Offbeat

Curious Crowdfunding: Hullabaloo

by . September 5th, 2014

I love cartoons.

I used to be filled with excitement every time a new episode of Samurai Jack or Zoids: Old Century got out. I have the same feeling today with episodes of Hanayamata or Aldnoah Zero. When Wreck-It Ralph came out, I was on the edge of my seat not only for the movie itself, but also for Paperman, the short right before it. Forgive me if this post is filled with fanboyisms.

jack-49194
Samurai Jack
When you turn on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel, or go to the movies to watch an animated feature, you’ll notice that a huge majority of the new stuff that comes out is 3D. When it’s not 3D, the next biggest group is 2D animations guided by 3D models or mixed with them. You don’t see purely 2D animations much these days anymore.

And I get it. 3D is a lot easier. You make your assets once and just reuse them over and over again. Plus, the technology has been improving a lot. You have movies such as Owls of Gahoole and Final Fantasy: Advent Children which are highly detailed, yet they move smoothly. Disney’s series, Sofia the First, has the same lovable bounce and beat as any other Disney musical cartoon. I was playing NBA 2k13 with my brother, and my mom thought it was a real game. Wait till she sees 2k15.

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE
Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Gahoole
So it’s obvious why lots of people have abandoned 2D for 3D. It’s just more efficient.

Enter the Hullabaloo project, an Indiegogo campaign to make a 2D animated short film as a pitch reel to investors for a full-length feature with two purposes: to revive the art of 2D, and to encourage girls to explore science and exploration. That sounds great!

So… what’s it about?

Hullabaloo is about this girl, Veronica Daring, and she’s amazingly smart. She comes home to find out her dad’s gone and that the only clues point her to an abandoned amusement park where he kept all his inventions. She then discovers this girl, Jules, and they go off to amazing adventures, fighting bad guys and solving the mystery behind Veronica’s dad.

Did I mention it’s gonna be steampunk?

Now what I find interesting is the team behind all this. It’s an all-star lineup.

In the animation team, you’ve got creator James Lopez of The Lion King, Bruce Smith of Roger Rabbit, Rick Farmiloe of The Little Mermaid, Sandro Cluezo of The Princess and the Frog, and Sarah Airriess of Paperman. Special shout out to Minkyu Lee, who got nominated for an Academy Award for one of his personal projects, Adam and Dog.

Adam-and-Dog
Adam and Dog
Other artists include Alexa Goriup of Sinbad, Joffery Black of The Incredibles, Leo Oliveto, graduate of Gnomon, and Jake Akuna of Jobs. Music will be done by Manel Gil-Inglada who won a Jerry Goldsmith award back at 2010. The voice actors include Yuri Lowenthal, known as Sasuke from Naruto and Ben Tennyson from Ben10, and authors G.D. Falksen and Marie Kowal. Producer Evelyn Kriete hosts the largest social hub for steampunk enthusiasts with half a million followers.

Prizes include your usual animation crowdfunding prizes plus steampunk merchandise like brass key-shaped bottle openers and goggles. Stretch goals range up to two more shorts and full-orchestra soundtracks.

27 days left to go and it’s well past its original goal and quite close to its first stretch of $140,000. So what are you waiting for? Join us in funding this great project into reality.

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