Mickey Mouse To Learn Arabic
Walt Disney Pictures is close to signing on as producer of the Middle Eastern fairy tale The Last of the Storytellers.
If negotiations go well, Disney soon will be financing its first Arabic-language feature film, Lebanese director Chadi Zeneddine's The Last of the Storytellers.
Co-produced by Rachel Gandin, the movie will draw upon Arabic folklore traditions for its storyline.
Disney is expected to announce two more Arabic-language flicks by December, signalling a major effort by the Mouse House to reach the 200 million people under age 30 living in the Middle East.
"There's a lot of room for growth for us," an unnamed Disney executive told Variety. "It's the international territory that we're most excited about expanding into."
The Last of the Storytellers begins production late next year.