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Godzilla Anime Film Trilogy Gets Presentation at Annecy

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival revealed on Monday that the Godzilla anime film trilogy will feature in the festival's "Work in Progress" program. Dmitri Granvosky will present the program, and directors Kobun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita will be in attendance.

The festival's English title for the first film is Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (Godzilla: Kaijū Wakusei).

The official website describes the story:

The last summer of the 20th Century. That day, the human beings learn that they are not the only ruler of the planet Earth.

The appearance of the giant living creatures “Kaiju's” and the ultimate existence that destroys all monsters: Godzilla. Through the battle against kaiju's that lasted for half a century, human beings has experienced continuous defeat, and finally plans to escape from the Earth. And in 2048, only those who were selected by the A.I. managed under the central government boarded the inter-sidereal emigrant spaceship “Aratrum” to head for “Tau Cetus e”, the planet beyond the distance of 11.9 light-year. However, the environmental condition differences between that of the Earth and Tau e, which they finally arrived after 20 years were far beyond the predicted numbers, and was not an environment considered to be habitable by human beings.

The young man on the emigrant ship: Haruo, who saw his parents killed by Godzilla in front of his eyes when he was 4 years old, had only one thing in his mind for 20 years: to return to the Earth and defeat Godzilla. Shut out from the possibility of emigration, as the living environment in the ship deteriorates, the group of “Earth Returnists” led by Haruo became the majority, and determines to head back to Earth through a dangerous long-distance hyperspace navigation. However, the Earth they have returned has already passed the time of 20,000 years, and has become an unknown world with the ecosystem reigned by Godzilla.

At the end, will human beings win back the Earth? And what will Haruo see beyond his fate?

The first film will open in Japan in November, and then it will stream globally on the Netflix service this year.

Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare and other Detective Conan movies, Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Kenshirô, Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Toki) and Hiroyuki Seshita (Ajin, Knights of Sidonia) are directing the films at Polygon Pictures. Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Psycho-Pass) of Nitroplus is credited with the story concept and screenplay. Urobuchi is also responsible for series composition with Yūsuke Kozaki.

Hiroyuki Morita is serving as assistant director, and Naohiro Yoshihira ("Tady") is the technical director. Naoya Tanaka and Ferdinando Patulli are production designers, and Yuki Moriyama is designing the characters in CG. Mitsunori Kataama is the model director. Yukihiro Shibutani is the art director, and Hironori Nochi is the color key artist. Satoshi Motoyama is the sound director.

The trilogy is the first anime film project in the Godzilla franchise.

Naoko Yamada and Kyoto Animation's A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi), Sunao Katabuchi and MAPPA's In This Corner of the World (Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni), and Masaaki Yuasa and Science SARU's Lu over the wall (Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta) will screen in competition at this year's Annecy.

Ancien and the Magic Tablet (Hirune Hime: Shiranai Watashi no Monogatari) from Kenji Kamiyama and Signal.MD, as well as Rudolf the Black Cat (Rudolf to Ippaiattena) from Kunihiko Yuyama, Motonori Sakakibara, and OLM, will screen out of competition. The festival will also host screenings of Hiroyuki Seshita and Polygon Pictures' Blame!, Ankama and Studio 4°C's French/Japanese animated film Mutafukaz, and the first footage of the new Mazinger Z film. Sawako Kabuki's Natsu no gero wa huyu no sakana short film is in the graduation films competition.

In addition, animation studio CGCG Studio HD will offer its nine-minute anime short "Sprin' Pan Mae e Susumō!" ("Sprin' Pan Let's go forward!") in this year's MIFA (Marche international du film d'animation) animation market. The market is run by and concurrently with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) will host a special program titled ANIME NEXT 100 during the festival. The program will celebrate 100 years of Japanese animation since 1917, and will screen short films and full-length films, including classic short films, Akira, Perfect Blue, Space Battleship Yamato Resurrection.

Established in 1960, Annecy is the world's oldest and largest animation film festival. This year, it runs from June 12-17 at the French community of the same name.

Source: Eiga.com