Independent director Alex Ferrari’s long gestating live action Red Princess Blues looks to be on the right track if the animated prequel Red Princess Blues: Animated is any indication. Inheriting the dark, ominous style infused in previous works like Cyn and BROKEN, and a story that seems to impose more questions than answers in the outset, there’s a lot to like here, albeit based on seven and a half minutes of animated footage.

 

Based on the feature film, the animated prequel tells the story of Princess (The Shield’s Paula Garces) and her search for her father, only to be told he’s been dead of years and a long time friend with a penchant for hiding guns in books has been assigned to care for her. The short ends right where you would expect the feature to begin with the thought of violence brewing within the Princess and the adventure just beginning.

 

The story is told via voice over with a blending of 2D and 3D animation with an almost Max Payne-like film noir style to it that provides an interesting viewing experience, different from how one would interpret most animation features. The animation is beautiful and the attention to detail subtle, yet still apparent. The combination of animation dimensions also propels the short into the same category as Futurama in effectively blending the two styles to create a name for itself in a very crowded field. The distinctly Americanized-anime style also provides the sense you are watching a Japanese born epic wonderfully translated for western audiences.

 

As stated though, the shortness of the feature limits how much you can say about the planned live action feature length presentation, but there’s great promise here if the final script can be fleshed out enough to separate it from similarly styled strong female lead revenge/violence works like Kill Bill, Resident Evil, Underworld, et. al. However, based on Ferrari’s other works, there’s little doubt Red Princess Blues will bring a lot of healthy violence, gun play, and story intrigue to the big screen soon.

For more on Red Princess Blues check out the official site at www.redprincessblues.com