Directors Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol have a unique approach to storytelling, one that embraces a decidedly noir aesthetic brought to life through bold color palettes and an animation style that pays homage to Impressionist painters. Their signature style was on display in the Oscar-nominated 2010 film A Cat in Paris, which lost out to Rango. A few years later, the directing team is now back with their new feature: Phantom Boy.
This story captures the same energy and emotion that Felicioli and Gagnol have become known for; it centers on Leo, a boy with a mysterious illness that allows him to travel out of his body as an incorporeal phantom. Though that plot sounds rather superheroic (and it is), the core of the story centers on Leo's relationship with an injured New York City cop and their attempts to keep the city from falling into the hands of a nefarious gangster. Featuring the voices of Edouard Baer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Audrey Tautou, Phantom Boy opens in the U.S. on July 15th.
Check out the new trailer below (via The Film Stage):
Here's the official synopsis for Phantom Boy, followed by some images and the film's poster:
GKIDS presents PHANTOM BOY, the stylish new noir caper from the Academy Award-nominated directors of A CAT IN PARIS, set in the shadowy alleyways of New York. In theaters starting July 15, 2016!
Leo has a secret. A mysterious illness has transformed him into a phantom boy, able to leave the confines of his body and explore the city as a ghostly apparition. While in the hospital, he befriends Alex, a New York City cop injured while attempting to capture a nefarious gangster who has taken control of the city’s power supply, throwing the metropolis into chaos. Now they must form an extraordinary duo, using Leo’s phantom powers and Alex’s detective work to foil the plot and save New York from destruction. Phantom Boy continues Gagnol and Felicioli’s fascination with animated film noir, in a heart-thumping adventure that pushes their trademark visual style to literal new heights, as Leo swoops and soars above the greatest skyline in the world.
