HEROmation’s award-winning short, animated film, The Wrong Rock, will be released on YouTube on 6 December. Written and directed by Michael Cawood, the film is a tale of equality told through the adventures of a mushroom.
“I wanted to tap into the themes that affected me as an immigrant. Before we can change the world, we must put aside our differences. After all, we’re all on the same rock!” said Cawood.
The film has screened at film festivals around the world including Tokyo, Chile, London
The Wrong Rock is an indie film made entirely through the virtual studio model. Hundreds of artists from all over the world collaborated online with the Artella platform. Lead by Cawood, the team created the 3D CGI animation in Maya and rendered with Redshift. Some of Cawood’s previous credits include Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Pete’s Dragon, Bumblebee, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and Happy Feet. Cawood’s latest short film, Devils, Angels & Dating, has garnered over 17.7 million views to date.
“Coordinating artists from all over the world is a fun challenge, and it was incredible to see how passionate the team was about the film’s themes. Being on a video call with animators from Spain, Canada, Iran and beyond was really exciting,” recalled producer Julie Pifher.
The soundtrack includes an original song created by the band, The Mrs., and a score by BAFTA award-nominated composer Grant Kirkhope, whose credits include iconic video games such as Donkey Kong Country, Golden Eye, Banjo Kazooie, and Mario-Rabbids.