Studio TF1 is making one of its most significant investments in animated features in recent memory, boarding “Yes Chef,” an original $25 million family comedy set inside the high-pressure, fur-flying world of a televised pastry competition.
The ambitious project, unveiled during the Annecy Animation Film Festival, is being produced by Studio TF1 and Matthieu Zeller’s Octopolis and nWave Pictures (“Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness”). The film is expected to be released in 2028.
Based on an original idea by Clara Oheyen and Matthieu Zeller, “Yes Chef” is written by Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin, whose credits include Disney’s live-action “Mulan” and Skydance Animation’s “Spellbound.” Annie Carrel and Benjamin Mousquet, who previously worked on “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness” and its sequel, “Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog,” are directing.
The project marks a notable step for Studio TF1 as it builds up its film distribution operation in France while also leaning on the expertise of its animation studio Blue Spirit and its international sales team, led by Rodolphe Buet and Alice Damiani. As such, Studio TF1 will roll out the film theatrically in local cinemas, on top pf handling international sales, making “Yes Chef” a full-scale play across development, production, French distribution and global sales.
