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A young wizard, a mysterious outlaw, and a very cute creature named Wowo are the colorful heroes of Lendarys, an innovative new CG-animated French-Canadian production that is one of the hot animated properties showcased at this year’s Cannes market.
Directed by Philippe Duchene (concept designer on Leap! and character designer on the Netflix series Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles) and Jean-Baptiste Cuvelier (art director on Ricky Zoom, layout artist on Lucky and Zorba), the feature is produced by PM S.A., 2 Minutes Animation and Caramel Films and represented by indie sales agent All Rights Entertainment.
“The film’s creative team has assembled a truly extraordinary world,” says the film’s executive producer Thomas Hoff. “Lendarys is an auteur-driven film which is the result of nearly eight years of development. We have produced the animation using the technical know-how available in three different locations — Paris, Angouleme and Reunion Island. The project began production in December 2021 and we are wrapping up animation this August.”
A Tale of Two Brothers
Hoff says one of the appealing aspects of the movie is the unpredictable adventure and the tale of two brothers who each take different paths. “They both have magical powers, and they guide us along this incredible world packed with action, joy, humor, and lots of amazing magic,” he says. “We are making this film for a global audience, and want everyone to enjoy its different offerings. The film has certain aspects that are quite realistic, but it also delivers subtle, fantastical elements that sweep us away from the regular, day-to-day world.”
The production pipeline implemented on the movie is called ARTEFACT (which stands for Animation Real Time Engine For A Creative Team). According to Hoff, it uses the Unreal game engine whose recent versions (4 and 5) make it possible to create a workstation able to manage, in real time, all the post-animation segment: final layout, lighting, rendering. The production used ARTEFACT exclusively in post, but the hope is to use the pipeline in layout and animation on future projects as well.
When asked to tell us his take on the state of the global animation scene, Hoff says he’s optimistic about the future, despite the tough couple of years the industry experienced due to the COVID shutdowns and theatrical downturns.
“Due to the pandemic, cinema attendance and the difficulties of the production industry have regularly made headlines,” says the producer. “Even today, there is still concern about the survival of our favorite art form. Less affected by the constraints than live-action filming, the animation industry has been able to face and adapt to the pandemic that paralyzed most sectors of activity.”
Brighter Future Ahead
Hoff adds, “This has been a victory for a fragile, but resilient field facing internal wars between distributors and creators. It’s good to remember that the sector does not lack vitality. I think we have good years ahead of us, and of course there are major challenges. In France, we have a very strong animation ecosystem. We have players who know how to communicate well with each other, we have a union of producers who have been working in this direction for a very long time with various public authorities. I believe that the future is rather bright!”
When the film makes its theatrical debut later this year, Hoff hopes that families will be entertained by its sweeping action sequences and charmed by its fun and memorable characters.
“I believe that the star of the film is our little Wowo,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s the element of humor that will help our adventure-seekers. I hope we can inspire young viewers with this story which shares a message of friendship, fraternity and always coming to the aid of your friends and family in times of need.”
For more info, visit pm-sa.fr/en and allrightsentertainment.com.
