Imagine Jeffrey Tambor as the voice of God; Steve Coogan, the Devil; and Tyler, the Creator, a cat with a peg leg. As odd or fitting as that sounds, Aaron Augenblick wants that and more to happen in The Adventures of Drunky, his forthcoming R-rated animated feature. In the script, God and the Devil make a cosmic bet that ruins the titular barfly’s (Sam Rockwell) life. It’s then up to Drunky to wind his way through heaven and hell, with a cat, a demon, and hopes of saving his love (Nina Arianda) and the world. Also lending their voices to the film are Dave Attell, John Leguizamo, Abby Elliott, Jon Glaser, Noël Wells, Jay Pharoah, and Larry Murphy, among still others.
The biggest hurdle in making Drunky’s story a reality, as Augenblick notes, is it involves convincing big Hollywood financiers to back a more mature, long-form cartoon. (Not super likely.) As an alternative, the director and founder of Augenblick Studios — the Brooklyn-based indie studio that brings such series as Wonder Showzen, Golan the Insatiable, and The Jellies to life — has turned to Indiegogo to crowdfund the project and prove that the moviegoing public has an appetite for it. Watch the campaign vid below for an amuse-bouche:
“I’m making the biggest bet in my life that there’s an audience for this kind of movie,†Augenblick told io9 on Tuesday. “On television, no one questions when cartoons are for adults, whether it’s Archer or South Park or Adult Swim. It’s just for some reason, the subject matter for feature films is so narrow. Animation has existed for almost as long as live-action films, and in that time, there have been so many live-action genres, while animated movies have generally been 95 percent kids’ movies. But I believe that there’s a new wave of animated features [like Sausage Party and Nerdland] that’s just on the horizon that I’d be happy to be a part of.â€
The Drunky campaign began Tuesday morning, and has an initial target of $100,000 to cover design and thumbnails. (The overall budget will be closer to $2 million, because of storyboards and full animation.) Other important stuff? Backing perks range from coloring books and private screenings to eternal damnation and salvation. For more on the project, coming from Augenblick Studios and Cartuna, head here.