With just receiving the rights to produce a Lawak Kampus animation last month, our friends at Lil Critter Workshop have yet again received another honourable achievement. Lil Critter Workshop and Scribble Studios announced on 18 February 2021 that they are recipients of an Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games.
This is a huge achievement as it has enabled the co-development between two Malaysian studios, where the funds from MegaGrant will be used to produce ‘Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials’, a upcoming sci-fi action-adventure CGI animated series.
What is the Epic MegaGrant?
It’s a program launched by Epic Games back in 2019, where they dedicate $100 million to support people such as game developers, enterprise professionals, media and entertainment creators, students, educators, and tool developers in their works with Unreal Engine, open-source software, as well as 3D graphics tools.
Visit the Epic MegaGrant official website for more details.
What Do We Know About ‘Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials’?
It is an action adventure series catered to children aged 6 and above. A total of 26 episodes are planned, each 22 minutes long. The series is fun, funny, full of heart, and also packed with high energy and action. Powered by Unreal Engine, the producers aim to introduce the series through breathtaking character-driven visual storytelling.
Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials follows three mismatched heroes, Billy, Bambin and Thoren who are unexpectedly thrown together to compete in the Great Tournament. The trio finds themselves in daring missions with exciting chase sequences, thrilling treasure hunts and peril-filled challenges that captivate the people of Euthenia every four years. Ultimately, the heroes learn to grow as a team and become fast friends with having faced constant challenges.
Lil Critter Workshop has also engaged renowned comic writer and author Cavan Scott to assist with the scripting and story. Scott has previously worked extensively on popular franchises such as ‘Doctor Who,’ ‘Adventure Time’ and ‘Penguins of Madagascar,’ among others. Besides, he authors comics for Marvel, DC Comics, IDW and Dark Horse, while also being one of the key collaborators of Lucasfilm’s new multimedia story-telling initiative, ‘Star Wars: The High Republic,’.
“I’m thrilled that Epic Games sees the potential in ‘Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials.’ The Epic MegaGrant will help our team to explore and realize all the potential verticals for the IP. Engaging Cavan Scott to assist with the world building expansion and scripting has been a fantastic collaborative experience,” said Walid Omar, Executive Producer of Lil Critter Workshop. He then added, “Focusing on an audience ages six to ten, the use of Unreal Engine opens up multi-platform possibilities for ‘Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials’.”
Additionally, the team has brought on Bejuba! Entertainment to launch the property internationally. Tatiana Kober, the company president said, “When Walid of Lil Critter first showed me the series and the aspirations of it, I was impressed. With the grant, and Cavan on board as writer, the series has expanded into a universe kids will want to be a part of. We’re excited to take it to market.”
With the combination of producers, storytellers, distributors and technology partners set to collaborate on ‘Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials’ is nothing less than promising.
For more official updates, follow Lil Critter Workshop and Scribble Studios on their social media pages.
