From the futuristic mind of Marisa Cohen and Peter Issac Alexander comes their animated series, The Cloaked Realm. In the not-so-distant future, the Earth is dying, and humanity’s only hope is to colonize Mars. So the corporations in charge have created the A.R.E.S. space mission to the Red Planet.
This is a review of episode four of Tunnel 23. Our story begins with Dr. Rubicon Holloway in a holographic simulation urging her love, Dr. Richard Jarvis, that it’s time to let her go. Dr. Jarvis is about to lead the first A.R.E.S. team on its all-important mission to space station T.H.R.A.C.E. Dr. Holloway has a degenerative disease, and as a result, she is disqualified from not only being a part of the mission but leaving the dying Earth. As Jarvis prepares for his mission, the resourceful Holloway discovers the secret “Tunnel 23” and uncovers its startling secret about A.R.E.S. and its sinister cover-up.
“…the Earth is dying, and humanity’s only hope is to colonize Mars.”
I’m continually amazed at the advancement of off-the-shelf animation software, and The Cloaked Realm is an example of how far it’s come. Filmmakers Cohen and Alexander have pieced together a ten-part animated series coming in at over four hours. Judging from this one episode, it’s quite impressive. Their series features computer-driven 2D animation showing off the filmmakers’ character animation as well as their quality futuristic titles and background animations. It may not have the fluidity of traditional hand-drawn cell animation, but it makes ample use of current tools created by Adobe and Live2D.
Though the apocalyptic “Noah’s Ark” is not necessarily new, The Cloaked Realm features well-developed characters, plotlines, and exciting action sequences to make the series worth a look.
The Cloaked Realm is currently on its film festival run. For more information, visit The Cloaked Realm official website.
"…well-developed characters, plotlines, and exciting action sequences..."
