DUBAI – To help launch Hasbro’s new Star Wars Fighter Pods toy line, artist-driven visual effects/3D animation studio Clockwork VFX created a cinematic ad and five humorous web videos that are now playing on the Hasbro website. 

“It doesn’t get much bigger than Star Wars and our whole creative team was excited to be a part of this extraordinary project,” Jason Tomlins, Clockwork VFX’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, says. “For us, this campaign proved to be a great example of what we’re capable of creatively and our ability to manage complex assignments on tight schedules.”

Rolling the Galaxy

Created by New York-based ad agency Uproar, which specializes in youth marketing, the spot is a fun combination of over-the-top CG animation and live action kids. 

Opening with a shot of a 3D animated toy version of Darth Vader aboard the Death Star brandishing his light saber and declaring “unleash the pods,” the spot quickly cuts to its most complex visual effects sequence – an epic, 3D animated battle sequence featuring toy versions of characters Jabba the Hut, Yoda, Darth Maul, C-3PO and others set on grassy hillside dotted with numerous explosions, fire and smoke.

Following a live-action sequence of a group of pre-teen boys battling with the Fighter Pods, the spot ends with a shot of Vader back on the ship, grabbing a 3D animated Fighter Pod that’s part of the toy’s logo, and hurling it toward the viewer while proclaiming the tagline pun “Roll the galaxy.”

“They wanted us to follow the look of the toys, but with an added sense of reality, so they didn’t look too plastic,” Tomlins notes. “The biggest challenge for us visually proved to be the grass landscape and creating something that was realistic looking, aesthetically pleasing and integrated with the characters, but that could be rendered in a short time frame. Small amounts of mass detail can get very complex.”

Light-Hearted Web Shorts

The other component to the project is the series of five 3D animated webisodes that take a decidedly different approach. Lighthearted in tone, the webisodes portray the Star Wars characters in full-on prankster mode.