Central Park Media has announced a North American DVD release date for Negadon: The Monster From Mars, the much talked-about, CG-animated Japanese monster movie from writer/director Jun Awazu. The 26-minute flick will get a very limited U.S. theatrical run starting May 9, but most Kaiju and animation fans in the states and Canada will be picking it up on DVD on July 11.
Negadon pays homage to such movie franchises as Godzilla, Mothra and Gamera, Atomic-age creations that helped pave the way for the success of the Japanese animation industry. While Toho Studios used men in rubber suits for its classic creature flicks, Awazu spent three years creating Negadon entirely in CG. He even invented special rendering algorithms to bring an authentic retro look to the film. Makoto Miyahara performed the animation modeling and Kenjiro Kato served as vfx supervisor.
Released theatrically in Japan in October of 2005, Negadon won the Outstanding Production Award at the 20th Digital Contents Grand Prix and was named a Jury Recommended Work at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival.
Read Awazu’s message to North American fans at www.negadonattacks.com/main.html. The site also features a digital positing of our Negadon story that ran in the April issue of Animation Magazine.
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