Animation industry vet Paul Scarlata, who has worked as director, storyboard artist and layout artist on a wide range of shows such as King of the Hill, Family Guy, Regular Show, Big Mouth, American Dad! and The Great North over the past two decade, has launched a kickstarter for a fun new new indie, 2D-animated feature titled The Van Helsing Society. The project, which is set in the peaceful New England town of Nipmuc Bay (Scarlata grew up in Westborough, MA), centers on the adventures of “late bloomer” Tommy, who begins to discover that his fellow high school peers are going through odd changes. He, then sets out, to free his town from the strange evil that has taken over his community in this original movie pitched as “Spielberg meets Stephen King.” Scarlata is the feature’s writer/director and Anthony Lioi ( (Big Mouth, American Dad, The Cleveland Show) is the story consultant. Scarlata was kind enough to tell us a little bit more about his new venture:
Congrats on the exciting new project. Can you tell us a bit about the beginnings of the show?
I’ve started and stopped so many personal projects throughout my career, and I decided in spring of 2022 that I would complete a project. I told myself that I didn’t care whether it ended up being great or terrible, what was important to me was that it was finished. So, I gave myself an assignment: to write a feature length script, which is something I had attempted before but had never completed. I came up with a young adult horror story and spent six months writing it in my spare time. At the time I was wrapping up my episode directing gig on The Great North at Bento Box and starting an episode directing gig on Big Mouth at Titmouse. Both studios don’t really start the work day until 10 am, so from 8 am until 10am every morning I spent my time writing my script. It was my sacred time.
What was your inspiration?
I had several inspirations going into this project. The first and biggest one was my feelings about recent politics just prior to the time I wrote it, about how the rich and powerful use power and power structures such as government, religion, the police and military, the education system, and the media to divide people, wall them off and create information bubbles so that they can control people and exploit them.
At the same time I was thinking about the origins and mythologies of monsters such as vampires and zombies and about how some of the best horror is metaphorical and allegorical, such as Romero’s zombies in Day of the Dead being a commentary on mindless consumerism. I built the story off of those themes and ideas, but at the same time didn’t want it to be overtly political, preachy or didactic. Those themes are there underneath if you choose to look for them, but I really just wanted to tell a fun horror story. Another source of inspiration was my my own feelings of alienation growing up, being a naive kid who had a series of rude awakenings as I learned about the world. Like the main character Tommy, I was a late bloomer physically and emotionally, so much of the coming-of-age elements in the story are semi auto-biographical. All in all it’s a very personal story for me.
How did you decide on going the Kickstarter route? Has it become impossible to get a new creative IP launched using the traditional ways?
After I wrote the screenplay I pitched it around in early 2023 to about a half dozen development executives and got the same response from everyone. They all told me they thought it was fun and cool and they liked it but that they had no interest in doing genre animation. They said if they were to do adult animation, they wanted their own Simpsons or Bob’s Burgers. They were also licensing anime so felt they didn’t need to domestically produce anything like my project. And yes, they all said that they really weren’t interested in original IP. They were more interested in doing reboots, remakes and sequels due to the volatile climate in entertainment and in animation in particular. Less risk for them.
So yes, I’ve felt that original and creative IP is not something the studios were embracing at the time, and I think that’s still the case. Truly original genre IP like Scavenger’s Reign and Pantheon are a miracle when they get made at all, and they only lasted one season each and weren’t supported by the studios. I also think studios don’t want to give shows time to develop an audience either, they want instant triple platinum or nothing at all. Shows like Common Side Effects and Love, Death and Robots seem like a miracle too and give me hope, but they also have very powerful people like Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and David Fincher behind them.
KPop Demon Hunters is a good sign as well, but we’ll see if it has an effect on the studios. I know there is a Stranger Things animated show in the works as well, also a hopeful sign. You’d think with the popularity of anime and adult themed video games that the domestic studios would want to capitalize on what feels to me like an untapped market. But back to your original question- making original IP, especially original genre IP, has felt next to impossible due to all of that compounded by the fact that the industry is in such a rough state, with so many people out of work and the studios greenlighting so few projects, so I and many other animation creators are opting to go indie with our projects and trying the crowdfunding route.
What do you love about the Van Helsing Society? What makes it special?
