''Strange Frame: Love & Sax'' (often referred to as simply ''Strange Frame'') is a 2012 American
romantic science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
comedy-drama film directed by G. B. Hajim and written by
G.B. Hajim
Geoffrey B. Hajim (born February 25, 1966) is a producer, director, writer, and visual artist who resides in Hilo, Hawaii. He has been involved in over 250 projects ranging from television commercials to the first feature film to be produced in th ...
and Shelley Doty.
Created using
cutout animation
Cutout animation is a form of stop-motion animation using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or photographs. The props would be cut out and used as puppets for stop motion. The world's e ...
, the film was slated as the world's first
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 ani ...
lesbian-themed sci-fi film.
It stars an
ensemble voice cast, led by
Claudia Black
Claudia Lee Black (born 11 October 1972) is an Australian actress, best known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in ''Farscape'', Vala Mal Doran in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Sharon "Shazza" Montgomery in the film '' Pitch Black''. She has had promin ...
,
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...
and
Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
, and features ''
Firefly'' alums
Ron Glass
Ronald Earle Glass (July 10, 1945 – November 25, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as literary Det. Ron Harris in the television sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982), and as the spiritual shepherd, Shepherd Book, in the ...
(in his final film role) and
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004 ...
.
Clips debuted at the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
Bent-Con on December 3, 2011
and the completed film premiered in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on May 3, 2012.
Plot
Set at the end of the 28th century, the human race has long since abandoned a desolate earth, colonizing Jupiter's moons, particularly
Ganymede. Most of the refugees fleeing earth did so in exchange for an agreement of
indentured servitude, projected to last "at most" one or two generations. However, this proved untrue, and by the 28th century a large portion of the population are in permanent
debt bondage from birth. Naia (
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...
) is one such debt slave, genetically modified to have enhanced lung capacity in order to survive harsher work environments.
During a protest riot, Naia is freed with many other debt slaves from a holding cell on Ganymede. As she flees she encounters Parker (
Claudia Black
Claudia Lee Black (born 11 October 1972) is an Australian actress, best known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in ''Farscape'', Vala Mal Doran in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Sharon "Shazza" Montgomery in the film '' Pitch Black''. She has had promin ...
), a street saxophone performer being set upon by city police who incorrectly believe she is part of the riots. Naia saves Parker from a beating, with Parker later returning the favor. The two ultimately escape and quickly find themselves becoming attracted to each other, and soon after are in a romantic relationship and are living together.
Both musicians, Naia and Parker begin composing music together, Parker's saxophone complementing Naia's guitar and singing. The two join with friends Chat (
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004 ...
) and Atem (
Khary Payton
Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera ''General Hospital'', as well as voicing Cyborg across va ...
) and form a band, quickly rising in popularity and notoriety owing to Naia's passionate, anti-debt slavery lyrics. This soon attracts the attention of Ganymede "starmaker" Dorlan Mig (
Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
), who invites Parker and Naia to a party at a high-class club where he can discuss signing the band to his company. At the party both Naia and Parker indulge in several exotic treats, culminating in a rare vintage alcohol which renders both of them unconscious.
Parker awakes in an alley in Ganymede's slums and soon discovers that Naia and the rest of the band have been signed without her. She tries to make contact with Naia several times, only to be dissuaded (often violently) by the rising star's bouncers, who inform her that Naia does not want to see her anymore. Heartbroken, Parker spends weeks lurking near Naia's studio. She soon finds herself needing to leave the area after district police label her a troublemaker. She finds a sympathetic ear in Captain Philo D Grenman (
Ron Glass
Ronald Earle Glass (July 10, 1945 – November 25, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as literary Det. Ron Harris in the television sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982), and as the spiritual shepherd, Shepherd Book, in the ...
), a hoverchair-bound double amputee who buys her breakfast one morning. After hearing her story, Philo offers Parker a home on his non-operational spaceship; Parker accepts, and soon settles in with Philo and his first officer Reesa (
Cree Summer), the only other person on the ship.
