Dick Figures the Movie…one year in the making of history.

 

On July 16, 2012 Kickstarter was still somewhat of a novelty despite being around for a little over three years, but two guys were going to help change all that. They were told that only 4% of the projects looking for over $100k raised were able to meet their goal  (at the conclusion of 2012, over 18,000 projects were funded with almost $320,000,000 pledged). Needless to say, if Dick Figures co-creators Zack Keller and Ed Skudder wanted to be a little nervous after hearing those stats you would probably agree with their initial thoughts after getting said numbers from Kickstarter, “Oh, Shit!”

At that time no one could really gauge the power of web content, it’s not easy to do. Despite the fact that the Dick Figures have been around since 2010 when internet animation was still in its infancy, and has accrued over 250 million views since, one would have to be realistic about the project’s expectations of meeting its financial goal of $250,000, but as it seems the animated show’s fan base turned up and helped push the final tall 125% over what the guys were asking for which allowed them the financial means to come up with a run time of 73 minutes. So, what’s next? To make a quality product.

It’s not enough that Ed and Zack were under their normal pressures in making something really great, but when we talked to the guys they mentioned that their REAL bosses were the fans whom were quietly asking (according to Ed), ‘Where the fuck is the show!!!’ Alas, the making of a full-length feature film featuring best friends Red, Blue, and the rest of the Dick Figures is a  daunting task, but it’s not like Ed and Zack thought of the idea on a whim. As a matter of fact, when Zack and Ed were in college at USC they actually thought of Dick Figures as a movie first, but when the guys started getting into the business they did so with the Dick Figures Shorts. To put it bluntly, ‘The shorts were good training for the full length’ says Zack. Plus it doesn’t hurt that the first Dick Figures episode has clocked in almost 12 million views. Nowadays, 12 million views is nothing to fans of say Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, but back in 2010 that was a pretty serious number for original content.

Ed actually had an awesome anecdote about the current state of the internet animation industry. For him he doesn’t see any kind of a competition among the different Youtube channels and he actually loves discovering new content, ‘It’s actually kind of inspiring to see shows like Bravest Warriors because it looks AMAZING and I love Rocket Dog. There’s so much stuff out there that it’s not really a competition because everyone has their own niche and it’s cool seeing a business coming out of it and I love discovering new stuff.  I always say, ‘The more the merrier!’, this way it (Youtube) doesn’t get boring.” with Ed assuring all of us, “But NO ONE animates as poorly as we do!”

For those who have never seen Dick Figures or have no idea what it is…do not fret, do not fear. The producers of the Dick Figures the Movie aka Ed Skudder and Zack Keller tell us that there is something for everyone in the movie. “From the start of the film it almost feels like a couple of shorts but then it bridges into a movie. The First Act is an introduction for not only the existing fans but for the new fans too. ” “I honestly thought that was pretty cool’ says Skudder ‘ getting to relive a lot of the earlier stuff in terms of the characters.”

On Sept 17th, Dick Figures the Movie will be available on iTunes, MondoMedia,com, Amazon, and a whole bunch of other internet outlets. For those whom backed the Kickstarter project with at least $35, you will also be getting close to 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes extra content along with the movie score soundtrack as produced by Nick Keller and Ed Skudder and yes $60-backers the Art of Dick Figures book is coming as well.

For everyone else That backed the project on Kickstarter, you get a full length animated comedy geared towards an older crowd. Only three other animated franchises have done this with any sort of real success, The Simpsons, South Park, and Futurama. However, with this effort being entirely crowd-funded, the producers of Dick Figures the Movie are doing something that all of the aforementioned franchises are world-renowned for…

Yep, Ed Skudder and Zack Keller are making something more than a full-length animated movie for their adoring fans. They are making history…with a little Kickstart.

http://youtu.be/mptMPKZEpKg