Harrowing drama about U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks will be first ever produced using Trioscope enhanced hybrid animation technology.
Netflix has ordered a four-part animated series, The Liberator, which tells the riveting true story of maverick U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks and his infantry unit as they fought for over five hundred days to liberate Europe. Based on the book The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey by Alex Kershaw, the series was created by Jeb Stuart (Die Hard, The Fugitive). The combat drama will follow Sparks and the 157th Infantry Regiment from Oklahoma, a National Guard unit comprised primarily of cowboys, Native Americans and Mexican-Americans, from the invasion of Italy to the liberation of Dachau, the German concentration camp located just outside of Munich.
Sparks, who died in 2007, spent 10 years in the army before retiring as a colonel right after the end of World War II. After training stateside, he was shipped out to Algeria, from where he took part in the invasion of Italy, eventually fighting up through France, taking part in the Battle of the Bulge and the eventual German defeat. As detailed in Kershaw’s book, uncovering the horrors of Dachau led to some of Felix’s men summarily executing captured German soldiers, which he was eventually able to stop. Returning to civilian life, Felix became a lawyer, a Colorado district attorney, later serving on the Colorado Supreme Court and as commander of the Colorado National Guard, retiring as a Brigadier General.
The series will be the first ever produced using the new, patent-pending Trioscope enhanced hybrid animation technology that combines state-of-the-art CGI with live-action performance, bringing a high level of emotion and fidelity to the animated drama experience. Grzegorz Jonkajtys (Sin City, Pan's Labyrinth, The Revenant) developed the Trioscope technology together with Atlanta-based animation studio School of Humans' L.C. Crowley. The series is being produced for Netflix by A+E Studios and Unique Features in partnership with School of Humans.
Jonkajtys is directing all four episodes. Stuart, series creator and writer, will executive produce through his Real Folk Productions. Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne (Lord of the Rings) and Sarah Victor are serving as executive producers for Unique Features. Crowley, Jonkajtys, Brandon Barr, and Mark Apen are serving as executive producers for The School of Humans. Barry Jossen is serving as executive producer for A+E Studios. Kershaw is serving as co-producer.
Source: Netflix
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
