Legends in an Unknown World

Lightening Boy Studio’s Created a Debut Animation to Mirror Their Own Dreams, Friendship and Hope

Heavily inspired by the creators’ own personal life stories, Le Gouffre is the epic debut animation from the new Montréal-based creative team, Lightning Boy Studio. It tells the story of two travellers who come across a wide chasm, and resolve to build a bridge to cross it.

‘When the three of us decided that we would quit our jobs and work full-time on this project, it felt a bit crazy and scary, but also very exciting,’ Thomas Chrétien, one of the directors of the film, told us.

‘As we developed the story, it became closer and closer to what we were going through. The values in the film are really our own. They are what we believe in and what we hope to achieve.’

‘Most people will never know the great sacrifices that were required to achieve one’s dream.’

Watch Le Gouffre:

Thomas worked with animation school friends, Carl Beauchmin and David Forest, to direct this animation, which has won several awards, including Harlem International Film Festival 2014, and San Jose International Short Film Festival 2014. Thomas told us more about the alternative world of Le Gouffre:

The Plus: What were your initial intentions for the film?
Thomas Chrétien: We think animation is an amazing medium that can be used to tell any type of story. It’s disappointing that most animation movies are targeted to children when there is so much potential to do more. We wanted our film to be mature, yet enjoyable for all ages.

TP: Could you tell us about the world the story takes place in?
TC: The world seen in ‘Le Gouffre’ was left vague on purpose. We decided to go with a ‘timeless’ approach, since we wanted the story to be told as some sort of legend. We avoided anything too modern on the characters’ clothes like zippers or logos, and we gave the gun an old design.

TP: What were the main challenges you came across?
TC: We had to be creative and find ways to make the movie on a limited budget. In the end, ‘Le Gouffre’ took two years to complete instead of one, but thanks to the people who supported our Kickstarter campaign, we could finish the project without too much debt.

TP: What will your next project be about?
TC: With our first film, we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could do a mature, serious and touching story that could resonate with people. We are now ready for a change of pace. Our next project will be filled with humour, will have dialogues and will be way longer. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on for the past few months!