#punkrobot

Lucasfilm has unveiled the key art of "In The Stars" Directed by Gabriel Osorio and Chilean animation studio Punkrobot Estudio.

Once again Anime is coming to enrich the Star Wars universe again. This time we have a much redder aesthetic, which makes me wonder if the stories will be more Dark Side-oriented (though we had a mix of it last season with The Duel, The Twins and Akakiri being more dark side-focused) the episode names seem to suggest it too.

The most interesting company to have their hand at it are the claymation gods Aardman, responsible for Wallace & Gromit, Morph and Chicken Run. But do not underestimate Cartoon Saloon's potential, the studio that gave us Wolf Walkers have the caliber especially in the sci-fi wonder of Star Wars. Same can be said for Studio Mir (Legend of Korra & Voltron) and Studio La Cachette (Primal, LD&R's Sucker of Souls).

Disney unveiled its latest trailer for Star Wars Visions Volume 2 at Star Wars Celebration today. Much like Volume 1, Volume 2 invites global animation studios to push the limits on Star Wars storytelling while incorporating their country’s history and culture into their stories and created original characters that fit into the Star Wars galaxy and cast local talent to bring these characters to…

Star Wars: Visions volume 2 will stream on Disney+ on May 4, 2023.

Volume 2 shorts:

Title: “Sith”

Studio: El Guiri

Writer-director: Rodrigo Blaas

Rodrigo Blaas is an Emmy Award®-winning director who has spent more than 20 years in animation. After co-founding Stromboli Animation in 1997, Blaas joined Blue Sky Studios in 2000, working on the feature film Ice Age, before transitioning to Pixar Animation Studios. There, he worked on such projects as Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), and Wall-E (2008) and on the Oscar®-nominated short film La Luna (2011). More recently, Blaas partnered with Guillermo del Toro to develop the award-winning series Trollhunters, served as creative director for Mikros Animation Paris and, in 2021, created El Guiri Studios in Madrid with his partner, Cecile Hokes. He also wrote and directed 2009’s award-winning short film Alma.

Title: “Screecher’s Reach”

Studio: Cartoon Saloon

Director: Paul Young

Paul Young is a co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, an IFTA winner and Oscar®, Emmy® and BAFTA nominee. He produced the animated features My Father’s Dragon, WolfWalkers, The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and The Breadwinner as well as award-winning TV series including Puffin Rock, Dorg Van Dango, and Viking Skool.

Title: “In the Stars”

Studio: Punkrobot

Writer-director: Gabriel Osorio

Gabriel Osorio majored in Fine Arts at Universidad de Chile, later specializing in 3D animation. After working in commercials, movies and television series, he founded Punkrobot Studio. Since 2008, he has directed projects for children’s television including Flipos, Muelin y Perlita, Soccer Girls, and television spots. In 2016, his short film Bear Story became the first Latin American project to win an Oscar® in the animated short category.

Title: “I Am Your Mother”

Studio: Aardman

Director: Magdalena Osinska

Magdalena Osinska is an award-winning director who has been with Aardman for eight years. She has directed stop-motion, CGI, 2D and live-action commercials including Wallace & Gromit’s “The Great Sofa Caper” and “Share the Orange.” Osinska directed development of the children’s series Joyets and has also directed films including Spirits of the Piano and Zbigniev’s Cupboard. A graduate of the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, UK, as well as the Polish Film School in Lodz and Art College in Warsaw, Osinska is currently developing the feature film Jasia, based on her grandmother’s memories of WWII Poland.

Title: “Journey to the Dark Head”

Studio: Studio Mir

Director: Hyeong Geun Park

Rising star Hyeong Geun Park had already made a name for himself when he entered the Korean animation industry in 2017, thanks to his strong drawing and animation sensibilities. He has directed animation for dozens of cinematic game trailers and has since expanded into animated series, working on projects including Dota: Dragon’s Blood: Book 3 (2022) and Lookism (2022). Journey to the Dark Head is the first title he has executive produced from start to finish.

