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‘The Magic Paintbrush’ Debuts in Lit Form Under Unusual Collaboration Between Random House and Franchise-Minded Baobab Studios
'The Magic Paintbrush,' the product of an unusual collaboration between Random House and Baobab Studios, is intended as the first work in a franchise
“Madagascar” writer-director Eric Darnell knew he wanted to adapt Chinese folklore about a magic paintbrush for modern audiences from the moment he came across the ancient tale while at DreamWorks, initially developing an animated film inspired by it, then a VR project for Baobab Studios, where he has served as chief creative officer since 2015. In “The Magic Paintbrush,” written by Zhang with Darnell’s input, an aspiring artist named Amy is forced to stay with her grandmother in Queens when her parents are on a cruise. Zhang, who first learned about Chinese magic paintbrush folklore from her father, relished the opportunity to adapt it for contemporary readers, noting the Baobab project already had many elements she loves — fantasy and adventure in addition to painting, which she has done since she was a girl — when she signed onto to write the planned book series.
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