Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana has produced its second original short film titled Jelly. It is created and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Robin Budd and reveals “first look” images.
Jelly is a 13-minute 2D animated short film exploring the universal reality that life is too precious to be unhappy at work and encourages the pursuit of one’s true passion.
Here’s the synopsis of the film: Jelly takes audiences on a journey through a modern dilemma intertwined with a fairy tale. Should the hero character, Molly, pursue the passion of expressive art, or tread a factory job painting mannequin faces? She cannot decide, but a liquid spirit soon helps make the choice easy. Molly is someone who just has to express herself, even when her cold-as-ice Big Bad Boss Lady is wicked, oppressive, and just plain mean. That creative gift just has to get out. It must! No matter what the repercussions. In our hero’s case, it is a tiny but growing puddle of goo that helps transform Molly into a force to be reckoned with. Join Jelly, as she ignites Molly’s inner mojo, helping her discover that fortune does indeed favour the brave.
“Building on the critical acclaim received on our short film The Most Magnificent Thing, Jelly reinforces Nelvana’s position as a creative powerhouse.” said Nelvana Studios vice president Athena Georgaklis. “We’ve been fortunate to have Robin Budd as a long-standing collaborator, having worked together on successful projects such as the Beetlejuice TV series to Ruby Gloom, and Hotel Transylvania: The Series. His expertise and artistic vision have been instrumental in bringing Jelly, his first original short, to life. With Jelly, we have expanded our team’s creative and storytelling abilities, while also pushing the boundaries of our technical capabilities.”
“Creating this original short film has been a dream come true. It’s been a privilege to collaborate with Nelvana, and their dedication to pushing artistic boundaries has allowed us to create something truly special,” said Budd.
With the art direction led by Jelena Sisic, the film features a film-noir concept to highlight the mundane and oppressive world that plagues our protagonist, followed by a bright and colourful world once she unites with Jelly and realises her creative potential. The film features music from Grammy Award-winning Daniel Lanois’ catalogue. “Similar to music, the struggle for creative inspiration is a universal concept.” said Lanois.
Laurie Handforth and Marilyn McAuley join as producers with Pam Westman and Athena Georgaklis as executive producers. The short film was written by Robin Budd and Dale Schott, featuring art direction by Jelena Sisic.
The short film will premiere at the 27th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival this month in Montreal, Canada as part of their Circo Animato programming, an annual showcase of animated short films from around the world. It has started to receive interest among renowned festivals internationally.
Nelvana is an international producer, distributor and licensor of children’s animated and live-action content.