Jonni Phillips
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Jonni C. Phillips, born April 24th 1997, is a cartoonist and animator best known for her work on the animated works Rachel and her Grandfather, Stilton in Charge, Wasteland, and her newest film Barber Westchester.
She's a former animator for Buzzfeed for the animated series Weird Helga and The Good Advice Cupcake[1]
She founded the independent animation studio Herbert Sorbet Studios in January 2021[2], it was founded 2 years after she graduated CalArts[3]
Barber Westchester[edit]
Barber Westchester, starting development in 2017, is a 90 minute film released in, publicly, on January 22, 2022
The film launched on December 12th, 2021 exclusively on her Patreon and it premiered on YouTube on January 22, 2022.
It is also the first production produced by Herbert Sorbet Studios.
Plot[edit]
The film, according to Jonni, is a "semi-horror flick" about a kid, Barber Westchester, who accepts an internship at NASA and learns on their first day of work that NASA is a fraud and that space is fictitious. The movie was supposed to come out in November 2021, however it came out in December 2021.
Secrets and Lies in a Town of Sinners[edit]
The film's setting, characters, and themes will follow up on Jonni's 2019-2020 series Secrets and Lies in a Town of Sinners which was written as a prologue/companion to Barber Westchester. SaLiaToS follows numerous families in the made-up Californian town of Des Amato.
A young, promising astronomer named Barber Westchester tries to survive in their father's outlaw church, The Cult of DACIA, after the death of their sibling Jared.
When Barber accepts an offer to work as an intern for NASA, the series comes to a close.
Production[edit]
While Phillips was a student at CalArts and working on Goodbye Forever Party in 2017, the first concept for the Barber Westchester universe was created. The movie's actual production began in May 2020, following the end of SaLiaToS.[4]
The movie's narrative and the initial production schedule were revealed by Jonni Phillips, on September 19, 2019.
Although the Barber Westchester idea was initially presented to a number of specialised animation networks, including Adult Swim, Phillips hoped to fund the movie exclusively through donations on the financial platform Patreon.
Cast[edit]
- Jonni Phillips - director, writer, voice of Mayor Winsconsin , animator, storyboards, editor
- Dylan Kanner - Music, storyboard assistance
- Emily Martinez - guest animation
- Benni Quintero - guest animation, voice of the NASA guys, storyboard assistance
- Ian Worthington (Worthikids) - guest animation, voice of Bene
- Chris Kim - guest animation, voice of Barber Westchester, storyboard assistance
- Alex Ahr - storyboard assistance
- Jenna Caravello - storyboard assistance
- Isabel Higgins -storyboard assistance
- Lindsey Demars as Margaret
- Sam Lane as Lordland Candlestick
- Yasmeen Abedifard - guest animation
- Mel Murakawa-White - guest animation
- Frankie Tamaru - guest animation, voice of Peter Westchester
- Kelly Ficarra - guest animator
- Victoria Vincent - guest animator, voice of Templeton and Bambino
- Tyrell Soloman - paintings
- Maddie Brewer - additional character animation, singing voice of Mayor Winsconsin
- Sidney Gale - additional character animation, animation assistance
- Zaria Bohanon -additional character design, voice of Silver Lemmings
- Felix Colgrave - voice of Gerard
- Frances Woodard - voice of Jared
- Zach Dorn - voice of Mailman Westchester
- Grace Milk - voice of Dentist Westchester
- Tommy Takezawa - voice of Liverspot
- Parker Davis - voice of Winston
- Sanjna Bharadwaj - voice of Abigail Laternet
- Ratstrid Vermington - voice of Amy Withers
- Max Wilde - voice of Bev
- Dave MH - voice of Reporter
- Jake Ryan - editing and storyboard assistance
- The Florida Museum of Natural History - Parrot Noises
Wasteland[edit]
Wasteland is a five part animated film, released in full on June 5th 2019 on Jonni's YouTube channel[5]
The five separate short films are named, The Earth Is Flat (2016), Goodbye Forever Party (2017), Dr. Sam Mulaney's Burden (2017), We Are All Dying In This Wasteland (2018) and The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascensia (2019).
The Earth Is Flat[edit]
The Earth Is Flat was created in 2016, and is the third shortest films of the five with a runtime of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Jonni says the theme of flat earth was due to "During the pre-production phase I fell upon the "flat eather" community, and was inspired to make a more specific narrative"[6]
The pink puppet was built by Kesiah Manival, the cg flat earth shot at the end was animated by Ben Zell Reicher. VHS conversion help by Cooper Babbes.
The music was composed by Jason Richards.
The version of the film without the VHS transfer was reposted by a Flat Earther YouTube channel that thought it was supposed to be flat earther propaganda, this is one of Jonni's crowning achievements in life
Goodbye Forever Party[edit]
Goodbye Forever Party is one of the longer films in Wasteland.
