''Moongirl'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

produced in 2005 by

Laika Laika (russian: link=no, Лайка; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecra ...

. It was written and directed by

Henry Selick Charles Henry Selick Jr. (; born November 30, 1952) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, production designer, and animator who is best known for directing the stop-motion animation films ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

and features a score by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

. It is the first film, and currently the only short film, as well as the only non-stop-motion film, produced by the company.

Plot

Leon, a youthful boy is out fishing at night when the Moon goes dark. He is magically transported to the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, where he meets Moongirl, whom he helps try to fix the Moon.

Cast

* Avrielle Corti as Lorelei/Moongirl *

Zack Shada Zachary David Shada (born November 25, 1992) is an American actor, producer and director. Life and career Shada was born in Boise, Idaho. His brothers are actors Josh and Jeremy Shada. He appeared as Thin Boy in '' Charlie's Angels: Full Thrott ...

as Leon/Moonboy *

as Gargaloons

Production

The film came about after Laika held a contest for a short film idea. CG modeler Michael Berger's idea of a girl who controls the moon was chosen, and Selick was hired to develop the short. Selick brought on

to do the score after connecting with them through Courtney Booker, who worked on the music video for "Bastard Wants to Hit Me". In May 2004, Laika president

Travis Knight Travis Andrew Knight (born September 13, 1973) is an American animator, producer, director, and former rapper who has worked as the lead animator and current CEO for the stop-motion animation studio Laika, and directed the films ''Kubo and the Tw ...

's brother, Matthew, died suddenly, and the film was dedicated to his memory.

Release

The film premiered at the

Ottawa International Film Festival The Ottawa International Film Festival (OIFF) was an Ottawa-based, publicly attended film festival that held its first annual competition in 2010. The festival ran annually for three days. The festival screened shorts and feature-length films of ...

on September 24, 2005. The film was also shown with October 2005 screenings of Selick's previous work ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick (in his feature directorial debut) and produced and ...

'' at

El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as th ...

. The film was adapted into a

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

which was written by Selick and illustrated by Peter Chan and Courtney Booker. The book, which was released on September 12, 2006, included a DVD copy of the film.

Accolades

The film has won awards at multiple film festivals, including the Short Film Special Jury Prize at the

, the Grand Owl Award, Best Animation at the Fantasy Worldwide International Film Festival, Best Animated Short at the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival, Best Animated Film at Memphis International Film Festival and Best Animated Film at San Fernando Valley International Film Festival.

References

External links

* {{Laika (company) 2000s American animated films 2005 animated short films 2005 fantasy films 2005 films American children's animated fantasy films Films directed by Henry Selick Focus Features animated films Laika (company) animated films Films set on the Moon Stop-motion animated short films They Might Be Giants 2000s English-language films