News: Disney’s Long-Lost Japan-Set Short Film “The Flower” Resumes Production with Japanese Staff

Director and Disney veteran crew member Andrew Simmons is resuming the production of a long-lost Disney short film set in Japan titled The Flower. He is including several Japanese staff in the production, such as calligraphy artist Hiromi Hasegawa (Under the Dog). The short film is slated for release in early 2024.

Director Andrew Simmons describes the four-minute short film’s story:

Set in 15th Century Japan, The Flower is a powerful film about the journey of a Flower that intersects with the lives of several people bound together by a tragic fate. As the Flower floats down the river and through their lives, we experience a story of strength, loss, and remembrance of those we love.

The short film’s main staff, which mostly includes Disney veterans, are: art director Jaison Wilson (The Princess and the Frog), storyboard artist Tim Hodge (Mulan), editor Erika Dapkewicz (Puss in Boots), composer Colin O’Malley, artistic advisor Tom Bancroft (Mulan), and producer Nicholas R. Zabaly (Star Wars: Visions). Aside from Hasegawa, Japan-based animators Wenrui Huang (South Forest) and Simin Huang (Pop Team Epic) are in the staff. Other Disney veterans and international animators are also working on the short film.

The short film’s production originally began in 1998, at the Walt Disney Florida Studio, right after the production of the movie Mulan. The film combines the artistic influences of Japanese woodblock prints and traditional Disney animation, and it was then set to be the first Japan-set Disney film. The short film’s production came to a halt when Disney’s Florida Studio closed down in early 2004.

Simmons continued working on the short film on his own, until he launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2021 to resume the short film’s full production. The film is currently on its finishing stage. Simmons started another fundraiser on the Indiegogo website in July to provide finishing funds for The Flower. As of press time, the campaign has raised US$3,650 of its US$10,000 goal. The campaign will receive and use all funds raised even if it does not reach its goal by Saturday, its final day. The funds will be used mainly for hand-drawn effects animation, musical score and editing, and to screen the short film to different film festivals around the world.

Simmons is one of the original crew members of the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida Studio, from the day it opened in 1989, until the studio closed in 2004. Simmons worked on several Disney films including the 1989 The Little Mermaid, the 1994 The Lion King, and the 2003 Brother Bear films among others.

Source: Email correspondence