In 2013 Athena Studios optioned the children's book Auntie Claus with the idea of creating a stop-motion, musical adventure that taught children about happiness, giving and the magic of Christmas. It was a project that we have been extremely excited about from the first moment it came to us. We brought together an amazing team of people and they worked their magic to bring Sophie and her world to life. It was a story that we felt would resonate with many people and we were overwhelmed by the support during our kickstarter campaign.
We had conversations with major film studios about the project and had lined up an A-list director. Over 50 artists and technicians had come together to create what we felt could have been a charming children's film full of heart and soul.
Unfortunately translating a short children's picture book into a full length feature requires changes to build a larger story and develop deeper character relationships. Athena Studios and the author could not reconcile some of those changes and so, due to creative differences, the Auntie Claus movie project has come to an end.
Athena is currently using some of the various story elements and character designs that were created over the three year period working on Auntie Claus for a new project that we hope to bring to life in the future.