Ricard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich’s youngsters and household animated characteristic “Panda Bear in Africa” is constant its lengthy journey and heading to France (Le Pacte), Switzerland (Praesens) and the Benelux territories (WW Leisure) after a raft of gross sales by the movie’s gross sales agent Cinema Management Group. In early fall, it’s going to additionally launch within the Center East (Entrance Row Leisure), Poland (Kino Świat), Portugal (Films4You) and Turkey (Filmarti).
Screening on this yr’s Annecy Presents part on the French competition, the movie focuses on Pang, a younger panda bear who’s finest associates with Jielong, a younger feminine dragon.
Whereas taking part in with Jielong within the bamboo forest, Pang is kidnapped by an African baboon and a “hilariously dimwitted” crocodile. Pang’s journey to save lots of his finest buddy will take him distant from his residence in China, all the way in which to the southern tip of Africa.
“After we are making movies, we’re all the time fascinated by the viewers. ‘How can we attain them? What can we provide to the distributors?’ The idea of the movie and this entire fish-out-of-water comedy facet actually appealed to them, and I hope it’s going to enchantment to the viewers as properly,” director Richard Claus tells Selection.
“There’s creative ambition within the movie, and we needed it to look nice. However our objective is to entertain the viewers as an alternative of displaying off what nice artists we’re.”
The movie has beforehand bought to distributors in Spain (Vercine), the Philippines (Nathan Studios), Indonesia (MVP), UK and Eire (Dazzler Media), Greece (The Movie Group) and South Korea (NK Contents).
Based on a press release shared with Selection, it has turn out to be this yr’s highest grossing unbiased animated characteristic launched within the Commonwealth of Impartial States, with 400,000 admissions.
“Panda Bear in Africa” is produced by Claus and Kiilerich, who beforehand teamed on “The Little Vampire 3D.” Cinema Administration Group handles gross sales.
“The nice factor is, we’re associates. Now we have recognized one another for 15 years, so it’s not considered one of these ‘Euro pudding’ constructs when it’s important to accommodate public funding,” stated Claus.
He additionally admitted the duo wasn’t afraid of competing with one other well-known animated panda.
“In case you are telling tales, you might be all the time coping with the truth that most issues, in a technique or one other, have been performed earlier than. You would need to dig actually deeply to seek out an animal that hasn’t been used [in animation]. It didn’t trouble us that there was one other panda on the market.”
That being stated, humor and comedy had been nonetheless an important a part of the screenplay, written by Rob Sprackling of “Gnomeo & Juliet” and “Shaun the Sheep Film” fame.
“That’s what youngsters and grownups are in search of. With Rob hooked up, we gained somebody who has this unimaginable capability for including jokes. Additionally, it’s okay if youngsters don’t perceive each single considered one of them. We needed to ensure there may be sufficient leisure right here for grownups as properly.”
Claus, who lately co-directed “Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon,” has a private connection to the story.
“I used to be dwelling and dealing in South Africa for eight years. It’s nearly autobiographical,” he laughed.
“I used to be a fish-out-of-water there too. I’ve a daughter, and when she was about 5 years outdated, she needed me to inform her bedtime tales about African animals. That is the way it began, though the panda bear got here a lot later.”
Now, Pang will educate his new associates – and his audiences – a factor or two about friendship and peace, proving it’s potential even between such sworn enemies as lions and hyenas.
“It is a story about tolerance. About accepting others, who could also be completely different from us, however completely different doesn’t imply we now have to be afraid of them,” notes Claus.
“We have to perceive one another, as a result of that’s what makes the world so wealthy. It’s not a movie stuffed with messages, however it talks about all of this. Leisure is necessary, however leisure with none substance is simply hole.”
