EXCLUSIVE: Mel Brooks and a storied group of animation creatives are combining on a short about the creator’s experience overcoming depression, with sales launching at MIPCOM.
Brooks and Spencer Grammer (Rick and Morty) will lead the voice cast of Enormous, which is inspired by Stephen Kramer Glickman‘s personal journey battling depression with the help of his dog’s love. Airing next summer, the film follows Stephen, a man devastated after a breakup with his girlfriend, as he sinks into depression with only his pug, Jelly Donut, to keep him company in his empty house. In a story twist, Jelly Donut finds an unexpected way to help him rediscover joy and begin to care for himself again.
Brooks’ upcoming projects include fantasy animation The Land of Sometimes opposite Ewan McGregor and Helena Bonham Carter, while Judd Apatow is making a documentary series about the 98-year-old for HBO.
Alongside Kramer Glickman, who created Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush, the creative team behind Enormous includes director Doug Sweetland (Toy Story, Cars, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo), producer Jackson Lewis (Lego Ninjago, Lego Batman, Storks), art director Sylvain Deboissy (A Goofy Movie, Spirit, Surf’s Up, How to Train Your Dragon), editor Chris Cartagena (Happy Feet, Storks, Space Jam: A New Legacy) and director of photography Cortney Armitage (Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille).
Cookbook Media’s Claudia Scott-Hansen will EP and represent the team with a strategic distribution partnership, as she introduces the short at next week’s MIPCOM.
Kramer Glickman said: “I am extremely grateful to the icon that is Mel Brooks and to all of my talented colleagues who have come together to help make this passion project of mine a reality. I hope this little film with a huge heart inspires many who are going through life’s challenges to find joy again.”
The film is executive produced by Kramer Glickman, Scott-Hansen, Sweetland, Kevin Salter, Carlos Gaxiola, Vikas Kumar, Alexandra Rosenberg, VP of Digitoonz Production, and Maontosh Kumar, Head of Digitoonz Production. Demente Animation Studio is handling pre-production.