Plot[edit]
The film revolves around the main character Lilith, Lilith is a performer of a children's show called The Scrumbos.
As the film goes on Lilith begins disassociating more and more often. She goes to see a therapist, who simply tells her to "pray more." Lilith gets her drivers license and changes her name to Nova. She exercises, buys a car, and drives into the wilderness to go hiking. There, she begins to disassociate again and sees The Scrumbos.
The film ends with a section of The Scrumbos going to bed in their own ways. When it comes to Lilith's Scrumbo, her body leaves the costume, similar to a ghost, as she walks out into The Scrumbo sunset.
Cast[edit]
- Lilith Johnson (Played by Aster Pang)
- Mae (Played by Emily Martinez)
- Director Von Soupton (Played by Jonni Phillips)
- Moose God (Played by Victoria Vincent)
- Scrumbos (Played by Kai Lynn Jiang)
- Jared (Played by Noah Malone)
- Mr. Bunny (Played by Lorenzo Frista)
- Scatting Bug (Played by Isabel Higgins)
Animation[edit]
On paper and pencil, the Goodbye Forever Party has been animated. Characters would be separated from their frames but remain registered to the peg bar since the animation would be traditionally done on paper using a pencil (which keeps the frames in place). To provide the scenario "an appearance of depth," multiple layers, backgrounds, and characters would be placed on several panes of glass.
The sound of a brass horn is frequently used in the movie as a crucial motif to portray Lilith experiencing hallucinations.
History[edit]
Jonni began writing Goodbye Forever Party on May of 2016. When she first came up with the idea and it started off as a short comedy project based on her fascination of the cast of the Teletubbies. Over time, she turned it very personal due to the film discussing the negative events that happened in her life. As she continued to write it in November of 2016, it shifted to a film about leaving the past, empathy, and leaving your past behind. The film has many themes of mental illness and attempting to overcome it.[7]
Goodbye Forever Party was screened at Slamdance Film Festival two years after its release.[8]
Dr. Sam Mulaney's Burden[edit]
Dr. Sam Mulaney's Burden is the shortest of the five films and follows Dr. Sam Mulaney and them dealing with the destress they are going through after finding a hotdog inside a patients eye.
Music by Wolf Woodcock[6]
We Are All Dying In The Wasteland[edit]
We Are All Dying In The Wasteland follows Laurence, this is one of the films with lesser know information on it as unlike all the other short films from Wasteland, We Are All Dying In The Wasteland doesn't even have an IMdB page.
The Final Exit of The Disciples of Ascensia[edit]
The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascensia, is the longest out of the five films at 46 minutes long.
The film is about recognizing how cult members feel as they struggle with sadness, the isolation that comes with relationships, PTSD, and moving on with their lives. It depicts Celisse's life when she joins "The Disciples of Ascensia," a UFO cult.
Plot[edit]
The film follows Celisse, whose real name is Amy but is given the name Celisse by the owner of the cult, Ascensia, at the beginning of the film she is living with her roommate Janice. She receives a VHS tape inviting her to join The Disciples of Ascensia.
Celisse decides to join and at the cult Celisse meets Mira and becomes close friends with her.
One day Ascensia announces to the cult that it is time to ascend, everyone takes turns in the yard talking about their feelings about ascending, being recorded for anyone interested after the group ascends. Everyone boards a bus to leave the commune as it goes up in flames.
The bus stops at the gas station and Celisse and Mira hope off to go to the washroom. In the washroom, Mira asks Celisse what she thinks "ascending" actually is. She tells Celisse that nothing Ascensia sense makes any sense, critically, and it's likely that ascending will actually be death. Mira convinces Celisse to leave the group before it's two late. The two exit the gas station as Ascensia notices, and they run away.
Afterwards, Mira tells Celisse that she's called 911 and they'll be picked up in a while and the two sit on a cliffside by the lake. Suddenly, a pink orb arrives from the sky, being ridden by Ascensia and the rest of the Disciples. Ascensia is furious, telling them that the two will face an eternity as servants when they arrive back at their home planet, and Mira and Celisse are picked up by the spaceship. Inside, each of the disciples are being hugged by an alien as Ascensia scolds Mira and Celisse. The spaceship arrives at the planet, and Mira and Celisse begin their lifetime of servitude, creating statues for the aliens, cleaning floors and living in a large jail cell.
