A new animated movie meant to be family-friendly will tell the story of zoo animals who are changed by a mystery meteor virus. The movie will mix horror and comedy in a new way.
“Night of the Apocalypse,” directed by Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro, is a project that brings together artists from France, Canada, and Belgium. The movie uses a new method of independent animation: creative problem-solving and collaboration with people from other countries.
According to Curtis, they wanted to make something new. The movie was made by House of Cool and Copperheart Pictures, two companies in Toronto that work well together because they have different skills. House of Cool brought a lot of animation knowledge from working on big-budget movies, and Copperheart brought new ideas and energy to the project.
While making the movie, producer Steve Hoban pointed out one of its best features: “We combined North American storytelling with high-quality European artistic talent to create international appeal.” This strategy helped the filmmakers maximize their small budget while keeping production standards high.
The filmmakers planned for the movie to look more expensive than it cost. They created an interesting visual mood by using techniques typical of the genre, such as creative lighting and fog effects. Not only did the stylized “gummy” mutant animals avoid extreme violence while keeping the horror-comedy tone, but they also looked great.
Many big names, like David Harbour, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Scott Thompson, and Gabbi Kosmidis, do character work for the movie. “Night of the Apocalypse” has already wowed viewers at the film festivals in Annecy and Sitges.
Curtis stressed, “We don’t want to copy other animation studios.” “We want people to see our trailer and think, ‘That looks different.'”
The movie is preparing for its world premiere at the American Film Market. It is a risky attempt at independent animation that breaks the rules of its genre.
Plans call for “Night of the Zoopocalypse” to be released in 2025. It will be a unique mix of family-friendly fun and scary comedy that isn’t usually found in cartoon movies.
