The Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Press Room

  By: Andrew Bermudez (Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; April 1, 2023)     Recently, during a thorough cataloging of the studio archives, we stumbled upon a previously-lost film reel simply titled "New Friends CFO Edition - Don't Let Director Raul Flores Know!!!". We've analyzed it, digitized the content, and restored the film. Now, we have some big news to share! New Friends: CFO Edition  Has Been Released!     Standing for Chief Financial Officer, this CFO Edition of New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  was commissioned by former LEGO Studios CFO Rawlin N. Dough, who was sacked back in the summer of 2013 for unnecessarily stalling production for A Bite of MyJobs , who argued that the film was a money drain that had no purpose outside of College of the Canyons and threatened to tear up the film's contract (either that, or it had to do with how he was caught embezzling money at the same time).     However, after months of sorting thro...

By: Andrew Bermudez (Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; November 21, 2014)      We're back with another Archive Collections, this one focusing on storyboards! So, without further ado, let's get started!      Storyboards are a very important part of any film's pre-production, as they help alleviate the headache of planning shots as you go, which can give some less-than-satisfactory results. This is especially important for animation, where careful planning is crucial to ensure that everything reads properly on-screen. For that planning process, several thumbnails of different shots are compiled. These are the storyboards. For Mustache Maniacs Film Co., storyboards have been used extensively for pre-planning several animated films. Below are storyboards from some of these films. Pencil on Paper; By Andrew Bermudez Pencil on Paper; By Andrew Bermudez Pencil on Paper; By Andrew Bermudez Pencil on Paper; By Andrew Bermudez   ...

By: Andrew Bermudez (Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; June 7, 2013)      After 8 months of development, filled with work, delays, struggles to meet deadlines, and winning an award,  New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  has finally been released online. "It's been such an honor to have worked with CarTOON Shack on this film," said Andrew Bermudez, who assisted on the film. "It's truly a spectacular animation that, overall, may very well be nearly on par with Johnny Thunder and the Secret of Marco Polo  in terms of overall quality, storytelling, and composition. I think it's even safe to say that the technical qualities of this film exceed the aforementioned film." The film marks the end of the partnership between Mustache Maniacs Film Co. and CarTOON Shack. However, Mustache Maniacs Film Co. will continue to develop the game Zoo Flight , which was created as a result of the partnership. If you haven't seen New Friends  yet, click  here...

By: Andrew Bermudez (College of the Canyons; June 2, 2013)      Last Friday, at the Media Entertainment Arts Showcase, the highly-anticipated film New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  won the award for best story, propelling the film to stardom prior to its official release this Friday. The showcase, which acted as the film's world premiere, was nearly filled during the first half of the event, which was when New Friends  was shown. Afterwards, Raul Flores and Andrew Bermudez, who created the film, took to the stage to talk about the film's development and the creative process. Many of the details discussed were released last December in the article  First Look at "New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable!" . Andrew Bermudez (left) and Raul Flores (right) talk about New Friends .      However, the unexpected news of the night came after the second half of the showcase during the awards ceremony, which Raul Flores was unable ...

By: Andrew Bermudez (Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; May 30, 2013)      After long deliberation, the world premiere for New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  is just one day away! With that, there is more news that has been revealed. Let's see what's been going on!      First off, due to unforeseen technical issues, A Bite of MyJobs  has been delayed for at least two weeks. While this is in the best interest of the film's quality, this also means that A Bite of MyJobs  cannot be considered for The Second Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Fan Choice Awards , unfortunately. Regardless, a finished product should be ready for release sometime this summer.      And with that, there is talk of announcing another large-scale project for 2014 on June 7, the same day that New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  is released online. "We have several ideas in the works for 'Ten Years of Going Crazy!'," said LEGO Studios CEO Mar...

By: Andrew Bermudez (Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; May 28, 2013)      After a long wait, it is so hard to believe that the much-hyped premiere of New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  is coming this Friday! If you are attending the event, which is grouped into College of the Canyons' MEA Showcase event, then here are a few things you must know.       Arrive Early - Even though the showcase starts at 7:00 PM, it is recommended that you get there anywhere from 6:00 to 6:30 PM. Parking at the school can be a pain at times, so arriving early alleviates some of that stress. Also, early arrivals can enjoy the pre-show potluck and hang out with the other guests. It also increases your chances of getting a good seat in Hasley Theater.       Park Close - The campus for College of the Canyons is not very big when compared to other campuses, but it is hilly, so parking in the wrong place can tire you as you head from and to your ...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; May 12, 2013)      To begin, we would like to apologize for the lack of any recent updates and this month's Ask Mark Matthew. Things have been very busy lately. Read on and you'll see why.      To commemorate Mother's Day, we would like to look ahead to the summer season, starting May 24. As we're sure you are well aware, we have three new films to kick off this summer season: A Friend of the Police (May 24), A Bite of MyJobs (May 31), and New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable (June 7). Let's take a closer look and see how things are shaping up for these films. Chase McCain at the cargo train depot in A Friend of the Police . A Friend of the Police: Currently entering post-production; animation sequencing underway.      If you are a member of our Facebook page, then you would have found out that filming for this film wrapped up last night, which is a good thing. There are o...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; April 7, 2013)      Despite the lack of this month's Ask Mark Matthew, as no questions were asked last month, there is still plenty of activity at the studio as three animated films are prepared for release. Let's see what's going on!      Despite initial problems, it looks like New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable will be done in time for both the showcase presentation on May 31st and its online debut on June 7th. "We are all really excited about this film," Said LEGO Studios CEO Mark Matthew. "It's already been 8 months since development began, and the final product is looking great! I can't wait to see it all finished!" Currently, new shots are being filmed for the movie, along with the creation of new background props. This is expected to be wrapped up today, with refinement on these shots beginning tomorrow. As stated above, the film will be released June 7th.      Also picking up pace is the d...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; February 4, 2013)      Super Bowl Sunday is behind us, which means another update about what has been happening here at the studio! Let's get started!      After last year's delays, filming for Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients  has now started to move at a brisk pace. "However," said Steven Lawrence, the film's director, "In a strange twist, we've just finished the Great Barrier scene, which is three-quarters of the way into the film. We may have stopped shooting in order, but I realize that this is for the better. At this point, it's not a matter of getting the film done in order, it's about getting the film done, period." Despite this, the rest of the scenes taking place in Zimbabwe will be finished by the end of February. Then the cast and crew will head to Romania to continue filming. However, all of the scenes taking place in Harry Cane's airplane may be shot in route. The film w...

