Award-winning Polish composer Mikolai Stroinski (CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3, The Liberator) has composed the music for Poland’s first full-length animation feature Diplodocus. Creator Wojtek Wawszczyk wrote and directed the magical adventure comedy inspired by the 1980’s comic books of Tadeusz Baranowski.
First premiering at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, Diplodocus will open in Poland on October 4, followed by other territories in late 2024 and early 2025.
In the film, Diplodocus is a small, curious dinosaur whose parents disappear mysteriously. He lives in a comic book drawn by underrated artist Ted. Convinced by his publisher that his dinosaur comic is holding him back, Ted grabs an eraser… only for Diplodocus to discover he can teleport from one comic to another. To save his parents, Diplodocus must first believe in himself and convince Ted to do the same.
The voice cast includes Małgorzata Kożuchowska, Borys Szyc, and Arkadiusz Jakubik.
“Diplodocus allowed me to build a bridge to my younger self – a boy reading Baranowski’s comic books in the ‘80s,” said Stroinski. “Back then I wasn’t even dreaming that I would be able to combine my primary passion – music – with those stories and colorful images. I hope the audiences will feel the joy and passion that I felt while working on this animation while obviously enjoying the journey that the movie provides.”
“Diplodocus is inspired by comic books from the ‘80s and I wanted the visuals and sound to be reminiscent of cinema from that period,” added Wawszczyk. “I suggested to Mikolai that he combine the sound of classical synthesizers with a large symphonic orchestra, and he loved the idea. Mikolai has a great way of working: first, we went through each scene in the film in terms of the emotions experienced by the characters and the hierarchy of importance – whose emotions are most important at any given moment.”
The upcoming film has been sold to over 100 countries worldwide, including the UK, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux, and South Korea. The film was co-produced by international specialists from the Czech PFX studio, is co-produced with Polish Television and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. Human Film acts as the animation studio.
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—Laurén brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.