Kling's Animated Unicorn Sells to 10 Territories Before AFM Premiere

The animated film “The Unicorn That Said No” has secured distribution rights in ten distinct territories before its official market premiere. Sales agency The Playmaker Munich finalized these deals in the week leading up to the American Film Market in Los Angeles. The international sales list includes buyers from the Baltic states, Benelux, France, the Middle East, Poland, Romania, Scandinavia, Spain, and Turkey.

The movie is based on the German book “Das Neinhorn,” written by Marc-Uwe Kling and Astrid Henn. That original text has been translated into more than 25 languages. The film’s plot follows a unicorn described as sweet and grumpy who leaves his pink, idyllic family home. He travels to a place called Nowhere where he forms new friendships. The group eventually works together to rescue a king’s daughter from a tower so they can return home.

Kling serves as one of the three directors for the project. He shares the directing role with Johannes Weiland and Studio Soi. Weiland previously directed “The Gruffalo’s Child.” Kling also co-wrote the screenplay with Marcus Sauermann. Kling provides the voice for the main unicorn character in the German version of the film.

The German voice cast includes Nora Tschirner, Torsten Sträter, and Karoline Herfurth. The film is a production by X Filme Creative Pool and Studio Soi. X Filme is known for “Run Lola Run” and “Goodbye, Lenin!,” while Studio Soi produced “The Gruffalo.” Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany is a co-production partner.

German audiences will see the film in theaters on Jan. 1, 2027. Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany will handle domestic distribution. The project received financial support from MFG, MDM, BKM, FFA, and Kuratorium Junger Deutscher Film. Felix Raffel composed the music, and Dota Kehr wrote the main song.

The market premiere is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 at AMC Century City in Los Angeles. The Playmaker Munich will hold its office at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles during the event. Sylvia Edelmann, head of sales at The Playmaker, said it was wonderful to see so many territories on board before the film had even screened. She noted that the book is a hit with readers of all ages and that the team looks forward to bringing the character to more audiences at AFM.