Following the international success of Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds by Benoît Chieux (Audience Award at Annecy Festival 2023) and Flow by Gints Zilbalodis (Jury Prize, Audience Prize, Gan Foundation Distribution Prize & Best Original Score at Annecy Festival; Bright Horizons Special Jury Award at MIFF; selected for Toronto, Busan, BFI London, Tokyo, Rotterdam; and acquired by Janus Sideshow for U.S.) Sacrebleu Productions is expanding its acclaimed animated feature catalog in a new direction with the 3D CG-animated series The Chimera Brigade. Animation Magazine is delighted to debut the official teaser trailer today, which you can watch below.
Based on the graphic novel by Serge Lehman & Fabrice Colin (published by L’Atalante), The Chimera Brigade is an 8 x 40′ saga directed by Louis Leterrier & Antoine Charreyron (duration: 8 x 40’) which imagines a world where Marie Curie’s work with radium creates the world’s first superheroes on the eve of the Second World War. The project was recently presented at the 2024 Cartoon Forum. The project is produced by Ron Dyens for Sacrebleu and Cilvy Aupin for Ciel de Paris.
About the Series: The Chimera Brigade is an animated fantasy adventure series with an international scope. The universal nature of the subject matter, the mythology of superhumans, and the fundamental opposition between Magic and Science — ingredients that have been at the very heart of fiction — all bring a powerful and exciting narrative thrust to this reinterpretation of history. This story will sweep audiences away on a thrilling journey through a familiar period in History, seen through an entirely new lens.
The Chimera Brigade will give a new take on the interwar period, covering the rise of fascism in Europe up to Hitler’s accession to power. It holds up a mirror to the tragic reality that tainted that era, its blind spots and stances, resonating with modern history, an example of how the fate of the entire world can sometimes crystallize in the neuroses of a single man.
The Chimera Brigade will be Leterrier’s first foray into animated series. The director is known on both sides of the Atlantic for his French-made blockbusters The Transporter, Danny the Dog and Transporter 2, as well as Hollywood hits The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans and Now You See Me. He has recently finished directing the first part of Fast and Furious X, and is currently preparing the second part. Leterrier is marked for his use of special effects and hybrid techniques, such as on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance series (Netflix), which served as a prequel to the 1982 film The Dark Crystal. He has also directed numerous episodes of Netflix series, including “In the Shadow of Arsène” for Lupin.
Charreyron started his career as a film director specializing in motion capture, and he has created numerous cutscenes for video games such as Tomb Raider and Terminator 3. After directing his animated film The Prodigies, he went on to direct live-action films and animated series, including Galactik Football. He was a director on Batwheels for Warner Bros Animation.
In addition to The Chimera Brigade series, Sacrebleu is also extending its production activity into virtual reality formats such as Ito Meikyu, an infinite cycle of a labyrinth inspired by Japanese art, created by Boris Labbé and recent winner of the Grand Prize- Venice Immersive. Three other VR projects are currently in development in different stages.
Learn more at sacrebleuprod.fr.
