Montreal- and Madrid-based international sales and distribution company Pink Parrot Media’s (PPM) 3D animated family feature Butterfly Tale will be showcased in the 270-degree panoramic ScreenX format, thanks to a new partnership between co-producer CarpeDiem and global premium film format and cinema tech outftit CJ 4DPLEX. This will mark the first time an animated Canadian film has been released in ScreenX and the first 3D animated feature worldwide to be produced in the format from the pre-production stage.
“Since we are the first in Canada to ever make an animated ScreenX film, we had to do a lot of research and development,” notes director Sophie Roy. “We discovered that our biggest challenges were in the camera work and lighting. Keeping the horizon equal throughout the three screens when the camera tilts was especially difficult and matching the light direction on all three screens took some serious work to make it all look seamless, a real challenge, but the results exceeded our expectations.”
Co-produced by Canada’s CarpeDiem (Snowtime!, Racetime) and Germany’s Ulysses Filmproduktion (Ooops! Noah Is Gone, The Amazing Maurice), Butterfly Tale is scheduled to be released by Vortex and Maison 4:3 in Canada on 13 October. Pink Parrot Media is currently presenting the film at the 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.
ScreenX is billed as the world’s first multi-projection theater technology that allows a 270-degree panoramic movie-watching experience. ScreenX uses a proprietary system to expand specially selected sequences of the film onto the left and right-side walls of the auditorium. The format surrounds audiences with exclusive story-enhancing imagery that naturally fills their peripheral vision and immerses them into the narrative of the film.
“The expansive and beautiful environment of Butterfly Tale lends itself perfectly to the ScreenX format, with the extra screens being the ideal opportunity for us to build out the magical world of Patrick’s heroic journey,” says producer Marie-Claude Beauchamp, President of CarpeDiem. “For the ScreenX experience, we’ve produced brand new original material that will really enhance the viewing experience and create a true cinematic experience for families around the world to enjoy together.”
Jong Ryul Kim, CEO of CJ 4DPLEX, adds, “Working with the Butterfly Tale team from pre-production till release is a special benchmark for us as ScreenX expands its content offerings into animated content. I believe this is a true testament to the collaborative power of our ScreenX production with animation studios, which showcases how we can provide unparalleled experiences to an increasingly discerning global audience. We will continue to work with such excellent studios to provide the most immersive ways to watch animated films on the big screen.”
Synopsis: Butterfly Tale is an animated feature film for the whole family set along the diverse, picturesque and ever-changing backdrop of the great Monarch butterfly migration. A heart-warming tale of a gutsy and loveable yet inept, one-winged butterfly, named Patrick who stows away in a milkweed trailer in order to be part of the journey of a lifetime. With his best friend, a goofy caterpillar named Marty, and Jennifer, a butterfly who is afraid of heights, Patrick will become an unlikely hero. But first he must face his fear, embrace his uniqueness and triumph over adversity while battling changing weather patterns, humans and three evil birds bent on revenge. It is a tale of adventure, self-realization and heroism told with humor whose message is that our differences are less important than the bonds we share, and it is in adversity that our true character shines through.
Butterfly Tale is helmed by first-time film director Sophie Roy, written by Heidi Foss (Pup Academy) and Lienne Sawatsky (Wishfart), and produced by Marie-Claude Beauchamp for CarpeDiem and Emely Christians for Ulysses. The lead characters are voiced by Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) as Jennifer and Mena Massoud (Aladdin, 2019) as Patrick. The soundtrack, produced by Blu Dog, will include “Something Big” performed by Shawn Mendes, courtesy of Island Records, under license from Universal Music Canada Inc.
Pink Parrot Media has secured an additional raft of previously announced international distribution deals for Butterfly Tale, including: Wildbunch (Germany and France), Monolith (Poland), Front Row (Middle East), Filmart (Turkey), Mis Label (Scandinavia), Just Ent
(Benelux), Pro Film (Bulgaria), Blitz (Former Yugoslavia), Flins&Piniculas (Spain), Forefront Media (South Africa) and Top Film (CIS and Baltics).
