Studios behind ‘Hair Love’ and ‘The Willoughbys’ will produce a kids’ series, interactive titles, and online community based on the story of a young prince determined to step out from the shadows of her brothers.
Lion Forge Animation, the studio behind Matthew A. Cherry’s Oscar winning short, Hair Love, and BRON Digital, known for a raft of hit films including Joker, Judas and the Black Messiah, and The Willoughbys, have teamed up to produce the children’s animated series, accompanying interactive games, and online community for Heiress.
Conceptualized by Lion Forge Animation, Heiress centers around young Princess Reign, who is determined to find her way out of her brothers’ shadows, forcing her father and King to see her light.
David Steward II, Carl Reed, and Matt Heath for Lion Forge Animation, and Brenda Gilbert and Aaron L. Gilbert for BRON Digital, serve as executive producers. Jason Chen will produce on behalf of BRON.
Working in concert with BRON Digital’s virtual production infrastructure that utilizes Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the Heiress team will take advantage of development technologies that allow them not only to create animated series content, but audience-driven, interactive games and immersive virtual worlds as well. This open world creation enables a richer, more expansive experience for audiences to explore aspects of different worlds and interact with their favorite characters.
Lion Forge Animation founder David Steward II said, “Heiress is a world unto itself and perfectly exemplifies the material we choose to introduce to audiences globally. Content can be wildly immersive and entertaining while reflecting diverse faces, voices, and experiences. With truly collaborative partners in Brenda, Aaron, and Jason at BRON, we have a dream team assembled to bring to life what we have created.”
In a joint statement, Gilbert and Chen said, “BRON is committed to representation both in front of and behind the camera, and to building partnerships with diverse-owned studios. It is important that we celebrate the art of animation and diverse cultures from around the world.”
Heiress marks the first collaboration between BRON and Lion Forge Animation. Lion Forge Animation, one of the only Black-owned animation studios in the world, recently boarded Young Love, a 2D animated series for HBO Max based on characters from Hair Love, and has secured a number of major partnership deals with Imagine Kids+Family, Starlight Media, and the family of the groundbreaking NASCAR driver, Wendell Scott. Lion Forge Animation is represented by Andrew Kramer at Loeb & Loeb.
Source: Lion Forge Animation
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
