAG Power Princess".^[18]

It wasn't until around 2021 that the crew brought in Katy Perry to help them develop the film's story.^[16] This eventually resulted in the film being successfully pitched to Cross Creek Pictures, indirectly leading to the two studios signing a ten-movie deal with Melody being a part of it.^[19] With the film's story finalized, the label Melody falls under was renamed to "ZAG Passion" to reflect its new theme.^[20]

After eight years of development, the film finally began production on January 29, 2022.^[2]

As of August 9, 2023, the film is "already halfway [through] production".^[21]

Trivia[]

This film would be ZAG's second feature film after Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie.
As confirmed in a Kidscreen article, the film is partially inspired by Snow White. There are elements in the film that parallel the story of the classic fairy tale.^[1]
- Melody's role would be that of Snow White, the "princess" of the story.
- The music notes are going to be the "seven dwarves" to Melody.
- Rose Stellar's role would be that of Snow White's evil stepmother, the evil "queen" who is jealous of the "princess" and wants to destroy her. While the original fairy tale is about the stepmother's jealousy towards Snow White's beauty, Rose Stellar's jealousy would be Melody's musical talent. However, it's currently unconfirmed if Melody and Rose Stellar are related since the latter is said to be Melody's idol.
In April 2017, an animatic reel for the film's opening was leaked. However, it's currently unknown if the opening will be kept for the final version since it was created during early development.^[14]
- Around the same time, Jeremy Zag revealed on his Instagram that investors from 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky both visited ZAGON Studios at Montreal, Canada. Because the original animatic reel also featured a 20th Century Fox intro, this indicates that the reel was meant to be created to share with investors.
As confirmed by Jeremy Zag, it took eight years to develop Melody before the crew began production. It mostly stems from the crew having trouble coming up with the film's story that could "convey a message of empowerment in a fantastical world that has music at its core".^[16]
- However, another possible reason for the rewrites is that the company was unable to find investors who might be interested in financing the film. It won't be until 2022 when production finally began, the same year when it was announced that ZAG signed a ten-movie deal with Cross Creek Pictures.
- If Melody wasn't postponed from its original slated release year, it would have been the first feature film that ZAG ever released.
Based on Jeremy Zag's comment that the film is "already halfway [through] production" as of August 9, 2023, it is estimated that Melody be released in either 2025 or 2026.
A poster of Melody was shown in Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie when the Gargoyle attacked the Paris Métro.