'The Legend of Tembo' to Be Tradition Studios' First Animated Feature

The Legend of Tembo will be the first animated feature from Digital Domain Media Group's Tradition Studios.

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Chuck Williams and Aaron Blaise are slated to direct the movie, which is in development.

DDMG is recruiting talent to join the Tembo team at Siggraph, the CG confab taking place this week in Vancouver.

A teaser poster at Siggraph shows an elephant ("Tembo") with a small bird perched on its head. No additional details were provided.

Williams and Blaise both joined DDMG in 2010 after 21-year careers at Disney.

Blaise co-directed Brother Bear for which he earned an Oscar nomination for best animated feature. Prior to that, he served as supervising animator on titles including Aladdin, The Lion King and Mulan.

Williams served as producer for Brother Bear, and his additional credits include The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast.

Digital Domain -- partly owned by director Michael Bay -- also includes Digital Domain flagship VFX facility in Venice, which has handled VFX for movies such as Tron: Legacy and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

DDMG’s Florida-based Tradition Studios opened in 2009 to develop and co-produce original, family-oriented CG features.

The studio is constructing a 115,000-square-foot facility, which is scheduled to open in Port St. Lucie in December.

In June, Pixar vet Brad Lewis, who co-directed Cars 2 with John Lasseter, joined Tradition Studios where he will direct animated features.