We recently had our first look at Bong Joon Ho’s next film, his debut in animation, “Ally,” a project the filmmaker has been developing since 2018. Werner Herzog, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Ayo Edebiri, and Finn Wolfhard are part of the voice cast.
Bong co-wrote the script with Jason Yu (“Sleep”). The film is expected to wrap post production soon, and is now starting to set up its release windows, with a key one leaking today.
SBS News is reporting that “Ally” will release in France on July 14, and in South Korea that same month as well— this seemingly implies that Bong might world premiere his film and in May at the Cannes Film Festival. There’s really no other way to look at it.
The story follows Ally, a piglet squid from the uncharted depths of the South Pacific, who dreams of reaching the surface and starring in a wildlife documentary. Her world changes when a plane crashes into the ocean, sparking an unlikely journey upward with a quirky band of companions.
It sounds heartwarming, and family-friendly, which is a total departure for Bong. “Ally” is reportedly the most expensive production in Korean film history, with costs—translated into USD—estimated at around $60M. Neon is distributing the film in the United States. Bong has been working on the screenplay for over eight years. The script was completed in January 2021. “Parasite” and “Burning” cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo will be in charge of the visual lighting.
Bong’s most notable credits include “Parasite,” “The Host,” “Memories of a Murder,” “Mother,” and “Snowpiercer.” He released “Mickey 17” in March 2025.
For fans hoping that Bong goes back to regularly scheduled programming, his usual live-action thrillers, there’s good news — he previously stated that once post-production wrapped on “Ally,” he was likely to follow the project with a horror-action film set in an underground subway in Seoul. That one will be live-action.
For now, we have “Ally,” and hopefully it’s not as cutesy as that premise seems to indicate.
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