Weeks pass, Parker tracking Naia's progress via news feeds. After seeing reports of a number of troubling incidents - Atem dying in a mysterious shuttle crash, Chat leaving the band due to a previously unknown drug addiction, and another talent signed to Dorlan's company dying just as her popularity peaked - Parker realizes that Dorlan is going to have Naia killed in order to maximize the popularity of her music. She strikes a deal with Philo and Reesa: if she buys them the last part needed to make the ship operational, using money from selling her antique saxophone, Philo and Reesa will help her recover Naia before she can be killed. Parker makes her way to a massive Naia concert, but after listening to her unemotional performance she realizes that the Naia on stage is actually an android duplicate, meaning the real Naia is being held somewhere else. She, Philo, and Reesa update their plans.
Parker infiltrates the fake Naia's luxury apartment, with friends of hers providing a distraction. She confronts the fake Naia, incapacitates her, then grabs her. When security forces arrive Parker flees down the side of the building on Philo's loaned hoverchair, accidentally dropping the Naia android in the process. Though damaged, Parker recovers it and is soon picked up by Philo, who has stolen Dorlan's car. Philo flees from the police while Parker searches the android's databanks for Naia's location, eventually finding it. Successfully evading the police, Philo and Parker find the lab where Naia has been held, being used as a template to better enhance the Naia android's behavior. Naia is near death but alive; Parker rescues her, leaving the android in her place and setting the lab on fire.
Naia is placed in a medical treatment device on Philo's ship, Parker unsure if she will survive. The destroyed lab is investigated; finding remains which seem to match Naia, the authorities declare Naia dead. Dorlan is soon arrested for his presumed involvement in the lab and Naia's death, especially since his car was found just outside. After some time, Naia finally awakes on the ship, greeting Parker lovingly.
Cast
*
Claudia Black
Claudia Lee Black (born 11 October 1972) is an Australian actress, best known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in ''Farscape'', Vala Mal Doran in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Sharon "Shazza" Montgomery in the film '' Pitch Black''. She has had promin ...
as Parker C. Boyd
*
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...
as Naia X.
*
Ron Glass
Ronald Earle Glass (July 10, 1945 – November 25, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as literary Det. Ron Harris in the television sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982), and as the spiritual shepherd, Shepherd Book, in the ...
as Philo D. Grenman
*
Cree Summer as Reesa Abi Kiran Ariana Livingston III
*
Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
as Dorlan Mig
*
Juliet Landau
Juliet Rose Landau is an American actress, director, producer, and ballerina best known for her role as Drusilla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and its spinoff show ''Angel'', the latter appearance earning her a Saturn Award nomination. Sh ...
as Bitsea
*
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004 ...
as Chat
*
George Takei
George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...
as Tamadamsa
*
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon Worf in the '' Star Trek'' franchise. He has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other ''Star Trek'' actor in the franchise's hist ...
as Guardship Commander
*
Claudia Christian
Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan August 10, 1965) is an American actress, singer and author, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on '' Babylon 5'', as Captain Maynard on Fox's ''9-1-1'', and as the voice of Hera on the N ...
as Zev
*
Lena Horne as Ethel Andrews (archive footage)
*
Dawnn Lewis
Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...
as Malora
*
Vanessa Marshall
Vanessa Marshall (born October 19, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American voice and television actress who is most active in films, cartoons and video games. She is the daughter of actress Joan Van Ark and reporter John Marshall.
...
as Chandra Childs
*
Khary Payton
Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera ''General Hospital'', as well as voicing Cyborg across va ...
as Atem
*
April Winchell as Pawnbroker
*
Dave Fennoy
Dave Fennoy is an American voice actor. His video game roles have included Lee Everett in '' The Walking Dead'', Bluebeard in '' The Wolf Among Us'', Finch in '' Tales from the Borderlands'', Gabriel the Warrior in '' Minecraft: Story Mode'', a ...
as News Anchor
Production
Background
The project began in 1999 when G. B. Hajim and Shelley Doty decided to collaborate on a project using their individual talents and their passion for
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
, especially that of
John Varley and
Shinichiro Watanabe. They agreed that some of the
protagonists
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
had to be
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
,
bisexual,
transsexual
Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignmen ...
and
omnisexual
, meaning "all"
, definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender
, classification = Sexual identity
, parent = Bisexuality
, synonyms =
, associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofle ...
. All had to be of color because they believed that not too long from now everyone would be of color. They also were clear that the issue of race and sex would be non-issues in the setting of the 29th century.
