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Cartuna and Irony Point have acquired the North American distribution rights to Julian Glander’s feature debut, “Boys Go to Jupiter.” The animated feature bowed at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.

Cartuna and Irony Point plan to release the film theatrically, kicking off Aug. 8 at New Your City’s IFC Center, followed by an Aug. 15 bow at the Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles and rollout nationally.

Glander’s “Boys Go to Jupiter” is described as a surreal coming-of-age story set in suburban Florida. The film follows Billy 5000, a teenage delivery driver who stumbles into a cosmic mystery after a routine gig leaves him caretaker of a mysterious alien egg.

The voice cast includes Janeane Garofalo, Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman, Cole Escola, Eva Victor, Elsie Fisher, Tavi Gevinson, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, Jack Corbett and Joe Pera.

The film was produced by Glander under his Pittsburgh-based studio, Glanderco, with Peisin Yang Lazo serving as executive producer.

To say Boys Go To Jupiter is visually stunning is an understatement in Julian Glander’s feature debut that is layered with intricate details and an all too familiar story that is a touch psychedelic.

From the offset you are instantly grabbed by the vibrant stylised animation that feels very unique, something different to what we’ve seen in recent years that makes you take notice. The colour palette is striking and reminiscent of how Wes Anderson uses this tool in his movies.

It almost in a way has shades of the claymation of Wallace & Gromit in a world that is realistic yet at the same time something we perhaps see in video games. Billy and his friends Freckles (Grace Kuhlenschmidt), Beatbox (Elsie Fisher) and Peanut (J.R Phillips) look fully realised and not simply bog standard CG on a screen.

The level of detail is remarkable from the shading in scenes,...

If you ask Hollywood, teenage life is mostly about acquiring the right fabulous wardrobe, becoming brilliant at sports, going on adventures in a car, going to pool parties and prom, and falling in love with somebody whose presence on one’s arm attracts the envy of others. This may sound like fun, but it’s on a different planet from the more common teenage experience of sitting about in the middle of nowhere wishing that there was anything at all to do. Julian Glander’s meandering animated fable follows a group of kids in suburban Florida for whom genetic engineering, alien visitors, bizarre local legends about pacts with dolphins, and the death throes of late stage capitalism are all much of a muchness, the backdrop to a slow process of growing up and growing apart.

Animated using free software Blender (the same package behind Oscar winning fable Flow), Boys Go To Jupiter,...

Boys Go To Jupiter

Julian Glander is an artist, illustrator and animator who has never stopped short of pursuing his distinctive vision. He is perhaps best known for the cult video game Art Sqool, but he’s also laid down a lot of short work as a director, working for the likes of Disney, Adult Swim and the Cartoon Network. Now he’s making his first venture into feature-length film with Boys Go To Jupiter. It’s screening as part of the Glasgow Film Festival, and it’s a peculiar little fable with a look that is all it’s own. There’s really nothing else like it on the festival circuit. I ask Julian why he chose to take on a feature at this point in his life, and why this was the story to do it with.

“I was at South by Southwest a number of years ago...

Better Man, the biopic about British pop star Robbie Williams, has been absolutely delighting the critics. The film, in which the singer is portrayed as a CGI chimpanzee, currently holds a 92% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 77 reviews. That's significantly better than another big musical biopic released the same day, A Complete Unknown, which only has a 79% approval rating among critics. Better Man has quickly become one of the most acclaimed music biopics of all time. Just compare it to the scores of recent music biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody (60%), Rocketman (89%), Elvis (77%), Back to Black (35%), and many others, and it's clear that Better Man is, well, better. It helps that it's helmed by the director of The Greatest Showman.

If you're unfamiliar with Robbie Williams, that's surprising, but he's most famous in the United Kingdom. After his time in the band Take That, he went on to become one of...

