Glendale, Calif. - Sausage Party, an animated short written and directed by Darin McGowan, made its world premiere at the Illinois International Film Festival at the historic Arcadia Theater in St. Charles, Ill. The film is produced by Renegade Animation.
Sausage Party tells the ironic story of an optimistic pig who happily reflects on his life and his future—without knowing he’s next on the chopping block.
“It’s Pollyanna in a slaughterhouse,” McGowan admits proudly. The film was produced at Renegade’s Glendale studio in less than a month by a small team of animators using Flash technology and the company’s proprietary “paperless” animation pipeline.
Sausage Party is the first project for Renegade Animation’s recently launched development department whose aim is to develop original content based on the company’s internal talent and unique production methodology.
Renegade plans to develop Sausage Party as a series for television or the Internet. It is developing several other projects for theatrical, television, home theater, and Internet release. Additionally, it is developing an animated “mobisode” series intended for distribution via cell phones.
Although McGowan has been an animation director and writer for years, Sausage Party marks his big screen debut. His previous credits include several episodes of the Cartoon Network series Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi (via Renegade). He has also had several projects optioned by Disney, Warner Bros., and Nickelodeon. He currently serves as Director of Development at Renegade.
Renegade Animation recently completed its first animated feature, Christmas is Here Again, directed by Robert Zappia and featuring the voices of Kathy Bates, Ed Asner, Shirley Jones, Andy Griffith, Norm Macdonald, Brad Garrett, Colin Ford, Daniel Roebuck, Jay Leno, and Madison Davenport. The company is currently producing Mr. Men and Little Misses, based on the popular children’s book series, for Cartoon Network.