[
They began with creating a backstory and television series done in Hajim's unique ]cutout animation
Cutout animation is a form of stop-motion animation using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or photographs. The props would be cut out and used as puppets for stop motion. The world's e ...
style, and began marketing the film. In 2001, MTV made an offer to finance the film, which included MTV owning all copyrights to the project including ancillary rights. In 2002, Doty and Hajim sketched out the arc for a tetralogy
A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- '' tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedie ...
and wrote the screenplay ''Strange Frame: Love & Sax'' that was planned as the first installment in what they anticipated would become a series.[
]
Pre-production
In fall 2004, pre-production began. Hajim had an offer to produce the film overseas, but was committed to enriching life in his local community. Hajim resides in East Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
, which is one of the most economically depressed parts of the state. He went to the local high schools and colleges to find talented youth to train for this project. From a pool of applicants, he trained fourteen artists ages ranging from 13 to 23 in computer art and animation. They recorded the initial dialog at Palm Records
Palm Records (short for ''Productions Artistiques Littéraires et Musicales'') was a French jazz record label founded by Jef Gilson in the early 1970s.
Discography
*PALM 1: Gilson Malagasy 1972
*PALM 2: Jef Gilson / Jean-Charles Capon / Gilbe ...
on the island just a month before the sound engineer and owner, Charles Brotman, won a Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
.[
Part of the decision to go with cutout style instead of CG was one of creating a sustainable industry in East Hawaii. CG is being done all over the globe, with most productions doing their animation work in Asia. By working in a medium that is fringe and hard to reproduce, ''Strange Frame'' led to a unique production pipeline that was not found anywhere else.]
Production
In 2005, pre-production was completed and actual animation of the feature began. Each semester, high school students joined the team through the Hui'ana Mentorship Program sponsored by the Hawaii State Department of Education
The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) is a statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, but i ...
. Over forty interns trained at the small building which held the production facility. Hajim continued to reach out to the different schools around the state to find talent that might otherwise have left for the mainland or, worse, not find a home for their abilities.
In 2008, Academy Award-winning mixer Gary Rizzo of Skywalker Sound
Skywalker Sound is the sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of Lucasfilm. Founded in 1975, the company's main facilities are located at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in Lucas Valley, near Nicas ...
joined the team vowing to create the surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to s ...
experience. In 2011, Rizzo completed the sound mix and ''Strange Frame'' was briefly repped by Jeff Dowd aka the Dude.
Release
Clips of ''Strange Frame'' had debut screening in Los Angeles at Bent-Con on December 3, 2011.[ The film premiered at ]Sci-Fi-London
Sci-Fi-London (stylised as SCI-FI-LONDON), also known as The London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film or simply SFL, is an annual United Kingdom-based film festival dedicated to the science fiction and fantasy genres. ...
on May 3, 2012.
Critical response
Shelagh Rowan-Legg from Twitch Film
Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...
was at the premiere and had this to say, "...it is so refreshing to see a film as unique, original and enjoyable as Strange Frame...Strange Frame is a rare film: inspiration by other forms is noticeable, but it is not merely repetition or homage. It is a dreamscape, one that does not shy aware from the ugly, yet celebrates the beautiful."
The judges at Dragon*Con
Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American List of multigenre conventions, multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia ...
2012 named ''Strange Frame'' Best Feature Film.
Danielle Riendeau at AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifes ...
called ''Strange Frame'' "the trippiest lesbian movie ever made....If ever you wondered what a truly unhinged mash-up of the dominant production styles of '' Heavy Metal'', '' Barbarella'' and ''Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
'' would look like, here’s your chance."
In 2013, ''Strange Frame'' won Best Animated Feature at the Big Island Film Festival.
The Weirdcademy Awards bestowed ''Strange Frame'' with both the award of Weirdest Movie of 2013 and Weirdest Actress Award to Claudia Black for her voiceover performance as saxophonist Parker.
See also
*List of animated feature-length films
These lists of animated feature films compiles animated feature films from around the world and is organized alphabetically under the year of release (the year the completed film was first released to the public). Theatrical releases as well as ...
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0969345
Quiet Earth Article about Sci-Fi London
2012 films
2012 animated films
2010s science fiction films
American animated science fiction films
American LGBT-related films
2010s English-language films
Lesbian-related films
Cutout animation films
2012 LGBT-related films
LGBT-related science fiction films
LGBT-related animated films
2010s American animated films