The voice cast for the animated film “Unknownia,” directed by “Cryptozoo” director Dash Shaw, includes Tim Roth, Barbara Sukowa, Angeliki Papoulia, Larry Fessenden, Robbie Crandall, and Sabrina Sickler.
In this movie, little Laurie encounters a dragon while on a treasure hunt and must save her missing father. Luckily, a weasel or mysterious being called The Shapes comes to the rescue.
“Tim was my hero. ‘Reservoir Dogs’ was the reason I went to film school. I tried not to geek out about Tim Roth in the recording studio,” said Kyle Martin, producer of Electric Chinoland and The Movie with Jane Samborski and Emily Ulver.
“When Tim came in and started doing Weasel, we thought, ‘Oh my god, this is not at all what we wanted. And, hey, were we wrong?'” That’s exactly what this Weasel’s voice should be. At that point, we had been working on this for years, and yet the meaning of the scene had completely changed. Tim is just that kind of performer. ”
He said that the entire cast brought their ideas to the table, stressing that the show wanted to avoid a “broad, cartoonish voice.”
“He really likes interesting voices, voices with textures and accents. Angeliki, Tim, Barbara, they all check that box. As performers, they come from very diverse backgrounds and bring something that certainly adds depth to the characters. It brings them to life.”
Martin added, “If you look at this, the same thing happened with Cryptozoo. You really feel the characters, right? That was the goal.”
Still, “Unknownia,” which was screened at the Tauron American Film Festival’s industry event “US in Progress,” is “completely different” from the festival’s hit “Cryptozoo.” Visually too.
“‘Cryptozoo’ was rated R. There was some nudity. This is not that. It’s a PG movie, it’s a fantasy adventure,” Martin said. The Sundance-winning “Cryptozoo” focused on people doing their best to protect endangered mythical creatures.
“We want Unknown to be more of a family movie for kids. Dash and Jane (Samborski) made this with their daughter Castle in mind. They wanted this to be something they could share with her, and that was woven into the look as well.”
The director agreed, writing in Variety, “When you’re 10 or 11 years old, you see your first rare animated movie. Maybe it’s a non-Disney movie, like “The Secret of Nim” or “Spirited Away,” but it’s like discovering the French New Wave when you were 10 years old.”
“It’s like, ‘Wow, movies do things like this? No one told me about this.'” Unknown is a movie we made for our daughter. ”
According to Martin, Unknownia was born from “the legacy of Miyazaki films and independent alternative animation.”
“Narratively, many of his films (made for Studio Ghibli) feature young women on their journeys of growth. Dreams can also be considered in the same category,” he said.
“Overseas audiences are very aware of that. There’s nothing like that in the United States. You get the big studio stuff from Pixar and DreamWorks, but nothing else other than foreign films being brought in. Independent English-language animation doesn’t really exist, so it kind of goes its own way.”
Along her journey, Rory comes to realize that the people she once admired without question are only human after all.
“It’s about wealth and greed, but it’s really about the experience of learning at a young age that the people you look up to, your parents, your elders, have their own problems and shortcomings. They may not be the best role models,” Martin said.
“For me personally, this is a sad realization, one that everyone has experienced and can relate to. It may be a little depressing, but this film gives me hope.”
