Disney today released so more information and images for the new short film, The Ballad of Nessie. The new film will be a warm up for the new Winnie the Pooh movie due for release in the UK on April 15th.

Want to know more about the new movie? Take a look at the synopsis below:
Set in the “bonny blue highlands” of Scotland, “The Ballad of Nessie” is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie’s home.

Directed by the Emmy® Award-winning team of Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (“Prep & Landing,” and the 2007 Goofy short “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater”), “The Ballad of Nessie” is animated in classic Disney hand-drawn style.Written by Wermers-Skelton, Deters and Regina Conroy, the film is produced by Dorothy McKim and Tamara Boutcher, and features a musical score by Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino (“Ratatouille,” “Up”). Animation on “Nessie” was supervised by five of Disney’s top talents: Andreas Deja, Mark Henn, Randy Haycock, Dale Baer and Ruben A. Aquino. Scottish comedian Billy Connolly narrates the film.

Copyright Disney
Copyright Disney
Copyright Disney

STEVIE WERMERS-SKELTON (Director) was inspired to work at Disney after watching “Beauty and the Beast,” and joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1994 as a clean-up inbetweener on Disney’s “Pocahontas.”  She worked as a story artist on “Fantasia 2000,” “Tarzan” and “Brother Bear,” as well as other feature animated films in production and development at the studio.

Making her directorial debut as co-director of the traditionally animated short film “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater,” she made history as Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first female director. Alongside directing partner Kevin Deters, she went on to write and direct Walt Disney Animation Studio’s first-ever Christmas Special for television, the Emmy Award®-winning “Prep and Landing,” and followed up that success with “Prep and Landing: Operation Secret Santa.”

Wermers-Skelton and Deters recently finished production on the short film “The Ballad of Nessie”—an original idea dating back to her years at Cal Arts—and are currently working on another holiday special, “Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.”

Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, Stevie currently resides in Pasadena, Calif., with her husband.

KEVIN DETERS (Director) joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1996, working in the clean-up animation and story departments on such projects as “Mulan,” “Tarzan,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Brother Bear” and “Chicken Little.”

Deters made his directorial debut with the 2007 animated short, “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, starring Goofy. Along with directing partner Stevie Wermers-Skelton, Deters went on to write and direct Walt Disney Animation Studio’s first-ever holiday special for ABC television, the Emmy Award® winning “Prep & Landing. The duo followed up that success in 2010 with “Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa.” They are currently working on another holiday special for 2011, “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.”

An Illinois native, Deters attended the University of Illinois, where he received his bachelor of science in architectural studies.  He worked in architecture in Chicago before transitioning into animation.  Deters currently resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Sara, and their three sons.  In his free time he enjoys drawing, soccer, comic books and playing with his kids.

DOROTHY MCKIM (Producer) joined The Walt Disney Company in 1980 and is currently producing “Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” for Walt Disney Animation Studios. She also oversees the development of all WDAS shorts.

McKim began her career in the staffing department before moving into editorial/cutting, live-action for the Disney Channel, and a short stint in publications.  In 1984, she started a long association with Walt Disney Animation Studios (then Disney Feature Animation), with her first assignment on the 1988 feature “Oliver & Company.”  She went on to work in a variety of production roles (production manager, director of production and co-producer) on such landmark films as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “Tarzan.”  McKim served as producer on Disney’s 2007 computer-animated release “Meet the Robinsons,” and repeated that role for the enormously popular Emmy Award®-winning 2009 ABC-TV original animated holiday special “Prep & Landing.”

Most recently McKim produced three short films for Disney animation: “Prep and Landing; Operation Secret Santa,” “Tick Tock Tale” and “The Ballad of Nessie.”

McKim grew up in Chatsworth, Calif,, and attended Pierce College and West Valley College.  She holds a business degree from the latter.

She and her husband, Brian, live in Santa Clarita, Calif., with their son Tyler and daughter Natalie.  In her spare time, McKim works as an ice skating coach and loves to choreograph programs for the students she coaches.

By Adam

Adam has been a fan of Disney since he was small. He runs the Disneybrit Podcast. He is also the author of several Disney books.

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