Although one might assume that Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm meant that George Lucas was looking to retire from filmmaking altogether, that does not appear to be the case. He has been hinting for years that he wants to start making more experimental art films, but he just can’t seem to help himself when it comes to fantasy / sci-fi blockbusters. His latest project is a CG animated film called Strange Magic, a fairy tale of sorts that involves goblins, fairies, elves, imps and many other mythical creatures. But here’s the weird part: it’s also a musical.

Lucas came up with the story (which is loosely based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and served as executive producer, but the project is being directed by Gary Rydstrom, a sound designer who directed a few shorts including Pixar’s Lifted. Rydstrom compares the movie to Labyrinth, but if you ask me it looks a lot more like the recent Fox animated film Epic. The voice cast includes Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Stormare, Alfred Molina and Maya Rudolph, all of whom are called upon to sing versions of well-known pop songs. Strange Magic hits theatres on Jan. 23rd; check out the trailer after the jump and let us know what you think.