Blur's Gopher Broke Short Sandwiched With Universal's Magic Roundabout Release

ANIMATION WORLD NETWORK

By Sarah Baisley | Friday, July 22, 2005 at 12:00am

Blur Studio's 2004 Oscar-nominated short film, GOPHER BROKE, will screen before Universal/Pathé's CG-animated feature film, THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT, opening next Friday, Jul. 29, 2005, in more than 2,700 theaters in North America.

GOPHER BROKE, written and directed by Jeff Fowler and exec produced by Blur Studio co-founder Tim Miller will be screened ahead of the feature released by Universal Pictures with a special introduction from Tom Baker. "On the heels of last year's Academy Award nomination, we are delighted that GOPHER BROKE will now be available for national audiences to enjoy", said Miller. "We are pleased to be associated with Universal and have our short film open in front of THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT. It's a great opportunity for Blur".

THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT, based on the 1960s stop-motion children's television series of the same name, features the voices of Bill Nighy, Robbie Williams, Tom Baker, Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley, Lee Evans and Ray Winstone. Led by the candy-loving mutt Dougal (Williams), friends Dylan (Nighy), Brian (Broadbent) and Ermintrude (Lumley) all embark on an epic adventure to save the world. In order to find the diamonds before the evil Zeebad (Baker), they must climb icy mountains, navigate fiery pits of molten lava, sail across vast oceans and pass through a booby-trapped temple guarded by an army of ninja-skeleton warriors. Along the way they learn that the most powerful weapon is their friendship.

GOPHER BROKE is in development as a full-length feature film, expanding the endearing story about a hungry gopher who devises a scheme that he hopes will provide him with a tasty snack.

Venice, California-based Blur Studio (www.blur.com) is a state-of-the-art visual effects and animation studio built on a solid foundation of artistic talent and client relationships. Over the past 11 years, the company has developed its ability to tell riveting stories with memorable characters, working toward it goal to produce compelling feature films. The company has produced numerous projects spanning a wide range of media short films, large format films, commercials, concept art, feature effects, music videos and game cinematics. All four of Blur's original short films have been short-listed for an Academy Award nomination and have gained much recognition internationally in countless film festivals.