Mar 20, 2023

First Teaser Video for "Round And Round The Wishing Well," a Sequel to "Mama's Making It Rain" - Exclusive

Filmmaker Hugo de Faucomplet impressed audiences and juries around the world with his short film Mum is Pouring Rain, produced in 2021. The film won numerous awards during the festival, including the Annecy Jury Prize (TV Special).

Currently, Faucomplet and his team are working on Round and Round the Wishing Well, a 78-minute feature film, the second installment of what will eventually become a trilogy of films. Shortly after pitching the project on Cartoon Movie, the film's producers granted Cartoon Brew access to the film's first teaser video.

The video includes several clips from "Mum," animation by Camille Chao, FFX animation by Martin Touze, backgrounds by Faucon Pret, compositing by Nicolas Trotignon, and sound by Paris-based post-production company Several new bits are included, combined with sound by Piste Rouge.

At Cartoon Movie, Focomplet and his team pitched the project and shared an early synopsis. Jane is placed with her grandmother, Grandma Onion, while her mother, Cecile, needs time to heal from depression. It is also in the woods where Cloclos, the giant musician bum who took Jane in, lives. It is also where Grandma Onion finally leaves. In each story, the characters are shaken by the weather of life. There are heavy rains and sunny days. Three exquisite stories that stir joy.

While plot details are still largely under wraps, Fauconpret informed us of some changes to be expected in the next installment of the film series:

For all we can tell, we will be following the same characters (the children will be two or three years older), Jane is the story's overall common denominator, and Sonia and Leon are always by her side. The story focuses specifically on Krokro, his powerful bond with nature, and his enigmatic origins. We will also learn a bit more about Grandma Onion's life, her relationship with her grandfather, and her commitment to solidarity with the outcasts of society.

The sequel will be produced in much the same way as its predecessor, but "Round and Round" will feature a new setting with its own aesthetic. Fauconpret explains:

The general artistic direction will remain the same: 2D frame-by-frame animation on hand-drawn backgrounds. Nevertheless, we want to push the style even more freely in terms of animation, backgrounds, and 2DFX in order to depict the "vertical veil," which is a new setting that will appear in Chapter 2 and is quite fantastic and different from our world. We intend to spend some time in the pre-production phase imagining how things should be and move in the Vale and finding the right logic for this special place.

The background will be directly inspired by the forests and streams of the Corrèze region of France. In order to get this look right, Focomplette plans to take his entire team of artists to the area to get direct inspiration from the untamed land.

While the broad themes of "Round and Round" are obvious if you watch the teaser or read the synopsis, director Focomplet has another issue close to his heart that he hopes the film can emphasize:

This film, we screenwriters, Rizon D'Andrea and I, and the producers, Antoine Lietou and Ivan Zuber of Lydak Films, are tackling strong themes that are really important to us. I understand that a film can never be completely non-political if it is public. I want to use this story, along with many other aspects, to shed light on the concept of natural burial, which I have been researching recently.

Like classical composting, it is the most natural and positive way to retreat by returning the cycle of life directly to the living soil of the forest. It is not yet legal. I have a small hope that by making an animated film that talks about it, I can reach out to those who are trying to make it happen. It is an alternative to cremation and classical burial as we know it, but with far less pollution and far less expense.