Germany-based Sola Media will launch global sales at the Cannes Marché du Film for the new 3D animated family sci-fi adventure The Crystal Planet, from multi-award-winning Croatian director Arsen Anton Ostojic. The film is based on an original screenplay by legendary Croatian filmmaker Dušan Vukotić, the first non-American to win an Academy Award for animation.
“The Crystal Planet delivers a timely and engaging adventure with a strong environmental message that will resonate with young audiences,” said Solveig Langeland, Managing Director of Sola Media. “It’s a creatively bold film that makes the most of its resources, driven by big ideas, exceptional talent and an Oscar-winning cast — perfect for the global family market.”
Synopsis: The Crystal Planet tells the story of 11-year-old Rea, who has recently moved to a distant planet in an outer-space colony where she discovers a mysterious animal cub while her father works in a factory that builds robotic creatures. With the help of her new friend Andy, she must protect the real cub from the factory’s ruthless owner, who intends to turn it into a robotic prototype.
The film features an all-star voice cast, including Academy Award winners Jeremy Irons as the morally complex antagonist Governor Mordokan, Vanessa Redgrave as The Matriarch and Michael York as The Patriarch of the unknown animal species living in the planet’s subterranean caves.
“I had a lot of fun playing Governor Mordokan and working with the team on this project,” said Irons. “Mordokan is a complex character, both a greedy industrialist and a caring father, but his internal grief puts at risk his new planet and all the colorful animals who live there. ”
The film marks the first animated feature for Ostojic, who is best known for his live-action works. “My late professor, the Oscar-winner Dušan Vukotić, shared a draft of the script with me back in the ‘90s,” said the director. “Years later, after inheriting the rights, I hesitated—unsure I could meet the challenge. But once I partnered with Alkay Animation Prague and its visionary producer Petr Horak, as well as with Peter Badač from BFilm, I found the path forward. Diving into the wonderful world of animation with its seemingly unlimited possibilities allowed me to create a visually rich movie and is a journey that I am immensely proud of.”
Production is handled by Filmosaurus Rex (Croatia) and BFilm (Slovakia) as well as Alkay Animation Prague, esteemed among the Czech Republic’s top animation studios — their recent animated feature My Sunny Maad won the Jury Prize in Annecy and earned a Golden Globe nomination. Animation is supervised by Jakub Pistecky, whose credits include Rango, Pirates of the Caribbean and Marvel’s The Avengers.
The project is supported by a number of European film bodies, including the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Czech Audiovisual Fund, Slovak Audiovisual Fund, Czech TV, Croatian TV, Creative Europe/MEDIA and Eurimages.
