Based on a story by children’s book author Nancy Guettier, stop-motion animated short centers around a young boy named Julian who takes a fantastic adventure to Mars.
Emeryville, CA -- Athena Studios is currently in production on a new stop-motion animated short film, Mermaids on Mars.
Based on a story by children’s book author Nancy Guettier, and directed by Athena Studios founder Jon V. Peters, Mermaids on Mars centers around a young boy named Julian who takes a fantastic adventure to Mars. There, he discovers that the last surviving mermaids in the universe are living in a small body of water on that planet. The short film features five original songs written by Guettier, who is also producing the project.
Athena Studios is doing all of the production work and animation on the film. The studio also helped to adapt the original full-length screenplay by Guettier and Jarrett Galante into a short film format.
To bring the story of Mermaids on Mars to life, Athena has assembled a diverse and talented crew: Athena Producer Kat Alioshin (Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, James and the Giant Peach, Corpse Bride), Director of Photography Pete Kozachik (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Corpse Bride, Ghostbusters 2, Nightmare Before Christmas), Cinematographer Timothy Taylor (Back to the Future 2, Frankenweenie, Coraline), Art Director Tom Proost (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, A.I., James and the Giant Peach, The Matrix 2 and 3), and Puppet Fabricator Victoria Rose Zalewski (Coraline, Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas).
Athena Studios is also in production on the stop-motion animated feature Auntie Claus.
Mermaids on Mars will be released to film festivals in January 2015. Learn more about the production of the short film at the Mermaids on Mars Facebook page.
Source: Athena Studios
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