The Animation Is Film Festival returns to Los Angeles for its 7th edition of theatrical presentations, special events and shorts showcases, taking place Oct. 18-20 at the Tcl Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

The festival’s opening night begins Friday, Oct. 18, with the North American premiere of the vibrant and musically driven feature film by critically acclaimed Japanese director Naoko Yamada (“A Silent Voice”), “The Colors Within,” from groundbreaking Japanese animation studio Science Saru and distributed in the U.S. by Gkids. The Centerpiece on Saturday, Oct. 19, features the North American premiere of Warner Bros. Animation’s “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,” which TheWrap saw earlier this year at Annecy and loved. Aif closes its annual event with the Los Angeles premiere of IFC Films’ “Memoir of a Snail” from acclaimed director Adam Elliot, who won this year’s Cristal Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The seventh Animation Is Film Festival (Aif) will open October 18 at the Tcl Chinese Theatres in Hollywood with the North American premiere of “The Colors Within,” the acclaimed anime from director Naoko Yamada (“A Silent Voice”), Japanese animation studio Science Saru, and distributor GKids. The prestigious festival (which runs through October 20) is produced by GKids in partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and is considered an Oscar predictor.

“The Colors Within,” which had its world premiere this year at Annecy, concerns a high school student who forms a band with the ability to see the “colors” of others.

The centerpiece on October 19 will be the North American premiere of Warner Bros. Animation’s “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” from award-winning director Pete Browngardt (“Looney Tunes Cartoons”) and distributed in the U.S. by Ketchup Entertainment, which acquired it from Warner Bros. Daffy Duck...

A hilarious and unpredictable coming-of-age story in Florida explores income inequality and alienation through wacky characters and catchy tunes. Billy navigates bizarre encounters as a Grubster delivery worker, grappling with the fine line between dignity and a living wage. Unique animation and music bring to life Boys Go to Jupiter's surreal world of alien encounters, mutated fruits, and the absurdity of suburban Florida.

Art Sqool developer and 3D animator Julian Glander continues to be fabulously innovative in his bonkers feature film debut. Boys Go to Jupiter is a deadpan musical comedy that mocks ambling adolescence, delivery apps, and the entire state of Florida. Wacky characters break into catchy tunes to explain the highs and lows of a bored existence in the land of cheesy theme parks, mutated orange groves, and grumpy retirees. The (quite literally) out-of-this-world plot surprises with a thoughtful discourse on economic inequality. Glander sure says a lot with refreshing creativity.

New York – It’s the middle of the 23rd Tribeca Film Festival and the narrative feature films … with an emphasis on the independent … are in competition. Themes of transition are strong in this year’s line-up, as story tellers have emerged from the pandemic years, and the reflections thereafter.

The 2024 Tribeca Festival, presented by Web3 tech company Okx, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment.

’Adult Best Friends’ at 23rd Tribeca Film Fest

Photo credit: TribecaFilm.com

Capsule Reviews, 2024 Tribeca Film Festival

Adult Best Friends At 32 years old, two female best friends are going in different directions … one toward marriage/domesticity and one desiring to keep the familiar party going. Can there friendship survive?

Capsule Review: This dramatic confrontation is also achingly funny.

Exclusive: Boys Go to Jupiter, the debut feature film from acclaimed indie animator Julian Glander, has finalized its cast ahead of its Tribeca Film Festival premiere in June. Newly added to the lineup are Janeane Garofalo and Demi Adeyujigbe.

The cast also includes Jack Corbett (NPR’s Planet Money TikTok) Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) Tavi Gevinson (Gossip Girl), Julio Torres (Los Espookys), Sarah Sherman (SNL), Joe Pera (Joe Pera Talks With You), Grace Kuhlenschmidt (The Daily Show), Singer-songwriter Miya Folick, as well as comedians Demi Adeyuijigbe, Chris Fleming, Cole Escola, River L. Ramirez, Eva Victor, and Max Wittert.

Boys Go to Jupiter is billed as a surreal animated coming-of-age story, brought to life in Glander’s trademark 3D visual style and sonic palette. The film follows a week in the life of a teenager in suburban Florida as he hustles his way through a series of bizarre gig economy errands.

"Weirdly I just couldn't stop thinking about my job." What do you think about on your day off? Maybe some of these same thoughts? 3D filmmaker / animator Julian Glander has released his new short film online titled Tennis Ball on His Day Off. It's a whimsical, thought-provoking, amusing 2-and-1/2-minute short featuring a tennis ball talking about his (or her) thoughts that come to mind while he's not being a ball on a tennis court. A tennis ball reflects on aging, self-improvement, hustle culture, and his own mortality. Julian adds: "Well I sure do hope u all 'love' watching this short film! Don't worry it's just a tennis joke it'll make more sense after u watch it." Featuring singer Clairo as the voice of the ball, plus Karsten Runquist as Handsome Howie. This would be perfect as a short film opener with Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Enjoy. ›››

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