Apr 3, 2020

See the Sizzle Reel of "Galaxy Gas", "2D features by Disney All-Star never made it to the screen (exclusive)

When Klaus was released by Netflix last year, it was heralded as a revival of hand-drawn animation - as evidence that a 2d feature could justify a decent budget and find a global audience today. Had history taken a slightly different course, that accolade might have been given to another film.

Galaxy Gas was supposed to be many things. A zany, heartwarming sci-fi story featuring drunk aliens and spaceships aplenty. A reunion of an all-star creative team of Disney veterans, led by Beauty and the Beast co-director Kirk Wise. And a demonstration that there was a general appetite for hand-drawn animation (with a contemporary twist).

The project came within inches of starting full pre-production before falling apart, but a trailer was created in 2014 for potential production partners and investors. This sizzle reel was never intended to be seen made public, but six years on, its producer Craig Peck is ready to share it, exclusively with Cartoon Brew. He tells us that “if this can bring a small amount of joy to people during a difficult time, that would be fulfilling for those of us who worked on it”:

Peck continues to lead a busy career and he is involved as a producer with two upcoming films: Alcon Entertainment's long-gestating fantasy feature Darkmouth and Disney legend Andreas Deja's short film Mushka.

The story of Galaxy Gas begins back in 2012 when Peck was a grad school student with a burning ambition to make hand-drawn features. His idol was Don Hahn, the producer of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Naturally, when Peck set about finding a project of his own, it was to former Disney talent that he turned.

He contacted Tab Murphy, the screenwriter behind Tarzan, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Peck asked him if he had any ideas for a 2d feature. Murphy pitched an idea about a teenager who discovers that his father, who runs a lonely gas station in the New Mexico desert, is actually using it to refuel the spaceships of alien peace-keepers. Peck loved it.

The pair then presented the project to Wise, who had directed both Hunchback and Atlantis. Wise loved it too, and was keen to do another animated feature - he hadn't directed one since Atlantis in 2001. He signed up, and the project snowballed as a host of former Disney colleagues came onboard: art director Brian McEntee, layout supervisor Ed Ghertner, story artist Joe Haidar, character designers Joe Moshier and Shane Prigmore, and animators Ruben Aquino, Bruce Smith, and Nik Ranieri, among others.

If this line-up proves anything, it's that a project can't succeed on talent alone. As the crew geared up to start work, they were stopped in their tracks by circumstance. Production never began - at least, it hasn't yet. Below, Peck talks through the ideas behind Galaxy Gas, and explains why he's bringing it to light at last:

(Peck's comments were taken from longer answers sent by email.)