Phil the Phoenix
Phil the Phoenix by Trent Coffin, senior thesis film made at the Kansas City Art Institute in 2013.
What?
Phil the Phoenix was written, animated, and directed by myself Trent Coffin. It stars Coffin as well as Lori Gillin, Stephanie Son, Neil Morrissey, Matthew Lloyd, Jacob Robinson, Erica Wester, and Amanda Freeman. Based on my own experiences living with Tourette’s Syndrome, it is the story of a boy named Phil, who has a very unique form of Tourette’s: at random, he turns into a fiery Phoenix and explodes! And as a pile of ashes forms, he pops out of them back into his human form again. Sadly, the whole town around him hates him for this, but when a crisis unfolds, they find out that Phil might be the only one who can save the day…
Why?
Too often is Tourette’s stereotyped in the media as the “cursing disease,” and those who have it are simply there to be laughed at. I wanted to make this film to battle this stereotype, as well as to give hope to children who suffer with Tourette’s, as well. I wanted to show them through my film that they are not a freak, and should never be ashamed of their Tourette’s, as they just simply cannot help it.
Inspiration
Animators who inspire me are: Craig McCracken, Genndy Tartakovsky, Katsuhiro Otomo, Don Hertzfeldt, Bill Plympton, CLAMP, Satoshi Kon, and Walt Disney.
How?
I animated the film in Adobe Flash and Toonboom Studio. I edited the film in Adobe Premiere, and created the music and recorded the voices in Garageband.
Next Project?
I am currently in production of an animated web series, as well as brainstorming ideas for my next stand-alone animated film. I also have just completed work on my very first live-action feature length film, which is a horror movie called “The Coffin Footage.”
Which animated film do you wish you could have made?
Of all the animated films in history, I wish I could have made Katsuhiro Otomo’s, “Akira.” It is such an influential, important, and beautifully animated film, and I want to make films and tell stories as astounding as that someday.
You can find more of Trent’s work here: trentcoffin.com
