Paramount's new animated movie Wonder Park doesn't have a credited director, and here's why

Have you heard of Wonder Park, Paramount Pictures’ latest animated foray into the world of talkative animals? It wouldn’t be terribly shocking if you hadn’t: The film has been met with a lukewarm reception at best and the marketing was pretty light, sans a few last-minute ad spots and a mobile game from Pixowl. It might’ve helped if the director had taken some time to spread the good word about their latest project, right?

In the curious case of Wonder Park, that would have been a little difficult. By the time the film had reached audiences, no director had been credited. Alan Smithee, the famed pseudonym attached to cinema’s disowned darlings, hasn’t even stepped in to to take credit. So is there a secret director or is this simply the first film to direct itself into existence?

Well, there may actually be a good reason for the omission. Back in January, when the film was originally titled Amusement Park, then-director Dylan Brown was fired from the project after multiple complaints of “inappropriate and unwanted behavior.”

“We are committed to fostering a safe and professional workplace that is free of harassment or inappropriate conduct, so we take allegations of misconduct and impropriety very seriously,” a Paramount rep said in a statement. “We received allegations of inappropriate and unwanted conduct by Dylan Brown in the workplace and we conducted a thorough investigation, and he is no longer employed by the company.”

By this time, the film was well into production – possibly finished – and slated for a March release. This, mind you, came after Jeffrey Tambor, who was originally part of the cast, was replaced due to his own set of harassment complaints.

There you go. No ghost director, although it might have made for a more interesting final product.

[Via The Hollywood Reporter]