Rugrats co-creator Gábor Csupó set to direct Rumer Godden's children's book 'The Holly and Ivy Story', Kosmo Films producing (EXCLUSIVE)

Gábor Csupó, co-creator of 'Rugrats', will direct a feature film adaptation of Rumer Godden's classic Christmas children's book 'The Holly and Ivy Story'.

"Lonely young Ivy runs away from her orphanage this Christmas, while feisty but unsold doll Holly waits in her toy store window for the child who will give meaning to her existence," reads the official connection line. "When their paths cross and their quest to be together unfolds, a surprising array of Christmas wishes from many struggling people come true."

Sebastian Weiland and Nina Gwyn Weiland of Kosmo Films have acquired the film rights and will produce the feature. Nina Gwyn Weiland wrote the screen adaptation with "A Wrinkle in Time" writer Jeff Stockwell, who will also serve as executive producer.

Dylan Russell and Stone Village Films will also produce while Germany-based Medienfördergesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (MFG) will provide development financing.

The film is scheduled to shoot in the German studios in the Black Forest in the winter of 2023.

“I am very happy to be part of this project, and especially to reunite with my favorite writer Jeff Stockwell,” said Csupó. "The book, on which the film is based, tells a very moving, wonderful and heartbreaking story. We will do our best to do justice to the original material by trying to make a strong artistic statement when we bring it to the big screen. We share the same vision of the film and aim to make an unforgettable and eternal vacation family photo."

Stockwell added: "It's a holiday treat with ingredients I can't resist: Rumer Godden's proven Christmas fondant; Nina and Sebastian's infectious enthusiasm for the project; The Gabor's ever-bubbly visionary energy and just the right amount of forward-thinking and eccentric - and another chance to indulge my lifelong love of finding and developing the spirit of a great children's story ."

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