Title: “The Spy Dancer”

Studio: Studio La Cachette

Writer-director: Julien Chheng

Julien Chheng is CEO of Studio La Cachette, an Emmy Award®-winning French animation studio he co-founded in 2014 with fellow Gobelins school’s alumni Oussama Bouacheria and Ulysse Malassagne. Chheng was trained in visual development at Disney and has worked as a character animator on acclaimed 2D animated features The Rabbi’s Cat, Mune, and the Academy Award®-nominated Ernest and Celestine. In 2021, he won an Emmy Award® as animation executive producer of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, for which he also served as animation supervisor. In 2022, Chheng directed with Jean-Christophe Roger the Cesar-nominated feature Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia.

Title: “The Bandits of Golak”

Studio: 88 Pictures

Director: Ishan Shukla

Ishan Shukla started his career as a CG artist in Singapore. For more than a decade, he spearheaded projects ranging from TV commercials to series and music videos. His 2016 animated short, "Schirkoa," was long listed for the Academy Awards® after receiving dozens of awards and playing at 120 international festivals, including SIGGRAPH Asia where it was named Best in Show. He then set up his own animation studio to work on adult-oriented animated feature films including a feature-length version of Schirkoa, set to hit festivals in summer 2023.

Title: “The Pit”

Studios: D’art Shtajio and Lucasfilm Ltd.

Writer-director-executive producer: LeAndre Thomas

Co-director: Justin Ridge

LeAndre Thomas is an award-winning writer and director from Oakland, Calif., whose most recent film won Best Director at the Pasadena International Film Festival. In addition to his independent films, Thomas is a part of the franchise studio team at Lucasfilm Ltd. where he has worked for more than 11 years being credited on recent titles such as Light & Magic, The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, and many more.

Justin Ridge executive produced the Emmy®-nominated series Star Wars Resistance. His credits also include Star Wars Rebels, Storks, The Cleveland Show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Title: “Aau’s Song”

Studio: Triggerfish

Writer-directors: Nadia Darries and Daniel Clarke

Nadia Darries is a director, animator and co-founder of Goon Valley Animation, with an avocation for songwriting. Born in the Cape Flats in South Africa, Darries has worked on high-end animated film and motion design as an animator, project manager, creative director and director since 2015. Her experience includes animating at Triggerfish Animation Studios on the award-winning BBC films Stick Man, Revolting Rhymes, and Highway Rat.

Lucasfilm Unveils Animation Studios And Creatives For Star Wars Visions Season 2, Slated For May The 4th Be With You On Disney+.

May The 4th Be With You as Star Wars Visions expands beyond Japan with multiple animation studios around the world for second season. Today, Disney+ and Lucasfilm announced that the second volume of the animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on May 4, (a.k.a. Star Wars Day).

The studios tapped for Vol. 2, the titles and directors of their shorts were also revealed, with storied European outfits such as Aardman and Cartoon Saloon taking part alongside Oscar-winning Chilean boutique Punkrobot, Korea’s Studio Mir, South Africa’s Triggerfish and more.

Participating studios for Volume 2 include:

El Guiri (Spain)

Cartoon Saloon (Ireland)

Punkrobot (Chile)

Aardman (United Kingdom)

Studio Mir (South Korea)

Studio La Cachette (France)

88 Pictures (India)

D’art Shtajio (Japan), in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd. and LucasFilm Animation. (U.S.)

Triggerfish (South Africa)

“Sith” | El Guiri | Writer-director: Rodrigo Blaas

“Screecher’s Reach” | Cartoon Saloon | Director: Paul Young

“I Am Your Mother” | Aardman | Director: Magdalena Osinska

“In the Stars” | Punkrobot | Writer-director: Gabriel Osorio

“Journey to the Dark Head” | Studio Mir | Director: Hyeong Geun Park

“The Spy Dancer” |Studio La Cachette | Writer-director: Julien Chheng 

“The Bandits of Golak” | 88 Pictures | Director: Ishan Shukla