WIP: Koko the Blue (cel animation film)

Obviously, people here at ToonZone love watching cartoons. Old or new, we love to go through them, dissecting, criticizing, giving out praise, the works. Of course, some of us do more than just watch cartoons. Few of us actually make cartoons, having our own ideas and deciding to put it to use.

I'm one of them. I have written about animation, here on ToonZone and also on Cartoon Research. Even on print I did some freelance for Hogan's Alley magazine. I'm also a cartoonist, having done illustration work, editorial cartoons, and independent comic books. I also did some animation, having been involved in Bill Plympton's "Guard Dog Global Jam", some obscure student projects, and even doing a short film called "Fishing", which had a public screening in Boston in 2012.

After graduating from college I started work on a character I've been developing for a while called Koko the Blue. The main character is a teenage sorceress (originally a witch) who has to deal with her full-time job. Short-tempered and constantly frustrated, she's also very ambitious and will do everything to get what's needed done. She gets assistance from her younger brother named Jodo. Her sidekick, the two siblings have a close relationship. No matter how often they annoy each-other (and it happens a lot), they stick together, looking after one-another. Their boss is Tofu, a 200-year old cantankerous cat. Sometimes Koko hangs out with Marl, another sorceress about her age. She's excitable and eccentric, having a pair of glasses permanently perched on her hat (she's farsighted). Marl is extremely strong, although she's not aware, often destroying things without trying.

The script went through development, including getting input from professional animation people and further refining from my writing partner David Winn Jr. I ultimately used the script as a comic book, which came out in June 2013. It got positive reviews, and ultimately did several more stories with the character. Here are four of the stories you can read online:

A-Witch Hunting We Will Go - http://imgur.com/a/Rkn0L
Vacuum Turbulence and Koko's Little Helper - http://imgur.com/a/FQNjq
Koko Has the Floor - http://imgur.com/a/PVMQp

I decided to turn the "Witch Hunting" story into animation. I teamed up with few professional team, including animators Aaron Long ("Fester Fish") and Zoe Piel, Kyle Carrozza (Moobeard, Frog Raccoon Strawberry), and composer Kevin Bluhm (Pawn Stars). Of course, even with a small-team I still need financing, so I started an IndieGoGo campaign to help get the money needed.

My goal is $13,000, which is nothing compared to how much Hollywood studios spend to make a short. Here's a video we made. I did the animation and David Winn Jr., my co-writer, did the voice-overs.

Make a pledge here - http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/koko-the-blue-animated-short-film/

Let's get this cartoon made, shall we?