The 3D animated feature entertains while highlighting the plight of the world’s rainforests and ecosystems; executive producer Rodrigo Blaas, director Tim Harper, and the Mikros Animation team’s discussion panel will be on June 15 at the Annecy Animation Festival, in concert with the first look reveal.
First-look scenes of GCI Film’s new animated family feature, Ozi: Voice of the Forest, will debut at the Annecy Animation Festival on June 15, as part of a panel discussion with executive producer Rodrigo Blaas, director Tim Harper, and Mikros Animation’s award-winning team. AWN’s Dan Sarto will moderate.
The independently financed feature follows the journey of a teenage orangutan, Ozi, and her friends, who set out on a voyage of discovery across the rainforest in a quest to find her parents in a land that has fallen victim to deforestation.
Supported by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions, and Academy Award-winning producer, Mike Medavoy, the feature brings to light critical issues as the world’s rainforests face ever-growing levels of deforestation and its impact on the ecosystems within.
The voice cast includes Amandla Stenberg as Ozi; Laura Dern; RuPaul, Donald Sutherland; and Djimon Hounsou. Harper helms the project alongside creators Keith Chapman (Paw Patrol, Bob the Builder) and Blaas (Pixar’s Wall-E, Finding Nemo). Emmy Award-winning Ricky Roxburgh (Tangled, Spy Kids) wrote the original screenplay.
The Mikros Animation team was responsible for creative development from concept to delivery. The CGI film features the animation work of over 300 artists and experts working globally, driven by their passion for storytelling, and communicating the underlying social cause.
“Through this film’s animation style, we’ve aimed to build something that feels both fun and whimsical, with the ultimate goal to marry art and entertainment with messages around global deforestation,” shared Mikros Animation’s Head of Story and Character Animation, Sean Mullen.
“Mikros Animation is a key part of the global team we have assembled to complete this project, and it’s a testament to the strength of our story that we’ve been able to attract such world-class talent and production partners,” added GCI Film’s director Adam Stanhope.
The film’s producers and Animation team at Mikros Animation will be speaking about Ozi: Voice of the Forest and debuting the film’s first full-length scenes at the Annecy Animation Festival on June 15, 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm local time. Additional information is available here.
Source: Mikros Animation
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