Cast[edit]
- Jonni Phillips - writer, animator, story boarder, director, and editor
- Hein Michelle Heo - Voice of Celisse (Amy) , guest animator for Ascensia's dream, and writer for film
- Jenna Caravello - voice of Mira and writer of film
- Charlotte Price - Voice of Ascensia (Gail)
- Victoria Vincent - voice of Delilah and guest animator
- Chris Kim - voice of Narnia
- Isabel Higgins - voice of Janis
- Gary Mairs - voice of Derek
- Sam Gurry - voice of Scrimbles
- Frankie Tamaru - Assistant Animator and guest animator for Sermon #3
- Jeanette Fantone - Assistant Animator and guest animator for Sermon #1
- Misuzu Shibano - Assistant Animator
- Serena Hughes - Assistant Animator
- Worsey- Assistant Animator
- Jake Ryan - Assistant Editor
- Dylan Kanner- Writer and Performer of "Wasteland Ballad"
- Jan Jurchak - Score, Sound Design, and Mixing
- Wolf Woodcock - Score, Additional Instruments, Mixing for Mira's final song
History[edit]
On April 26, 2019, she shared the movie for her Patreon subscribers. On June 1, 2019, the movie premiered on YouTube. After finishing Goodbye Forever Party, Jonni developed an interest in Heaven's Gate, a UFO group notorious for carrying out mass suicides at a home in San Diego.
"When I finished the film, I got really interested in the UFO cult, Heaven’s Gate, an infamous cult that committed mass suicide in a San Diego mansion to ascend to Hale-Bopp comet as it passed overhead in 1997. I found their initiation tapes online, and got really drawn in to the leader, Do, and what he believed. I watched another video of the cult members talking about how excited they were to “go to the next level”, and I saw how happy they were. I empathized with their mindset, and felt like I loved and supported them, even though the whole situation was extremely tragic. I wanted to make a film about empathizing with cult members. My idea was that I would invent my own fictional cult, and portray what the cult believed in, in the film, as the absolute truth, and that they actually did ascend and leave earth. This was the jumping off point, and I started storyboarding and writing. Early on in the writing process, I asked for help from my good friends Jenna Caravello and Haein Michelle Heo, to help me write the film. They were instrumental to getting the film to a point where I was confident with how well it had been thought out." -Jonni Phillips[9]
Soundtrack[edit]
The soundtrack is very abstract, featuring synthy pads and guitar ballads. The soundtrack features musicians Jenna Caravello, Dylan Kanner, Jan Jurchak, and Wolf Woodcock.
Tracklist[edit]
- Jenna Caravello - Hold On, Sailor
- Dylan Kanner - Wasteland Ballad
- Jenna Caravello - On a Day Like This One
- Jan Jurchak - Morning Hike
- Jan Jurchak - Lil P
- Jan Jurchak - The Fire
- Jan Jurchak - Narnia
- Jan Jurchak - Ocean Heartbeat
- Wolf Woodcock - Becoming a Disciple
Stilton[edit]
Stilton is a series on YouTube created by Jonni Phillips and Victoria Vincent. There are currently 5 episodes, the series is based of a pilot Stilton's In Charge.
Episode One[edit]
Episode one was the original pilot.In episode four, we see Z Selton’s history with religion, and why he decided to join the church.
All of Stilton's issues are first introduced in episode one. After graduating from high school, Stilton is thrust into a frantic, perplexing adult world where he struggles to make sense of things. He has a hard time getting a job. Boy Wonder, his best friend, proposes to his girlfriend immediately. His thoughts start to turn to matters beyond his control, such as the existence of a god and the end of the universe.
Episode Two[edit]
Z Selton brings Stilton to church in episode two. It used to be a part of Stilton's life that he didn't question, but now it scares and confuses him. He doubts the existence of god and if god actually cares about him.
Episode Three[edit]
In episode three, Stilton gets a job at the local workplace, gets rid of all the companies debt and then in fired.
Episode Four[edit]
In episode four, we see Z Selton’s history with religion, and why he decided to join the church. We also see his graduation from NYU
Episode Five[edit]
In episode five, Boy Wonder and Death Metal get married. At the eat of the wedding in the parking lot Stilton coughs and Z Selton says "Doctor Time" and takes Stilton to the doctor. In the waiting room of the doctor Stilton thinks about his future, all ending in nightmares.
When he goes into the doctors office the doctor asks him "Rate your lungs from 1/10" and Stilton says 7/10 and the doctor says he's glad he's being honest. Then the doctor asks him if he's sexually active which leaves Stilton in shock. When he returns home he announced that he's vegan now.
He has become Emo Stilton, which has him wearing a hoodie, being a Twitch streamer and hanging out at the Building For Ants
References[edit]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200116202857/https://twitter.com/jonniphillips/status/1199858604284600320
- ↑ https://mobile.twitter.com/HerbertSorbet/status/1347616393835941890
- ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonniphillips
- ↑ Staff, Animation Obsessive. "One Animator's Quest to Make a (Mostly) Solo Feature Film". animationobsessive.substack.com.
- ↑ "Wasteland" – via www.youtube.com.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Wasteland". Jonni Phillips.
- ↑ "Goodbye Forever Party". Jonni Phillips.
- ↑ https://slamdance2019.eventive.org/films/goodbye-forever-party-5c1014dfb19808001cf06ce0
- ↑ https://www.jonniphillips.com/the-final-exit-of-the-disciples-of-ascensia-2019-1
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