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Even Mice Belong

in Heaven

A little mouse, Shupito, who experiences his own death, wanders through a fantastic world of animal heaven. Will she face her fears? Initial visual designs of the environment for an animated puppet film by directors Honza Bubeníček and Denisa Abrhámová Grimmová. 2015.

Producer

  • Vladimír Lhoták

Directors

  • Denisa Abrhámová Grimmová

  • Jan Bubeníček

My role

  • Jan Brukner
    Concept Artist / Designer

What I Did

  • Early Concept Art

  • Moodboarding

  • Visualisation

2015

Little Mouse
goes through the gates
of death to know herself...

"Mice Belong in Heaven Too" was the original working title of the ambitious animated/puppet film based on the book by Iva Procházková. Sometime around the spring of 2015, the director/animator duo : Honza Bubeníček and Denisa Abrhámová Grimm approached me with the possibility of collaborating on the environmental concepts for this film. It was, a few years before the actual production of the film...

STORY of early preconceptions

After reading the first versions of the script, I was excited and it was immediately clear to me that this was an exceptional project. The plot itself, where the main character of the story, a little mouse named Shupito, experiences her own death and wanders through the landscape of the fantastic world of animal heaven, struck me as both gently poetic and funny. Will she face her fear and arch-enemy, the fox? Will she recognize herself? The subject of death has been and is something "shunned" in our society. So I thought it was very brave and original that Honza and Denisa embarked on this project together.

My involvement in the project was brief and several years before the actual production. I created several designs for environments, studies, creative moodboards, etc., which ended up being quite different from the final film. The film will be released in 2021.

Below you can see the concepts that preceded the development of some of the locations. Be warned, some may be spoilers for the film's story. (!) So don't recommend reading before you see the film.

Heavenly bathroom

The Heavenly Bathroom environment is where the animals cleanse themselves of the worst impurities they brought from Earth. It can be all sorts of experiences and unpleasant things that stick to them like that imaginary mud. I took inspiration from mineralised pools and tectonic hot springs to realize the 'bathroom environment'. Trees inspired by Yemeni dragon trees and dragon fruit (Pitahaya red) were to tower over their heads like an umbrella.

I took inspiration from mineralised pools and tectonic hot springs to realize the 'bathroom environment'. Trees inspired by Yemeni dragon trees and dragon fruit (Pitahaya red) were to tower over their heads like an umbrella.

Forest of the forest

The mysterious heavenly "Forest of the Woods" is the culmination of the story of the animals. Here they face their darkest fears and anxieties. Its dark places hide terrors. Animals suffering from a sense of sacrifice become prey animals. Creatures that suffer from anger become predators. This is a brilliant narrative catabasis that finds comparison with ancient myths or epics.

We have created several design studies and sketches for this location. Given my complex approach, I tried to think in the context of the setting, so I created a small orientation map to give a greater sense of the setting and continuity to the story. I worked with dried fruit motifs, mushrooms or purely abstract shapes based on the microcosm of mosses, lichens, epiphytes and mycelium. I designed the trees of the forest in fantasy versions of giant trees, memorial to imaginary trees with tops inspired by dried Lotus. The result was the Lotus Gate design.

I worked with dried fruit motifs, mushrooms or purely abstract shapes based on the microcosm of mosses, lichens, epiphytes and mycelium.

After
Before

I designed the trees of the forest in fantasy versions of giant trees, memorial to imaginary trees with tops inspired by dried Lotus. The result was the Lotus Gate design.

Lunapark

I also spent a short while working on a study of the more complex environment of Lunapark, which in the story served as a place of perpetual entertainment allowing the animals to vent their desires and aspirations and indulge in various games. Meadows of chamomile then meandered around the place, giving all visitors a chance to rest and relax for a while. This pre-concept was just an initial reflection on the theme. It was nothing conclusive. Here I took inspiration from various animal activities that animals commonly perform and translated them into fun attractions (swinging trees, burrowing burrows, a haunted cave in the form of a cat, a tree coaster, etc....) In the final film, the concept and development has moved much further and is quite unlike these first concepts, which were more likely to serve the initial brainstorming of the writers and the needs of producer Vladimir Lhotak.

I was not involved in the actual production and development of the film concept. At the time of the film's early production, my steps were already leading in a slightly different direction, namely towards the creation of virtual experiences and art direction in a creative AR/VR agency.

I think after watching this film, the ancient deep question of King Solomon from the book of Ecclesiastes is clear :-) "Who knows whether the spirit of the sons of men ascends upward and the spirit of the ANIMALS descends downward to the earth?"

idea maker
visual  artist
creative director

Contact me

  • CELL : +420 721235897
  • MAIL : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Prague / Czech Republic
    Central Europe

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