We are incredibly excited to share that our new feature film project, based on the beloved Dutch children’s book The Island of Nose, in the Netherlands better known as Tom Tippelaar, is now officially in development. Written by Annie M.G. Schmidt with unforgettable illustrations by Jan Marinus Verburg, the book was first published in 1977 and won the Gouden Penseel a year later. It has since become a cult classic that generations of Dutch readers still remember for its huge, page filling, wonderfully strange pictures.

The story follows Tom Tippelaar, a boy who gets teased for his enormous ears but discovers they give him extraordinary hearing. When a letter arrives from his uncle Hazewijn, prime minister of the island of Neus, asking for his help, Tom sets off without hesitation. What follows is a journey full of magic and mishap, in which the very thing he was once ashamed of turns out to be exactly what saves the day.

We are developing the adaptation together with screenwriter Saar Ponsioen and Studio Ruba, staying close to the tone and visual imagination of the original book while shaping a story that feels alive for a new generation. Those iconic illustrations by Jan Marinus Verburg will be brought to life in live action, and it is a huge honour that Jan Marinus himself will be working alongside me on the storyboards, translating his own drawings into the very first blueprint for how the film will look and move.

More news on The Island of Nose will follow soon. For now, we are simply thrilled to finally be working on Tom’s big ears, his even bigger adventure, and everything in between.