Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 20, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The silly pumpkin dragon disintegrates into thousands upon thousands of bats after destroying the Western Bridge. Defying gravity, parts of the bridge slowly float away. Turning back is out of the question: the dragon hunters must continue to the end of the world, where nothingness reigns, to face the World-Eater dragon.
Unlike in “The NeverEnding Story”, the presence of a nothingness that causes fortresses to crumble is not particularly troubling in this world. People adapt to it and simply grow vegetables on fields floating past. None of it would be a problem if it were not for the dragons. After the worst of them all, whose name says it all, is finally defeated, the world is even greener and more beautiful than before, and fluffy white bunnies fly through the air, grinning and a little spaced out.
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By now at the latest, it becomes clear that the writers had a lot of fun developing the story. And it becomes clear that this is a thoroughly European affair, or more precisely, French. “Elements such as the power of the colours, the play of light and the vastness of the spaces clearly have their roots in French comics – a true feast for the eyes”, enthuses Michael Coldewey, executive producer and CEO of TRIXTER.
And the work is highly professional, using technology otherwise familiar only from the USA and New Zealand, Coldewey continues. Mac Guff Ligne was the second animation studio responsible, and the film score was composed by Klaus Badelt, who gave films such as “Catwoman”, “Poseidon” and above all “Pirates of the Caribbean” their unmistakable musical fingerprint. What happened?
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Directors Arthur Qwak and Guillaume Ivernel have been working for around twelve years on the stories, which were adapted in France as a comic and an animated series. Futurikon Films, the company responsible for the 2D series, was now also considering adapting the material as an animated feature film.
Michael Coldewey convinced Philippe Delarue, a producer at Futurikon, to choose TRIXTER as one of the animation partners. Although the studio is experienced in film funding and co-productions, the undertaking proved to be a “long, arduous and rocky road” for Coldewey. “I encountered little enthusiasm in Germany”, he explains.
“‘Dragon Hunters’, as an originally French project and an animated film to boot, did not find buyers or backers so quickly. Financiers are easier to convince with a live-action film with ‘star power’.” TRIXTER therefore had to manage without FFA funding and with only a very small Bavarian contribution. The much-praised German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) also came a year too late for the studio.
The different funding systems and regulations require strong nerves, because each country has to be “served” and accounted for according to its rules: “a nightmare”, Coldewey concludes. The enormous workload also increases the actual budget. Co-productions are no small matter, even for the lead producer, who has usually already invested a great deal of money and time in developing projects.
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“He now has to share his hard-earned rights and, from an artistic perspective, his ‘baby’ with other guardians, which is not particularly easy for the French”, Coldewey explains. “A great deal of work to build trust is required here.”
But the highest hurdle of all is actually the starting point: when can the lead producer give the “go”? It is a little like the chicken and the egg. Somehow, you eventually just start, and everything else has to follow. Courage to take financial risks and positive thinking are therefore helpful, because many contracts are only signed when production has already been under way for a long time, Coldewey reports.
Read the full report in the current issue 03:08 of DIGITAL PRODUCTION.
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