"Henchmen"

"Henchmen" Teaser Trailer. We posted a while back that Will Ferrell was using some of his gains from "The Lego Movie," "Megamind" and other successes to open up his own animated film studio. Well, the first offering is on its way.

"Henchmen" is an animated feature film that is still very early in development, but they just couldn't wait to show us a little preview. Move over Megamind! Here's our first look at Vancouver's Bron Studios animated mash-up of "Night In The Museum" meets "Big Hero 6." Directed by Adam Wood, with Adam McKay, Will Ferrell and Chris Henchy attached as executive producers, the feature-length Henchmen is expected to open in 2016.

It appears to have that old chestnut of a theme that some schnook from nowhere suddenly somehow acquires superpowers and, well, must figure out what to do with them. It's as old as Superman - and that's as old as modern superhero stories get.

Despite our reservations, we'll give this one plenty of running room for now. Who knows, it could turn out to be excellent. Just from the clip, though, it leaves the impression of being just a tad too much like "Megamind," a bit precious with its "let's not do the obvious thing that all animated characters/superheroes do" schtick. They need to work on the pacing, too - but they have two full years. Plenty of time to whip it into shape.

2020