Mexican animation studio Anima Studios creates its first VR short, Cantinflas Presents: The Time Machine. It will play during a ride at the Selva Magica Amusement Park in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Anima Studios (Ánima Estudios) is Latin America’s foremost animation house. Now it has made its first foray into virtual reality. The Mexico City-based company has worked with Ventura Entertainment to develop the idea and supervise production of the new VR ride.
German virtual reality ride companies Ambient Entertainment and VR Coaster were also partners on the project.
“As our first virtual reality project, we had the amazing opportunity to work in such a different and powerful medium and explore its many possibilities,” says José C. García de Letona, Anima’s COO. “The whole experience and the trust placed in us by Ventura Entertainment makes us very proud and thankful.”
Cantinflas Presents: The Time Machine is a seven-minute animated VR short. It plays during a new ride at the Selva Magica Amusement Park. The ride takes visitors throughout various periods in Mexico’s history, guided by one of the most beloved and iconic characters of Mexican cinema: Cantinflas.
An international entertainment icon
Cantinflas is the professional name of Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes, generally known as Mario Moreno. He was a Mexican comic actor, producer and screenwriter, dubbed the ‘Charlie Chaplin of Mexico’.
“Cantinflas is an international entertainment icon,” says Fernando De Fuentes, CEO at Anima. “To be able to take him to an animated world inside a VR ride was really enjoyable. We also thank Ventura Entertainment for inviting us to be part of this great project.”
“Working with one of the most important animation studios like Anima, is a privilege,” comments Guido Benassini, Innovation and Development Director at Ventura Entertainment.
Anima Studios was founded in 2002. It is famed for its animated movies Top Cat, Wicked Flying Monkeys and the Legend franchise. Alongside a wide range of television and film credits, it is also the first animation studio in Latin America to produce an original series for Netflix, Legend Quest.
