Lackadaisy

The animation, the visual arts, the characters, voice acting, and sound design were absolutely outstanding. Rocky's mentality, sense of humour, and charisma throughout the show was the best character build I've seen. Modercai was the second best character in the screen. Probably the best antagonist I've seen in the show. The way he speaks and how he handles the situation and the way he talks was absolutely incredible. However, there are minor issues on their facial drawing in some frames, but in spite of that, it is better than any 2D animation I've seen in any cartoon movies or show. I'm looking forward to see more of this beautiful art and it even encouraged me to read its comic!

After years of suffering through the curse of Calarts animation and reboot after reboot, this was a breath of fresh air. The animation was like we use to expect from the big studios. I loved the small details that gave the world a sense of weight and presence. It is even more amazing when you consider the fact that this extraordinary pilot was made remotely and using non studio super computers. The computer truly is the great equalizer. We could be seeing a new age of small studio production!

I will not spoil the experience, but I will say that as a historic period piece buff I really enjoyed Lackadaisy. This story deserves to be green lit for a whole series and it should be given an award. If you like animation, cats, and the roaring 20's, it is a must watch.

In the mid 2000s, indie artist Tracy J. Butler created her own webcomic series known as Lackadaisy, a prohibition themed action comedy centered on anthropomorphic felines. Following solid success in the comic scene, Iron Circus Animation launched a glowing Kickstarter campaign to produce a cartoon pilot for a potential animated series adaptation. Co-written by Butler herself and released last month, the short film was released to huge responses from the public and it's safe to assume that as long as the love keeps growing, there will be a strong possibility for more adventures to come.

Set in St. Louis, Missouri in 1927, the film focuses on the rivalry between two bootlegging groups of cats who are trying to smuggle alcohol during Prohibition: the Lackadaisy speakeasy and Marigold gang. With the premise of a bitter feud occurring between two separate parties, Lackadaisy seamlessly establishes the stakes thanks to its simple yet charming set of characters. With the overly confident leader Rocky standing beside the timid albeit well intentioned sibling duo of Calvin and Ivy Pepper, one can feel the chemistry practically writing itself, partially thanks to the talents of voice actors Michael Kovach, Belsheber Rusape and Lisa Reimold. In contrast to the gang's hysterical banter, the serious threats from the Marigold Gang member Mordecai Heller and his bumbling sidekicks make for a lot of genuine intensity needed for the impoverished landscape set in stone. One can tell how bad things are going in St. Louis from how poorly run down the Lackadaisy speakeasy appears to be, and it looks as if the world could be further expanded if the filmmakers get the chance to do so.

Speaking of the world, if anyone deserves the most credit for bringing Butler's comic into the world of animation, it's hands down the team of over 160 artists. Considering the crew behind this worked on the feature across the world, the entire film miraculously looks as if it was all done in one house studio. On top of the character designs resembling the exaggerated qualities of a hand-drawn Disney film and the works of Don Bluth, the character animation appears to be a smooth blend of motion tweening and frame by frame work that suits the gritty art direction. In addition to the strong vocal cast and breathtaking action sequences, the animators were able to create some highly expressive acting in each given scene, further highlighted by a lot of impressive special effects compositing. No matter how sporadic certain moments in the film become, director and primary editor Fable Siegel makes sure to respect the viewer's lenses through clarity and precise focal points. It helps to allow the more slow paced dramatic scenes time to breathe in this near half hour effort.

So regardless of what happens to Iron Circus Animation's attempt at a Lackadaisy cartoon, there is no denying how much love and passion was put into it. While it is a little early to judge the work on its full merits beyond what we have gotten so far, anyone wishing to see fresh new material in the indie animation market should absolutely give this short film at least one watch to show any kind of support. Only time will tell if Tracy J. Butler's work will inspire both a potential series and more creatively driven content yet to come, but what we got for now is a nice appetizer in itself.

I can love anime characters and even specially this style of character designs. Brilliant 👏🏼 👏🏼 What I would love more in animal base characters in a funky animation style like this💗💓💗💗💗💗💗💗 if was rich enough I would be happyly fund it.

Hands down too the team for this new style of brilliant, I'm for going on but the stupid required isn't letting me go in peace, all I can say this style of art style is something not too forget.

A must watch for animation lovers, I think if this is more successful it should get dubbed in Japanese too start a Japanese fan base, this something new for the animation world.

This is...entirely beautiful The animation style is intriguing from beginning to end. The characters are easy to get invested in, and you'll root for them all till the end. The plot is simple, but every cat has their own motivation, and I don't feel that I have the words to describe how wonderful this is.

The music is top notch. I can't emphasize this enough. "Sunset Rose Cocktail?" The atmosphere is perfect. Every second of this is magical. The hand-made feeling of the animation makes the show come to life.

In the recent wave of animation being cancelled, one can only hope that if a masterpiece such as this continues, it'll inspire people. You should watch this immediately.

In conclusion? Incrediblie.