Sep 2, 2015

Moonbot Enters Oscar Race with "Taking Flight"

"Taking Flight" (Image: Moonbot Studios. Click to enlarge.)

Shreveport, Louisiana-based Moonbot Studios, in the wake of the Academy Awards, announced today that the studio's co-founder, Brandon The studio today unveiled "Taking Flight," a new five-minute short directed by the studio's co-founder, Brandon Oldenburg. The studio has released a trailer for the film:

Moonbot is the first film to be released by the studio since the 2011 adventure The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Moonbot, directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg. September 18-24 at West Los Angeles Premiering at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles, followed by additional screenings, Taking Flight is an equally whimsical fiction, this time a tribute to the life and legacy of Antonio Pasin, the inventor of the Radio Flyer wagon.

"'Taking Flight' is a wonderful addition to Moonbot's body of work. Because we were once again able to combine so many animation techniques," Trish Farnsworth-Smith, who served as executive producer of the short with Joyce, told Cartoon Brew. "Taking Flight" is a film that uses both 3D animation and 2D animation, and we looked to classic animation styles to create the imaginative moments of the film. Our artists and animators spent time studying great animators like Chuck Jones to develop beautiful, expressive sequences that take place in the main character's imagination."

Like Morris Lessmore, Taking Flight is a fantastic journey through time and across the test of time that reveals the universal magic beneath the everyday that most of us take for granted. This triumph of imagination is an important recurring theme in Moonbot's work and may come in handy during the Academy Awards season.9]

"As a parent, I struggle constantly with what modern society says we must do for our children or my desire to let them play and discover the world. It's a constant struggle to strike a balance," Oldenburg told Cartoon Brew

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"At Moonbot, imagination is the driving force behind everything. 'Imagination is location. We have all been there as children. It's how we find stories that resonate with everyone from young children to grandparents. For me, "Taking Flight" speaks to the need to embrace the simple moments when play and imagination collide. The two should be inseparable. It may sound childish, but I believe the world would be a better place if we took more time to play with our children."