The Illusionist hops into the Sony hat

Sony Pictures Classic scooped up the distribution rights to the Sylvain Chomet’s animated feature The Illusionist from Pathe, reports Variety. The Chomet and Jacques Tati script details the story of a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever.

One of the things to point out about Chomet is that if his animated feature gets the possible Oscar nomination treatment, like it’s buzz is suggesting, this would not be the first time one of his films would be close to the gold. His 2003 picture Les triplettes de Belleville got nominations for Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature, loosing out that year to Pixar’s Finding Nemo.

To get a taste of this film, set to come out in theaters by the end of this year, check out the piece below from Rope of Silicon.: