Kickstarter-funded animated feature in the works...

...And it looks like they're hewing pretty close to the original text. Here's their Kickstarter page, and a trailer on YouTube--the voice acting in the latter is pretty crummy, but apparently they haven't finalized cast yet.

~LCD

Thanks for sharing this, LCD.
It's admirable that they're trying to make a quality animated film of Leroux's POTO, and in the trailer video I like what they said about why they're animating the characters in traditional/2D rather than computer animation. Glad they made that choice.
Just from the footage they've produced so far, the animation looks fairly decent, though I really like the look of the backgrounds/sets and the chandelier -- very nice!  
In particular the Paris Opera House actually looks authentic/accurate, and I like the coloring and effects animation. Pretty impressive.   

It looks like they've done their research into the Palais Garnier too - the ceiling of the auditorium shows Lenepveu's rather than Chagall's ceiling.

Definitely exciting. The voices on the trailer aren't great and appear to be done by the production team...but I'm sure once it's cast it'll be fine.

I am guardedly, hesitantly optimistic about this Phantom animated movie project. At least from that they have said, they are committed to creating a Leroux-accurate movie, and that alone commands my attention.

They do seem to have done their research in many regards (especially showing Lenepveu's ceiling, as you mentioned, Scorp). They also seem to be staying reasonably close to Leroux's novel ... at least, as far as I can tell by watching their trailer and reading their Kickstarter page.

I have recently emailed Iluzija Animation Studio, the people in charge of the animation, to warn them not to base their script off of the 1911 de Mattos translation of Phantom. I have recommended that they use David Coward's 2012 translation instead. I have also suggested that they read my translation of The Magic Envelope to give them some additional character development (especially for the Managers) that is not Leroux's standard text.

They have written several emails back to me, and have been receptive to both recommendations (and apparently I was not the first person to warn them about de Mattos, which warms my heart).

Here are the emails that I received from Iluzija Animation Studio regarding my translation recommendations.

Yesterday:

thank you so much for your support, we are doing our best to make this project happen, and we are appreciating very much how supportive the fan community is! We also appreciate all the input very much, and will have that in mind for sure when we get in the final production. Thank you for the information about the translation, we were getting many messages about it, and we greatly appreciate the lost chapter addition, it could help develop the managers characters more in the movie! we will definitely be in touch with you if all goes well with the project, and also we would be very interested to get your translation under advisement as well.

best regards!

Today:

thank you very much for all the information and link to The Magic Envelope :-) if we go in to production we will definitely consult you about the things related to the book and translation, we want to make the version closest to the book as possible!

Greetings from the team :-)

Oh wow -- good for you, FdelOpera! That's great that you're in contact with the production team on this movie, and hopefully they'll use your input.

And yes, I too happily noticed the art of the auditorium ceiling that they're using in the film is Lenepveu's (and is therefore historically accurate).   

Based on phan feedback, the Phantom Animated Film project now features a Persian with an astrakhan hat, as well as a new design for Erik that is a little bit more in keeping with Leroux’s description (at least, he has dark hair now).

Oh wow -- that's great that they made those changes to the characters, based on fan suggestions.
Good to know they're receptive to the phans.   

Iluzija Animation Studio, the folks behind the Phantom of the Opera animated film project, have just announced that long-time phan, Ladyghost (aka Sandra Belenguer), will serve as a consultant for the project. I am not sure whether this is because Sandra paid to be a co-producer, or whether Iluzija Animation Studio sought her out and hired her. Either way, it is good that there is an actual phan serving in an official capacity on this project.

Sadly, the Kickstarter campaign has gone down due to lack of pledges. The e-mail from the creators says they're not abandoning the project, but they obviously need to try some different routes to get the funding.

I hope they succeed. I think there's a lot of love behind this, and I'd love to see it reach fruition.

~LCD

LadyCDaae wrote:Sadly, the Kickstarter campaign has gone down due to lack of pledges.  The e-mail from the creators says they're not abandoning the project, but they obviously need to try some different routes to get the funding.

I hope they succeed.  I think there's a lot of love behind this, and I'd love to see it reach fruition.

~LCD

I think raising $250,000 AUD on fan donations alone might have been overambitious, to be honest. I'm surprised they put all their eggs in that basket...especially given the online fandom -- especially on places like Twitter and Tumblr -- is largely juvenile in terms of demographics.

I've been out of the loop for awhile, but was interested in news of a Leroux-based 2D animated feature film. Hope to hear more about it if they find a way to continue the project.

R.

Welcome back to the forum, Raphael!   

And I too hope something good comes from this attempt to make a 2D-animated POTO film. Hopefully the film will get made one day.   

Well, it looks like they're having another go-round at Kickstarter--this time the goal is a much more modest $3,300 AUD to bring on a screenwriter and get the script ready to pitch to investors etc.  Details here.

~LCD

And with eleven days to go, the funding for the script stage has been reached. Whoohoo!

~LCD