Practical effects may be seen as a dying art, but you bet any cinephile is going to eat it up whenever it’s used in a movie.
A24 is going to be exploring fantasy-adventure territory with their upcoming film The Legend of Ochi, and a new look has been dropped highlighting the puppetry used to bring the character of Ochi to life. Check this out:
“As we were shooting, you could see all five puppeteers standing around in plain clothes, and if you looked at the puppet, you were like, ‘That’s a real living thing,’” explains writer/director Isaiah Saxon.
By the looks of it, it does seem like Ochi is going to be a practical puppet, and there’s also going to be adult members of its species that could also be puppets or maybe just grown people in costumes.
Though A24 is best known for their more mature, cineaphile-targetted movies, Ochi looks to be a kid-friendly fantasy adventure. “There’s a slow dial that gets turned up towards fantasy and magic over the course of the film,” says Saxon, “Growing up I felt that the deepest mysteries were found in nature, and I hope to share that same feeling that anything is possible.”
The film definitely does harken to that ET/Where the Wild Things Are vibe, and it also helps that Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard also has a role in the film. Willem Dafoe’s character also looks like a kook, and that’s kind of the best roles for him that are pretty fun to watch.
The Legend of Ochi is expected to hit theaters on April 25
