Toonz Serves Up ‘A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts’ as Anthology Animated Feature

Toonz Media Group has boarded A Banquet for the Hungry Ghosts, an animated feature that fuses Chinese cuisine, folklore and supernatural horror. The film will be introduced for presales at AFM 2025, with delivery set for 2027. Originally conceived as a 10 part adult animation anthology series (watch the pilot preview here), the concept will be dished out as a 90-minute movie.

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts is produced by Robot Playground Media in Singapore, adapted from the acclaimed book by Ying Chang Compestine. At the helm is studio co-founder, filmmaker and producer Ervin Han. The film comprises four standalone yet interlinked tales, each inspired by an iconic Chinese dish and tied together by a spectral Chef presiding over a mysterious, otherworldly restaurant. Blending the macabre, the playful and the poetic, the stories explore themes of human frailty, ancestral guilt and greed.

“A Banquet for the Hungry Ghosts takes the global appetite for horror and gives it an unmistakably Asian taste — four stories, one haunting experience, and a franchise that’s just beginning,” said Han.

The production unites animation talents from Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan under Robot Playground’s creative lead. “I am a firm believer that Asian stories should travel the world,” said Toonz Media Group CEO P. Jayakumar. “We have a rich culture and a deep tradition of storytelling, and its essence is truly universal. As the world becomes more cosmopolitan and interest grows in understanding diverse traditions, this film will be a real treat, not just for animation lovers, but for fans of horror, thrillers, and cinema in general.”

toonz.co | robotplaygroundmedia.com