The Year in Review: 2014

By: Andrew Bermudez

(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; December 28, 2014)

     We knew it would come, but that time has now arrived. After years of planning, scheduling, and more, "Ten Years of Going Crazy!" is now over. And with that comes another year in review. It's been an exciting year, with lots of excitement happening here at the studio. One major project was finished, another was started, and the time in between was filled with awards, contests, short films, and one exciting vacation! So, let's get started.

     January: The year did not start on a good note. Right at the start of the year, both Com 50: Covert Operations and Zoo Flight were cancelled. The release dates for Speeder and The Second Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Fan Choice Awards were also pushed back due to over-scheduling. However, good news came in the form of a new YouTube Channel: Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Music. The channel, which now has 21 soundtracks, has become a hub for all things related to music in Mustache Maniacs Film Co.'s movies. This channel makes all of Mustache Maniacs Film Co.'s original soundtracks available for the first time.

     February: February was kicked off with an announcement of a partnership with BZP member PeabodySam to add sets based on his RPG Dino Attack: At War's End to the roster of Project U-Build Play Set Adventures. The big news that month, though, was the premiere of The Second Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Fan Choice Awards, which contained an announcement for the multi-film saga Project U. The awards ceremony also featured an all-new rap song, first looks at the animation for both Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients and LEGO Island: The Animated Series, and an announcement for the Nexus Force Character Creation Sweepstakes. New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable won for best picture. This month also saw the start of Archive Collections.

     March: March was very uneventful. Set details for the first Project U-Build Play Set Adventures were unveiled, but that was about it. It was mostly work, work, and more work. We did re-release Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Leopard's Treasure, though.

     April: April was only a time for announcements and work. First looks, an announcement of The Central Florida Experience, a birthday video, and a revision to the website was the only news for this month.

     May: May kicked off the Crazy Birthday E-Card Contest, where participants were challenged to make an animation celebrating ten years of Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Congratulations to our winner, TLFScarheart, and well done to all!

     June: June saw a lot of activity. Besides delaying the release of Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients, voice actors Lauren Hoxie and Andrew Adkins were wedded. The big news this month, however, was The Central Florida Experience, where Andrew, Alvaro, and Daniel Bermudez spent a little over a week in Central Florida, getting some rest and recovery. We have yet to finish the respective posts, but we are looking into getting it done by the end of January.

     July: As the summer continued, another film, quite surprisingly, hit the net: Solarum. Officially the beginning of Project U, this film is all about the environmentally-friendly technology corporation Solarum, which made the flashlight in New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable. It was made for BRAWL 2014, but sadly did not win. We also started casting for films from the Mustache Maniacs Film Co. fan base this month, with great success.

     August: After years of waiting, Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients finally arrived to great success! To commemorate the event, August was made into Johnny Thunder month, with an Archive Collections about hats (one of Johnny Thunder 3's icons), a recipe for the Johnny Thunder-inspired drink Pippin's Jungle Juice Blend, and ten facts about the movie. Shortly after the film's release, the poorly-performing Extreme Explorations contest started to promote the movie.

     September: September slowed things down again, yet the Johnny Thunder fervor continued with the release of bonus features for Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients. It included things like artwork and deleted scenes.

     October: As the Johnny Thunder hype died down, a new film, True Identity, was released just in time to keep fan interest. Just like A Battle to Remember, True Identity was a picture story, which used images to tell a hilarious story of a backpack thief. A return to traditional animation, Alms Pouch, was also announced.

     November: In November, Trip to LEGOLAND was re-released for all to see, as this was our first official film. Beyond that, though, there was little else going on, though we did get the remaining scripts for Project U finished this month. The website was also expanded yet again.

     December: We finished the year on a strong note, with the re-releases of Indiana Jones and the Forbidden Mayan Temple and Indiana Jones and the Egyptian Tomb starting the month off. We also revealed details regarding more Play Set Adventures and announced the release of three new comics series: Out of His Time, Journey to Siberia, and Dino Attack: Saga of a Conflict. We also announced a release date for our THAC 12 entry: January 4th. The month ended with the conclusion of Archive Collections, followed by the release of Where it All Began, a Christmas film that shows when we made our first film and started our ten year journey.

     And with that, "Ten Years of Going Crazy!" is officially over. We would like to thank you all for celebrating our tenth anniversary with us, and join us again in the new year, where we take a look at where we are currently standing with both Project U and LEGO Island: The Animated Series, among other things.