As I said earlier, The Van Helsing Society is a very personal story for me. It’s a horror story that has universal themes that people young and old can relate to. It’s funny and scary and has heart. Animated horror is fairly rare, especially non-anime horror, which also makes it stand out. We may be past the days of Fritz the Cat and Heavy Metal being shocking, but there is still something slightly subversive about adult themed animation which I find appealing. And an animated coming of age story, where the protagonists are kids but the language and themes are adult, is something we don’t often see.
Can you talk about the visual style?
When I sat down to make the designs and trailer for the film, I realized that I hadn’t done my own stuff in so long and had spent so much time working on other people’s projects that I didn’t know what my own style was anymore! Haha. I didn’t want a purely anime or purely comic book style but somewhere in between. I love French comics because so many of them have these beautiful hybrid styles, combining anime, Disney, and old school comics influences, so that was my main inspiration. I’m not the greatest designer so I tried to hire some of my super talented designer friends but they were all too busy at the time so I did it all myself. If I can get some funding I’d like to give the designs a glow up, haha. I also have been turned on by a lot of the NPR (non photo real) Blender work I’ve seen recently and have been learning Blender myself. The trailer for The Van Helsing Society is 100% 2D animation, but for the final film I’d like to utilize Blender for the backgrounds and environments so I can free up the camera for more dynamic shots. I am debating whether or not I want to go full 3D with the characters as well, but whether it’s 2.5D with 3D BGs and 2D character animation or fully 3D, it will be rendered in an NPR style so that it looks 2D.
Once you raise the money, how will you produce the series?
It depends on how much money I can raise. If I am somehow able to raise the full budget for the entire film, via crowdfunding or investors or both, I will hire a small team consisting of talented friends and colleagues I have worked with over the years, as well as some of the super talented folks I’ve met online. We’ll make the film over the course of a year and a half to two years and then take it to festivals, look for a distributor, etc. But in the more likely case that I am only able to raise a small amount of money, I will still hire a small team but will make the film in small 3 to 5 minute chapters and release them on YouTube and other platforms. I would try to release chapters as regularly as possible until the entire story has been told.
What is your take on the state of animation in 2025?
My take is that it’s terrible. Over the course of the past 30 months, I have only been able to work for 12 months, and I’m fortunate for having had even that. It’s wiped out my savings. I know for sure I’m not alone. I was at the Titmouse 25th anniversary party a couple months ago and the number everyone kept saying was 70%, that 70% of the LA animation industry is currently out of work. I’m not sure of the true number but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the number were indeed that high.
A lot of people are getting desperate, and thinking about their Plan B, Plan C, D, E… Many of my friends have had to move out of L.A. because they can no longer afford it. I’ve been in the animation industry just shy of 30 years and have seen ups and downs, but this is the worst I’ve ever seen it. That’s a big part of why so many animators are trying the indie route. Also what few projects are getting greenlit often have smaller crews, shorter schedules and smaller budgets. A lot of people are competing for a handful of jobs. Many studios have been outsourcing a lot of their work as well. And of course we have yet to see what the true impact of AI is going to be. It’s a tough time right now.
You have so many years of great experience in animation…what kind of advice would you offer newbies who are thinking about a similar career?
Thanks! I’ve been very fortunate to have worked on so many great projects with so many great and talented people. ‘d say that while it’s true that it’s not a great time to be getting into the industry, it’s not impossible! They should be making their own stuff and putting it online, don’t wait for anyone’s permission! With modern digital tools and software it’s easier than ever.
Take advantage of any and all opportunities that may come your way. Many studios offer internships and mentorships, these can be a valuable way to get a foot in the door, meet people, and learn. Also, reach out to the artists you admire online! Drop them a message on their social media or LinkedIn, you’d be surprised how many artists want to give back, give advice, and help people coming up any way they can. If there’s a show or studio you like, keep an eye on their job boards, and when you apply, say you’d be willing to test. I hate tests personally but they are a big part of the application process at most studios.
Also, you don’t have to go to a school like CalArts to become a kick ass animation artist.Take online classes, watch YouTube tutorial videos. There is so much fantastic educational stuff out there online to help you hone your skills and craft. And there is no other way to get better than to just do it! They say you have 10,000 bad drawings in you, so the sooner you get those out of the way the better! And finally, having talent is of course important, but even more important is being cool, easy to work with, being a team player and showing you are willing to learn and grow.
Learn more about the kickstarter below:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulscarlata/the-van-helsing-society-movie
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