Animation

Amanda Toney Thanks for sharing! I've been seeing quite a few people on Linkedin being added to their team so this is exciting to see!

Hi Mohsen, I saw your post and understand the stage you are in. With a completed script, bible, and teaser, what you need now is strong narrative and animation readiness that connects clearly with international producers.

I work in script editing and animation story development, helping projects refine structure, emotional impact, and pitch clarity so they land better with studios and investors.

I would be glad to support you by reviewing and strengthening your story and animation direction to help it stand out at this stage. Happy to connect.

Mohsen Abdolali I’d recommend posting in the Producer Lounge to expand your network, and also reaching out to the Success Team to see who they can connect you with.

Lucas Evangelista I love the character designs and art style. Where are you with the current development?

Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle is the one who never left me. The animators let her body shift fluidly between young and old based on her emotional state rather than plot beats — a staggering bit of character work hiding in plain sight, and the dub performances trade off without ever feeling like two people. That's the trick the greats share: animation, voice, design, and writing all pointing at the same emotional truth. When every craft layer agrees on who someone is, the character outlives the film.

That’s a really powerful observation. The way Sophie’s physical transformation reflects her emotional state makes her feel alive beyond just the plot.

I think what stands out is exactly what you mentioned — when every element of storytelling aligns with the character’s inner truth, it creates something that stays with the audience long after the film ends.

It’s a great reminder that character isn’t just written, it’s expressed through every layer of the craft.

Shizuku from the Whisper of the Heart, when I decided to dedicate my life to art many, many years ago, she was a relatable and comforting inspiration!

Woody from Toy Story.

What stayed with me wasn't just his loyalty—it was his growth. By the third movie, he realizes it's not really about Andy, it's about learning to let go. That shift from holding on to purpose to redefining it really got me.

That’s a powerful take. Woody’s shift from needing to be needed to accepting change is something a lot of stories struggle to portray honestly. Letting go is harder to write than holding on, but that’s where real character depth comes in.

Kevin Jackson

this cool man, I will like to connect with you,

i am an animator as well

Looking great. I would suggest adding some sidewalk panels on the pan with the trash can, so it doesn't appear that the trash can is floating away.

Thanks for that tip Bob Harper I appreciate it.

Love this. The Caribbean vibe and dancing really sell the message. Perfect for Earth Day and protecting the land. Animatic on an iPad is impressive proof that you don't need expensive tools to communicate a vision. Great work!

Sam Rivera not only was it impressing, but it was relaxing. There were days when I wanted to just lie in bed, or doodle while waiting at the doctors office or even just watch TV and sketch and having an ipad and pencil, no wires and hot laptop or being forced to sit at a desk, made the process easier to keep up with.

hey Adrian Long

I'm an animator, i would to connect

It's not difficult if you find the right artists to work with. Find someone with styles you like but at the same time someone or people who are patient and willing to explain the process to you so there are no surprises.

I love stories like this where the lines between what's right, what's wrong and what's human conflict each other. This feels like it would make for a very relevant and epic story. The images definitely convey the scale and despair and the buried history.

Kevin Jackson In fact the movie drinks a lot from orwellian concepts of a distopia, but adapted for families, which is already pretty hard, as you can see it doesn't loose the suffocating atmoshpere, but still remains a vast an hopefull world where freedom seems more like privilege than a right, specialy for the main Character an hyperactive disabled boy who can't literaly run due to a malformation in his leg and can't even run inside his mind, and Armstrong, the robot, who just learns about life imitating this strange and unadapted little boy.

Alex Olguin, I actually came across Armstrong-D.U. during the voting recently and really liked it, so it’s interesting to see how you’re visualizing the world now.

The contrast between control and something buried underneath comes through strongly — it feels structured on the surface, but quietly unsettling underneath.

Living in that kind of system feels like it would be safe, but also restrictive in a way you might not fully notice at first.

Ayesha Simra Thank you, I'm glad it works so well. I mainly want to use all this art and concepts as guidance for the real artists and these coments help a lot to iterate for new visual concepts to make the world clearer.

About the voting... yes! I still can't believe I0ve gotten so far with this, specialy since Armstrong-D.U. is the only animated feature in the contest in Kinolime. I really hope I make it to the last 10 and then to the final 3.

Thanks for all the support, and the comment. They help a lot.

Alex Olguin, That makes sense, using it as a foundation for real artists. It already feels very cohesive as a world.

And honestly, getting that far with an animated feature is impressive, especially since it stands out from the rest. Hope it makes it to the final round. Best of luck!

hello Darrell Pennington

i would love to connect with you, i am a 3d animator

Hi Abidoye Ezekiel - let's connect and discuss in the message section. THANK YOU!

Interesting premise. Dark comedy with animation inside live action is a tricky tonal balance. What's the animation style—hand-drawn, digital, stop-motion? That affects tone a lot.

Sam Rivera That's a good question and as someone who is not a big consumer of animation I may be open to ideas but my initial conception was hand-drawn comic strip style. Not entirely sure if the animated and live action worlds interact or Dave just is exposed to that world through the placemat strip. Would certainly be open to feedback and suggestions.

I'm sad about this one too as I'm very excited but what all I've heard is that it's been leaked and people have already seen it. It's sad to see something like as it is one of my most anticipated projects to watch this year, I still wonder how they will retcon this whole thing

An arrest has been made of a man in Singapore who apparently hacked and leaked the movie. https://www.instagram.com/p/DXhXkONjMAO/?igsh=cjl6bDdzYWF3NHYz

Sam Rivera I have heard 25 million people have seen it already.

Listen Banafsheh Esmailzadeh this entire movie is a masterclass. So many parts are my favourite. The Carl and Ellie story being my favourite. Told with action and no dialogue yet you felt it so hard. I loved whe Russell came over and started reciting his script to Carl and Carl kept shutting him out. Only to realise Russell was still with him when the house took off. Every scene with dug and the plot twist with Carl’s childhood hero.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh, I love this so much, and welcome to the Up appreciation club. That opening montage really is one of the best examples of visual storytelling doing all the heavy lifting, no exposition, no over-explaining, just pure emotion. The fact that it makes you feel that deeply in such a short amount of time is exactly why it’s studied so often. I cried when I watched it in theaters for the first time.

If you haven’t watched them yet, I highly recommend Into the Spider-Verse and the Netflix series Arcane. Both are incredible examples of animation pushing storytelling in different ways. Spider-Verse is a masterclass in style, pacing, and character voice, while Arcane dives deep into emotional complexity, world-building, and layered character arcs.

True about the opening montage. I never experienced a film that could have you crying before the inciting incident! For me, it is their best film.

Love when they finally reach the falls and Carl just sits. Quiet. No speech. Perfect. One I'd recommend is Inside Out. The control panel scene hits just as hard.