Bestselling Christian kids books 'Wingfeather Saga' to become animated TV series
The bestselling Wingfeather Saga children’s book series is becoming a fantasy animated series and organizers are raising funds to help bring this Christian series to life.
"VeggieTales" and Dreamworks veteran J. Chris Wall has partnered with Angel Studios to release the project for both parents and their children.
Following in the footsteps of the record-breaking first multi-season series about Jesus, "The Chosen", "Wingfeather Saga" is looking for fans to come on board and invest in the family-friendly animated series.
The cartoon series will be distributed by Angel Studios, a new movie and TV studio platform putting the power of Hollywood into the hands of Americans.
They are hoping to raise a minimum of $1 million and up to $5 million in 28 Days to fund the first season. The money will fund season one, recruiting top animation talent and drawing in a large audience.
"The Wingfeather Saga" is based on the bestselling novels by Andrew Peterson and features "redemptive fantasy, deep magic, loveable characters, family values, and a whimsical sense of humor," the series description reads.
Wall, the showrunner, and his team have enlisted veteran artists from studios such as Pixar, Dreamworks Animation, Disney, Blue Sky and Nickelodeon to help bring the visuals to the screen.
The innovative “hand-painted” CGI animation rendering technique can be seen in the successful crowd-funded pilot episode below.
"We have always hoped for a way to share in the creation of this animated series, and when the partnership with Angel Studios came up, it just felt like exactly the right fit," Wall told The Christian Post. "To have a platform where we can invite our fans to build something together with us is just amazing."
"We love great stories that our whole family can enjoy together," he continued. "Sharing this story of a family struggling to overcome a great evil while also reconciling their own brokenness is something we feel deeply compelled to do."
"The Wingfeather Saga" will allow the creators to stretch their legs and give a "rich experience from these great novels," Wall explained.
"Our hope is for families to have something to look forward to episode after episode as the epic and whimsical story unfolds towards its deeply satisfying conclusion," he added.
Fans of the book series have desired to see the world of Aerwiar come to life visually.
Wall said Peterson, the author of the bestselling book series, has spent significant time in world-building to deepen the experience for readers.
"One of our first experiences in developing the series was a project where we invited other authors to write short stories in the Wingfeather world. They jumped at the chance and found easy connections in the massive world of characters and that resulted in a new book called, Wingfeather Tales," Wall noted. "Our writing team can’t wait to jump in and begin work to build out the full journey of this epic saga."
To date, "The Wingfeather Saga" has received over $550,000 from over 1,200 investors. Those looking to get involved in bringing the wholesome series to life can visit the fundraising website.