Bubble UK: Animation + App = The Nether Regions
It can be hard to get your animated short noticed on a platform as all encompassing as the web but one way is to embrace multiple platforms and advertise your product via an app.
This is exactly what British production company Wonky Films have done in releasing an interactive app to accompany their new short, The Nether Regions. The stop motion film, starring Brian Blessed as the devil, is currently being screened at animation and film festivals globally and will make its way onto the internet next year, but right now you can familiarize yourself with the characters by downloading the iOS app for free.
The Nether Regions is a three and a half minute stop motion short which sheds light on the stresses and strains of being the Devil of today’s fast paced world; there’s fiscal problems, health and safety situations and a complete lack of reliable staff, its the small things that mount up in the world of evil doing and a devil just want to get his massage on. This is where, in the app, you come in. During the animation, the Devil visits Svens Massage Parlour and is attended to by their best masseuse; in the app you take the place of the masseuse and have to relieve the pressure in the big guy’s’ joints before something unpleasant happens.
The Nether Regions’ in app game sounds simple enough but is actually hellishly difficult, well, it was for me at least. I’m a bit of a doofus when it comes to gaming-I’m more of an Animal Crossing type of methodical gameplayer and the game “Massaging The Ego” requires some fast handiwork in order to stop your client exploding with tension, frantic swiping is needed to get even the lowest of scores and you may need a massage yourself afterwards but the game is definitely good fun.

The game is not the only feature of the app, also included is a trailer for the short and a copy of the underworld’s foremost newspaper “The Fiendish Times”. Ultimately the Nether Regions app serves as a innovative and charming advertisement for the animation and a clever way to ensure the film is easily available across iOS devices when it eventually released online- with this on your phone or iPad you won’t forget about the short as the app constantly updates itself: there are behind the scenes films to look forward to and the full film will be added next year.
At a time when the ethics of free distribution across the web is a hot topic among creators and animation fans, creating an app to go with your short seems like a canny move. Fans can show their appreciation for the animation by making in app contributions from 99c/69p to $6.99/£4.99. App developer Jake Hobbs explains the motivation behind this strategy:
“At Wonky we are looking at the new ways we can deliver our animated content across digital platforms. On mobile and tablet devices there are exciting opportunities to reach new audiences and showcase our work in new ways and we are looking to utilise our film content in order to explore these opportunities. With the Pay What You Want payment options we want as many people to see our creative work as possible and hope that they enjoy the stories we have to tell as much as we love making them. Offering the app for free allows us to do this, while at the same time enabling those who really appreciate our short film and apps we make to offer a gesture of support in return. These gestures of support then allows us to continue the independent production of our short films and apps.”

I’ve said making this app was a canny move by Wonky but it’s also a brave one: whether the cost of developing and distributing an app for free will be offset against the amount of money it generates might be a long shot, making an app to advertise your animation is a wonderful idea but how do you advertise the app? It may be a case of swings and roundabouts for The Nether Regions, I hope not, I enjoyed the app; it’s well designed and a whole lot of fun. Having seen The Nether Regions short for myself I can confirm that animation lovers have a treat waiting for them when the app updates to include the film next year. Animators need our support and it would be churlish to say no when asked in such an entertaining manner; download the app, donate what you can afford and tell your friends about Nether Regions, there could be hell to pay if you don’t!
The Nether Regions is devilishly good fun!
"There are also other characters that come and go (also owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate media company)."
Huh. Is that just referring to other characters from the show itself, or is this implying that the new season is going to have cameos from other WBD IPs