By: Andrew Bermudez (Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; January 8, 2013)      Earlier today, a demo reel from MEA 135 class was released, showcasing some animation from that class (you can watch it  here ). However, a more important element of this release is the logo at the beginning. If you compare it to previous releases, you will notice that this logo has been highly upgraded with banners, text, and more. "This logo update is very important," said LEGO Studios CEO Mark Matthew. "Before, the technology used in our films was a little...dated, to say the least, so the old logo worked. However, we now have the entire Adobe CS6 Creative Suite. We can literally add big-budget special effects, highly stylized fonts, dramatic credits, and more to our films, giving our films a professional touch. However, the unintended side effect is that our films will now look so good, the old logo will look bad in comparison. That is what makes this update imp...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; December 14, 2012)      If nothing else, today was certainly the most lackluster day for Mustache Maniacs Film Co., as only one out of four films was actually released on time. "However, we aren't worried," said LEGO Studios CEO Mark Matthew. "This actually gives us time to refine the other three films so they look their best, rather than rushing them just to meet their deadlines." If you want to see Air Strike, it is now available to watch on the Mustache Maniacs Film Co. YouTube channel. The rest of the films slated for release today have been pushed off to other release times, which will be detailed later.      However, the premiere of New Friends proved to be a huge success, despite the technical errors with the planned Google Hangout. All of the filmmakers attended, along with other students and invited friends and family. After the screening of the rough cut for New Friends, the audience gave a stan...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; December 10, 2012)      Continuing this week-long campaign, we now give you a look at the latest film to come out of the partnership between Mustache Maniacs Film Co. and CarTOON Shack: the highly-anticipated New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable ! Get ready to head back to the time of the dodo bird with this exclusive sneak peek!      Just like An Afternoon at the Zoo , New Friends  was the brainchild of CarTOON Shack's leader, Raul Flores. "The film is all about colonization and extinction," said Raul Flores. Indeed, in the original script, the dodos were designed to symbolize indigenous tribal populations that were exploited by European settlers. However, the film, which featured dodos getting stuffed with whiskey and being converted to Christianity by the priest, was deemed too violent and insulting and had to be toned down. Now the film depicts the humans as negligent rather than malicious. This early do...

By: Andrew Bermudez (Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; November 26, 2012)      After a month of manipulating puppets and shooting frames, the production phase for New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  is now completed! With 37 shots, it is going to be an extensive film about the downfall of the dodo. Currently, post-production work is being done on the finished footage, which will be a short period of time. While that is going on, here is a screenshot from the film, featuring some sailors carrying supplies. Two sailors, Abraham and Old Salt, carry supplies for the human settlers. Note the black background; this will later be replaced with a hand-made background.      Also, the official release date for New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  has been set: December 14th. That's also the day that Animation Reel 2  and another teaser for The Film School Challenge  will be released. However, if you want to see New Friends ...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; November 2, 2012)      With Halloween just past and the holiday season just around the corner, it's time for another studio update! Let's get started!      The new cut-out stop motion animation coming this holiday season, New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable  is right on schedule. While not all of the puppets are finished, the entire opening shot is finished. The shot of mama and papa dodo showing love for each other is especially heartwarming. The film is expected to have a release date in mid-December. A first look for this film will come Thanksgiving weekend.      In other news, the cast and crew working on Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients  has just finished work in London and are now working on recreating Stonehenge a few miles from the original monument. "We can't really work at the original site because we need to do things that wouldn't work otherwise," explained direct...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; September 27, 2012)      To ring in the fall season, this weekend is going to be filled with updates, news, and more! To start, a new film from the CarTOON Shack partnership has been confirmed! Titled New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable , this new animated tale takes audiences back in time 300 years. It is a time of discovery for humans and a time that the dodo bird is alive. This colony of dodo birds lives peacefully on their island until human settlers arrive. Having no natural enemies, the dodos welcome the newcomers as friends, not knowing that these friends are going to be the cause of their downfall.      When one reporter asked about how this will end, LEGO Studios CEO Mark Matthew stated, "I won't reveal the ending, but let's just say that in a story about the fall of the dodo bird, the ending isn't going to be pretty." Of course, unhappy endings are nothing new to Mustache Maniacs Film Co.; just...

By: Andrew Bermudez (LEGO Studios; August 31, 2012)      After about a month's worth of filming, the production stage for Late for the Soccer Match  has been completed! "We are so glad this film has wrapped," said director Seth Masterson. "I am now certain that we'll be able to meet our deadline for mid-October." Editing will begin shortly, with a final submission into the Kitchen Sink  contest in early October. The film will be released publicly on October 19th.      Now that the aforementioned filming is done, work can now speed back up on the filming for Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients . "We're still in London, and it's very frustrating," said director Steven Lawrence. "I was a little concerned that we're not going to make the December 2013 deadline for filming. However, now that all of our other projects in production are finished, I can breathe a sigh of relief." This new adventure will be discovered ...