Galway producer behind international animation release

An animated film made in Galway that tells a tale about the creatures who get left behind by Noah’s Ark is set to get an international release in cinemas – a rare coup for a homegrown production.

Two by Two was recently picked up by the distributor eOne and will be released in Ireland and the UK this Friday. eOne has also acquired rights for the US and Canada as well as Australia and NZ. It is set for a major release in Germany in July.

Considering most animated blockbusters which get large scale cinema releases cost in the region of €100 million – with that budget spent again for the marketing campaign – Two by Two is punching far above its €8m budget.

Given the American accents adopted by the characters, it is not immediately apparent that the film has a huge Galway connection. It was developed and produced by Moe Honan whose company Moetion Films is based in Flood Street in the city.

At one stage all of the writers were living in Galway – Richard Conroy and Mark Hodkinson have since moved on while Marteinn Thorisson, is still based here, as are the animators. It is directed by Sean McCormack and Toby Genkel. The project was supported by the Irish Film Board with partners in Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.

It is the biggest project undertaken by Moe since branching out on her own two years ago. But it has been on the boiler for much longer than that, even before Evan Almighty hit the big screen, starring Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman, and later Noah, with Russell Crowe in the lead role.

“There was something special about this film from day one in terms of script and story. It has lots of heart, lots of fun. The special ingredient when we were pitching it is that it had something that nobody else had seen before in terms of the animals being left behind by the Ark. That gave it an originality that people got very quickly,” she reflects days before it is due to screen in Galway.

“We’re writing about animals but we’re exploring ideas about love and friendship, trust and collaborating, themes around needing to belong and have a sense of belonging, which is something that’s in our minds a lot at the minute with the crisis over the refugees and immigration.”

The film follows the adventures of animals, among them nestrians and grymps, some of whom have to sneak on board as they are not on the list for the Ark. No sooner has the Ark set sail, youngsters Finny and his new friend Leah fall overboard. The pair must learn to work together to survive while their parents must set aside their differences to rescue the kids.

The characters feature the voices of Tara Flynn, Paul Tylak, Alan Stanford, Chris Evans, Dermot Magennis, Aileen Mythen, and Patrick Fitsymons.

Moe, a native of Ennis, first dipped her toe in the media waters working part time in Galway Bay FM before working in TV and film documentaries. She moved into post production and voice directing before concentrating on production in Magma Films, where she worked

On leaving she freelanced for three years before setting up Moetion Films which produces and develops animated feature films and TV series.

“Having your own company brings its own challenges – the buck stops with you but it allows you more independence over what you choose to do. As a producer you manage people, you’re responsible for delivering the project, in terms of quality, on time and on budget, you take on the role of finding the finance as well as finding the creative talent.”

Her focus on animation began with Norman Normal, a series about an ordinary teenager living in a family of superheroes.

She went on to work on successful projects such as the Ugly Duckling And Me, Niko and the Way to the Stars and Niko II.

“I love the flexibility animation allows you for storytelling, you can create things on the screen you may not be allowed to in live action due to budget,” she enthuses.

“It’s such a collaborative medium. You’re working on them a long time – not like in a film, four to six weeks and then it’s done. The production phase on this film was 20 months so it’s essential you are with partners who work well together personally and trust each other. If that relationship is very good, you might go onto another project together.”

Industry screenings have produced overwhelmingly positive feedback about Two by Two.

“Some of the buyers were saying it was a studio quality movie, which is praise indeed. I was at one of the promo screenings for families and the kids really loved it – as did the parents, which is important because they’re buying the tickets,” she enthuses.