Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1493292
CAUSE AND EFFECT Scavengers Reign A human crew is stranded on a distant planet and must create a sustainable life where they can survive until their return home. Judging by some of the landscapes and lifeforms these humans encounter in the teaser for Scavengers Reign, this directive will be easier said than done. With the show due to premiere later in 2023, Scavengers Reign Co-creators and Executive Producers Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner have limited plot details they're able to share about the series. The foundation of the show is the organisms that live on the planet and their symbiotic relationships. "[It's about] the process by which these things kind of live and thrive and how the characters are dealing with that," says Bennett. "That's more the focus than the ships and the technology. I was really into the idea of a Rube Goldberg process, like a sort of cause and effect, and to just see where it leads." This is in keeping with the sci-fi animation trend that emphasizes humanity over high-tech. The show also reflects the growing acceptance of once-marginalized styles. With their flat colors and deceptively simple graphic style, the visuals draw comparisons to the work of Japanese artists Hayao Miyazaki and Katsuhiro Otomo. The co-creators acknowledge their nod to anime, as well as French animation, and say that the post-apocalyptic manga series Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (later a 1984 film) was another huge influence. That said, the series' feels original, managing a look that can be dark and hopeful at the same time. There is a lot of attention given to the textures of elements such as trees or metal walls, which Bennet says are then used to "build the logic of the ecosystem." Scavengers Reign images courtesy of HBO Max and Titmouse Inc. A person reaching for salvation hints at the themes that Scavengers Reign will explore. F E AT U R E 28 KEYFRAME