Lea Salonga To Topline Short Film Prequel To Abigail Hing Wen Novel; John Aoshima And Neil Blevins Attached For Animation
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Lea Salonga (Mulan, Aladdin, Miss Saigon) is set to star in The Vale – Origins, a hybrid live-action and animated short film that will precede the forthcoming middle grade novel of the same name by Abigail Hing Wen.
Wen’s novel will release Sept. 16, 2025 through AAPI publishing house Third State Books, founded by Stephanie Lim. The short film is in post production and slated for completion this summer.
Wen wrote and directed the short film, which also has an animation team of John Aoshima (DuckTales, Ultraman: Rising) attached as director and Neil Blevins Incredibles I, II, Wall-E, Up) as animation designer.
The short film follows the Lees, a grieving inventor family in Silicon Valley who find healing and connection through their young son’s creativity in The Vale, a virtual reality fantasy world they made.
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