We Are the Strange

Infobox Film
name = We Are the Strange
Feature-Length Animated Movie


caption =
director = M. dot Strange
writer = M. dot Strange
music = Noise Inc.
runtime = 88 min.
country = U.S.A.
language = English
budget = $20,000
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://www.wearethestrange.com/
amg_id = 1:382561
imdb_id = 0923985

"We Are the Strange" is an independent animated film directed by M dot Strange. It uses stop motion, CG artwork, and greenscreen effects. The film premiered on January 19, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival.

ynopsis

We Are the Strange focuses on "two diametrically opposed outcasts" as they "fight for survival in a sinister fantasy world." These two outcasts are an abused woman named Blue who has a mysterious degenerative disease and a living doll named eMMM.

The two meet in the Forest of Still Life, where Blue follows eMMM to Stopmo City on a search for his ideal ice cream parlor. Upon arriving in Stopmo City, they are caught in the middle of a fierce battle between bizarre monsters, making their progress difficult. Thankfully, a hero named Rain appears and easily destroys every monster that faces him. Bluemeets Rain before he partakes in an "impossible battle against the source of all that is evilin Stopmo City." During the battle, Rain, along with Ori are crushed by Him after Rain states he wants to avenge his son. When the outlook seems grim, a fist made of aluminum foil breaks through the ground and starts the final showdown between good and evil.Six alternate soundtracks and author's commentary, including soundtrack by Noise Inc. are available on the DVD. The music used in We Are the Strange Trailer has been made by chiptune artist YERZMYEY/AY-RIDERS (a cover of t.A.T.u.'s "30 minut") using ZX Spectrum computer.

Release

M dot Strange has stated that he wishes to release the film on the Internet rather than in theaters as he will be able to retain all rights to his work, and any profits made thereafter (DVD sales, merchandise, etc). On July 16, 2006, in an interview, he said he was "trying to finish it in time to make the Sundance film festival". [cite web| url = http://wearethestrange.blogspot.com/2006/11/we-are-strange-at-sundance-2007.html#links| title = How to Make Anime into Reality| author = Studio ArtFX| accessdate = 2006-10-27] In an e-mail sent to suscribers on the film's mailing list October 26, 2006, he stated that "The film will bedone in 2 months and will hopefully premiere at a fancy_pants festival inJanuary...".According to M. dot Strange's blog he received a call from Sundance saying that We Are the Strange would premiere as part of the Midnight Movie Program at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. [cite web| url = http://festival.sundance.org/2007/pdfs/07_SFF_PROGRAMANNOUNCEMENT120106.pdf| title = 2007 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FILMS IN THEPREMIERES, SPECTRUM, NEW FRONTIER,PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT ANDFROM THE SUNDANCE COLLECTION SECTIONS| author = Sundance Institute| accessdate = 2006-12-16] The film was released August 2007.

The film has since been released on torrent sites with a Youtube video from M Dot Strange proclaiming this as a "torrentrical release" (a play on theatrical and torrent) that has helped increase his audience and, in turn, DVD sales.

tr8nime

"We Are the Strange" is the first film made in a style that M dot Strange calls "Str8nime" (pronounced "Stray-knee-may"), the term being a mix of "Strange", "8-Bit", and "Anime". This is an accurate description; the character and entire essence of the film can be seen as strange; 8-bit artwork (from early video game consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System) is injected in various scenes of the film (for instance, a scene showing the sky reveals 8-bit clouds similar to those from Super Mario Bros.), and the film has an obvious anime influence (largely seen in the character of Blue).

References

ee also

*List of animated feature films
*List of stop-motion films
*List of computer-animated films

External links

* [http://www.wearethestrange.com/ Official website]
* [http://wearethestrange.aceboard.com/ Official Message Board]
*imdb title|id=0923985
* [http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=4742 "We Are the Strange"] at Sundance.org
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/business/media/22carr.html?_r=1&oref=slogin New York Times article about premiere]
* [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/media/0,72535-0.html?tw=rss.index "Strange DIY Film Hits Sundance"] -("Wired")