UK based independent studio GCI Film announced that its animated family feature, Ozi: Voice of the Forest, will be debuting its first scenes at the famous Annecy Animation Festival on 15 June in France. The film debut will also have a panel conversation featuring executive producer Rodrigo Blaas, the film’s director, Tim Harper, and the award-winning animation team from Mikros Animation.
The independently financed feature follows the journey of a teenage Orangutan, Ozi and her friends, who sets out on a voyage of discovery across the rainforest, in a quest to find her parents in a land that has fallen victim to deforestation.
With creative development from concept-to-delivery from the Mikros Animation team, the fully CGI film features the animation work of over 300 animation experts globally, driven by both their passion for storytelling, and communicating the underlying social cause.
“Through this film’s animation style, we’ve aimed to build something that feels both fun and whimsical, with the ultimate goal to marry art and entertainment with messages around global deforestation,” said Mikros Animation story and character animation head Sean Mullen.
“Mikros Animation are a key part of the global team we have assembled to complete this project, and it’s a testament to the strength of our story that we’ve been able to attract such world class talent and production partners,” said GCI Films director Adam Stanhope.
Supported by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions, and multi Academy-Award-winning producer, Mike Medavoy, the feature aims to raise awareness around the issues our globe’s rainforests face considering growing levels of deforestation, and how this affects the ecosystems within.
The voice cast of Ozi: Voice of the Forest include Amandla Stenberg as Ozi, Laura Dern, RuPaul, Donald Sutherland, and Djimon Hounsou, under the direction of renowned animated content director, Tim Harper and creators, Keith Chapman (Paw Patrol, Bob the Builder) and Rodrigo Blaas (Pixar’s Wall-E, Finding Nemo). The original screenplay was written by Emmy Award-winning Ricky Roxburgh (Tangled, Spy Kids).
The film’s producers and animation team at Mikros Animation will be speaking about Ozi: Voice of the Forest and debuting the film’s first full-length scenes exclusively at the Annecy Animation Festival, on 15 June, 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm local time.
