Edgar, Fish Stitch Up Pitch Party Wins

Results of the Fourth Annual Animation Magazine Pitch Party are in and Leo Antolini’s Edgar and Kipp has emerged from the pack to take top honors. Our distinguished panel of industry judges also liked Courtney Huddleston’s Li’l Red Stitch and Samuel T. Nelson’s Cat vs. Fish.

For the most part, the judges appear to have made their choices based more on strong character design than high-concept loglines. Antolini, a student at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University, won them over with his simple-but-expressive drawing of Edgar Mongoose and Kipp D. Snake, natural enemies who have managed to become roommates and best friends. Sort of.

Edgar and Kipp has a lot in common with third-place winner Cat vs. Fish (www.ebolaworld.com/catandfish), Nelson’s twist on the classic Tom and Jerry formula. Again, the judges were intrigued by the comical look of the title characters, mortal enemies who don’t get along quite as well as Antolini’s mongoose and snake.

A more involved premise is explored in Huddleston’s (www.courtneyhuddleston.com) Ii’l Red Stitch, which follows the adventures of a young girl who comes into possession of a magical sewing kit that has the power to unleash lions, tigers, chickens, jackalopes and more. The pitch shows a lot of imagination and features great art that balances classic and modern sensibilities.

Online Reader Poll Results

It seems that you, our readers, are roughly on the same page as our judges. However, you voted Cat vs. Fish as your top pick. Li’l Red Stitch again came in at No. 2, followed by Hell’s Daughter from Josh Jenkins, Shea Stanley and Hugh Samples of Strange Type Studio (www.strangetype.com). This third-place winner centers on a sword-wielding goth chick who goes to school in "the Devil’s pit" and is being trained to destroy her species while wearing a Catholic schoolgirl’s uniform.

Staff Picks

The Animation Magazine Staff gives first-place to Maggers & Ripley, also from Josh Jenkins and Shea Stanley of Strange Type Studio. The pitch features the image of a happy-go-lucky puppy towering over a disgruntled-looking little dog and includes the logline, "The only thing more annoying than a little sister is a little sister five times your size."

Second place goes to Nelson’s Cat vs. Fish, while Matt Hebb’s (www.matthebb.com) The Adventures of No-Beard, Boy Pirate rounds out the top three.

To view all of the Fourth Annual Animation Magazine Pitch Party Pitch’s click on the following link: https://www.animationmagazine.net/pitch_party_05_vote.html