The Stressful Adventures of Boxhead & Roundhead
When their home is destroyed, Boxhead & Roundhead must head to the big city to battle red tape, rent, rats and the rat race to get it back.
Art and industry, friendship and foul play are all in the mix in this, the most stressful adventure of all.
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Elliot CowanDirector
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Elliot CowanWriter
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Richard O'ConnorProducer
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Project Type:Animation, Feature
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Genres:road movie, environmental, social commentary, animation
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Runtime:1 hour 11 minutes 30 seconds
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Completion Date:January 1, 2014
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Production Budget:80,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Melbourne International Animation FestivalMelbourne Australia
June 20, 2014
World Premiere -
Romanian International Film FestivalBucharest, Romania
August 28, 2014
Romanian Premiere -
The Portobello Film FestivalLondon, UK
September 13, 2014
UK Premiere -
Be There! The Corfu Animation FestivalCorfu, Greece
October 19, 2014 -
ReAnimania. The International Animated Film Festival of YerevanYerevan, Armenia
October 27, 2014 -
The 18th Japan Media Arts FestivalTokyo, Japan
February 4, 2015
Japanese Premier -
Festival International du Film pour Enfants de MontréalMontreal, Canada
February 28, 2015
Canadian Premiere -
Big Muddy Film FestivalCarbondale, Illinois
February 24, 2015 -
Athens AnimfestAthens, Greece
March 26, 2015
Special Mention -
Festival International du Film pour Enfants de MontréalMontreal, Canada
February 28, 2015 -
Holland Animation FestivalHolland Netherlands
March 18, 2015
Dutch Premiere -
Independent Days FilmfestKarlsruhe, Germany
February 22, 2015
German premiere -
Crossroads Film FestivalJackson, Mississippi
March 15, 2015 -
CMS International Children's FestivalLucknow, India
April 7, 2015
Indian Premiere -
Kecskemet Animation Film FestivalKecskemet, Hungary
June 24, 2015
Hungary -
The Golden Kukor International Animation FestivalSofia, Bulgaria
May 12, 2015
Bulgarian premiere -
The Pratt InstituteBrooklyn
December 16, 2014 -
University of the ArtsPhiladelphia, PA
September 12, 2014 -
Mercy CollegeManhattan, NY
October 3, 2014 -
Maryland Institute College of ArtBaltimore, Maryland
February 17, 2015 -
Concordia UniversityMontreal, Canada
January 8, 2015 -
PUSH! Film FestivalBristol, Tennessee
June 12, 2015
Excellence Award -
Frederick Film FestivalFrederick, Maryland
June 26, 2015 -
Festival Of ColorsBrooklyn, New York
August 23, 2015 -
I.N.S.A.N.E Animation Film FestivalMalmo, Sweden
September 11, 2015 -
FantocheBaden, Switzerland
October 1, 2015
Swiss Premiere -
Indie Earth Animation FestivalChennai, India
June 26, 2015 -
AMFM FestivalFlagstaff, New Mexico
August 27, 2015 -
Expotoons International Animation FestivalBuenos Aires, Argentine
September 3, 2015
South American Premiere
1st Prize, Feature Film Category -
Animaze - The International Montreal Animation FestivalMontreal, Canada
April 16, 2015 -
Tehran Animation FestivalTehran, Iran
March 8, 2015 -
Titletown Film FestivalGreen Bay, Wisconsin
October 2, 2015 -
Blow Up Arthouse Film FestivalChicago
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South Texas Underground Film FestivalCorpus Christi, Texas
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Queens World Film FestivalQueens, New York
March 18, 2016
Queens Premiere -
Antioch CollegeYellow Springs, Ohio
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ASIFA East Public ScreeningNew York, New York
January 19, 2016 -
Teeside UniversityTeeside, UK
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DrawtasticSeattle, Washington
April 30, 2016 -
Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer GamesMiddlesbrough, UK
February 13, 2016
UK Premiere -
Animation DingleDingle, Ireland
March 18, 2016
Irish Premiere -
Trenton Film FestivalTrenton, New Jersey
April 1, 2016 -
Ozark Foothills FilmFestLocust Grove, Arkasas
April 9, 2016 -
Albuquerque Film & Music ExperienceAlbuquerque, New Mexico
April 24, 2016
Elliot Cowan was born in Melbourne, Australia then moved to the wilds of Tasmania where he directed thousands of television commercials for regional television. In 2006 he left for London where he mostly worked with UIi Meyer animation. While in London he began animating the award winning Boxhead and Roundhead shorts. Now he lives in New York with all kinds of grown up stuff like a wife and child and a green card.
He teaches at The Pratt Institute, Mercy College, The University of the Arts and anywhere else that welcomes grumpy animation professors.
The Stressful Adventures of Boxhead & Roundhead is his first feature and he did almost all of it himself in between teaching, freelance animation gigs and his family.
Boxhead and Roundhead were created in 2005 as a reaction to a proliferation of sweet and cuddly children’s picture books.
Influenced by the works of Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, director Elliot Cowan envisioned a world where the protagonists were never quite safe, never quite comfortable and never sure what was hiding around the next corner –much like everyday life in the 21st Century.
The first five of the original nine Boxhead & Roundhead shorts were animated in a dingy flat in London. Produced at the coffee table. The final four were done after Elliot moved to New York and the opportunity to create a feature rose.
Keen to move forward with new ideas, dialogue and colour were added (the shorts are mostly silent and black and white) and a feature length story hatched.
Director Elliot Cowan completed the majority of the work himself with help from talent culled from his classrooms at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute and The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Australian cult band The Gadflys offered their music catalogue and veteran production designer Neil Campbell Ross (The Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) produced a series of incredible images that gives the film a unique look.
Throughout the production the most important thing was to maintain the relationship between the leads, BH & RH. It is very easy in animation to fall into a Ren and Stimpy styled friendship - a dumb one and an angry one.
B&R needed to be more than that. A pair who have gone through hardship and adversity and who compliment each other in such a way that although they are distinct characters they need one another to survive.