CG comedy-adventure feature Stitch Head will make its World Premiere amid this year’s bustling Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. The monster-making flick hails from Cologne-based Gringo Films, and aims to re-construct the classic story of Frankenstein for families around the world.
Synopsis: In a castle’s laboratory high above the little town of Grubbers Nubbin, the maddest of all mad professors awakes monstrous creations to (almost) Life™ … then promptly forgets all about them.
So who looks after the castle? Who takes care of the monsters? Who teaches them not to be monstrous, so the townsfolk below don’t form an angry mob and burn the castle to the ground? Meet Stitch Head — the Professor’s very first creation. Stitch Head does all the work, but the Professor never even notices him.
One day, a tired looking freak show comes to town, led by its owner Fulbert Freakfinder. The show needs a new attraction and when Freakfinder meets humble Stitch Head, he knows he has found his star.
The cast is led by Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) as Stitch Head, Joel Fry (Cruella) as Stitch Head’s freshly-created best friend, Creature, and Tia Bannon (Midnight Sky) as Arabella, a fearless young girl and the monster’s greatest ally. They are joined by Rob Brydon (The Amazing Maurice), Alison Steadman (Life Is Sweet), and comedians Fern Brady and Jamali Maddix.
Steve Hudson directed and adapted the screenplay from the children’s book by Guy Bass, illustrated by Pete Williamson. The film is produced by Sonja Ewers for Gringo Films, with Mark Mertens serving as producer for Fabrique d’Images.
“Guy Bass’ original book — featuring a castle full of monsters all terrified of the humans in the village below — is a wonderful comic inversion of the Frankenstein genre that’s been so much fun to bring to life — even now, it makes us laugh every time,” said Hudson. “At the same time, Guy’s characters are so emotional and engaging. As a monster, Stitch Head assumes he can never be loved — but in the end discover that love is all around him. In a fearful world, I really hope that’s something sticks with our audience long after they’ve seen the film.”
Stitch Head boasts a strong lineup of co-production companies includes Marc Gabizon and Michael Luda with Fabrique d’Images, Traumhaus Studios, Senator Film and Aniventure. The film was animated by Assemblage Entertainment with music by composer Nick Urata (Little Miss Sunshine, Paddington).
“We’ve loved collaborating with the exceptionally talented Stitch Head team for the past two years. I am thrilled with the final result of the movie, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences at Annecy and around the world!” said Aniventure CEO Adam Nagle.
Ewers added, “Annecy is the world’s leading animation festival and Stitch Head is our debut animation feature. The material was always so heartfelt, and so funny — its not always been easy, but we’ve done everything we could to make Stitch Head the best film it could possibly be. For Stitch Head now to be celebrating its premiere alongside the best animation in the world is a dream come true.”
GFM Animation is handling worldwide sales and will be screening the film to distributors in London and at Cannes. Contact Amanda Kerridge (amanda@gfmanimation.com) for more information.
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