The puppet master and filmmaker shares footage and images from his return to the ‘Yamasong’ universe with a sequel centered on 2 young heroes as their planet faces new peril while it heals from a ravaging war; CTN launches its first Sam Koji Hale Puppet Film Scholarship, pairing in-progress student films with Hale’s workshops ahead of this November’s expo.
In 2010, animator and producer Sam Koji Hale shared with audiences his love affair with the world of puppetry through the release of his short film, Yamasong.
Set to the music of Shoji Kameda’s taiko drumming band On Ensemble, Yamasong followed the adventures of Nani, a patchwork cyborg girl who meets a turtle warrior named Shojun. Together, the two journey through a fantastical world of turbulent oceans and nether spaces.
In 2017, the short was developed into the feature film Yamasong: March of the Hollows starring Nathan Fillion as Shojun and Abigail Breslin as Nani, whose characters embark on a quest to defeat a sinister mechanized army and save the creatures of their world. The film is available to rent on Prime Video, and the trailer can be watched here: Yamasong: March of the Hollows Official Trailer
Hale, who had recently dedicated most of his time to serving as art director on Nickelodeon’s 3DCG animated series Big Nate, never lost hope of someday returning to Yamasong when the timing was right. Now, after exiting Nickelodeon, Hale is turning his attention more fully to indie projects, revisiting the planet of the puppets for Yamasong 2, and working soup-to-nuts with Creative Talent Network’s Sam Koji Hale Puppet Film Scholarship recipients who will present at this year’s expo, taking place November 20-23.
“It’s a long story, but after I made the Yamasong feature, other puppet projects came up and, by September 2019, all of them fell through,” shares Hale. “I was like, ‘Where do I go from here?’ And then I was contacted to work on Big Nate because David Skelly, who was a puppeteer on Yamasong, was at Nickelodeon. I enjoyed getting to work with cut-outs and stop-motion animation on that show but then, last year, I was invited to present for Yamasong’s 15-year anniversary at the Creative Talent Network Animation Expo (CTNX) and it kickstarted my wanting to work on the story’s next chapter.”
Last year’s CTNX – dedicated to connecting artists in the animation, filmmaking, and visual storytelling industry and providing resources for student filmmakers and independent creatives – featured a Yamasong screening, gallery show and crew reunion for the 15th anniversary. CTN also announced the launch of their new Sam Koji Hale Puppet Film Scholarship. Applicants were accepted this year, and films are currently in progress, with Hale hosting workshops and overseeing scripts development, building and shooting with the filmmakers. In one month, the filmmakers will share their projects at the 2025 expo.
“This is our first puppet scholarship,” says CTN founder Tina Price, whose non-profit organization has also offered an Aaron Blaise animation-focused scholarship, a Kent Melton sculpting scholarship, a Mary Blair scholarship for women designers, and others. “When I first met Sam, we had a very inspiring discussion about Yamasong and what he and CTN could do together. We were happy to start this scholarship as a way to both help aspiring puppet filmmakers and celebrate Sam and his medium.”
Yamasong - March of the Hollows: Bringing Back Puppetry & Practical FX:
As Hale trains future puppet masters, Yamasong 2 is also in the works.
At the end of the first film, produced by Dark Dunes Productions, a violent war ensues between the organic creatures of Yamasong and the machine creatures who seek to take over the planet. While the mechanical tyrant Yari, who is also Nani’s mother, is ultimately defeated, a cyborg infant is rescued from the remains of Yari and Nani is determined to save this being she calls her “little sister” and raise her among organic friends.
The sequel picks up from there and, as the Yamasong planet heals from the conflicts that raged in the first film, it is discovered there is a race of tech scavenger creatures who seek to salvage what technology is left and use it to create weapons. Two child friends – Nani’s little sister and Shojun’s young Terrapin turtle cousin – face the challenges of their society rebuilding itself while also pushing back against the new power-seeking threats that could destroy what hope Yamasong has left.
Here are two exclusive videos Hale shared with AWN to show some of the team’s progress thus far on the sequel:
“There are also questions surrounding Nani’s sister, this young robot girl who came from this evil queen,” notes Hale. “How much of her is new and fresh and how much of her is still the queen who wanted to conquer Yamasong and turn everyone into machines? This movie talks about the girl’s chance to choose her own path and the chance of those around her to nurture her in a positive direction.”
While Yamasong: March of the Hollows dealt with the conflict of an organic world imposed upon by advanced technology, Yamasong 2 explores nature versus nurture and the balance and peace that can be achieved if two very different people both seek to live in harmony together. It’s a poignant topic, and though the sequel is still in the early stages of production, its focus will likely remain a timely message as this has been humanity’s struggle for hundreds of years.
“Even by the end of the first film, Shojun has a robotic hand,” notes Hale. “Finding common ground was part of this story from the beginning but we want to get the chance to explore that more.”
Many of the original Yamasong crew are returning, joined by some filmmakers from Big Nate. The Addams Family’s Taylor Bibat will return as Assistant Director, Handmade Puppet Dreams’ Alex U. Griffin returns as director of photography, and returning puppeteers include Robot Chicken’s Adrian Rose Leonard, Tron: Legacy’s Frank Langley, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’s Mark Bryan Wilson, Fraggle Rock: Rock On!’s Veronica Langley, and others.
“There’s definitely room for more people on our team,” says Hale. “We’ve had a few meetings and we’re still building momentum toward the sequel. But we’re all really happy to be together and to take this story further.”
Some of the producers on Hale’s first film included Toby Froud, who played the baby character Toby in Labyrinth and is now known for his work on Kubo and the Two Strings as well as The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, along with Jim Henson’s daughter Heather Henson who gave Hale his initial grant to make Yamasong. The voice cast, in addition to Fillion and Breslin, included Malcolm McDowell, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Weller, Edward Asner, Bruce Davison, George Takei and Freida Pinto.
“There was a huge level of enthusiasm for the project from the cast and crew,” remembers Hale. “When we got Nathan Fillion, he shared that he’s always wanted to do something with The Muppets, ever since he was a kid. When he got this offer, with Heather Henson's name attached to it, he jumped at it. Whoopi is also a big Muppets fan. Then other people came on because they wanted to work with Nathan and Whoopi.”
But Yamasong: March of the Hollows was also a chance to take part in one of only a few fully puppeted, epic feature films. Labyrinth, The Muppets movies, Gremlins, and many other notable feature films with puppets still had live-action protagonists. Meanwhile, Yamasong and The Dark Crystal are both fully puppeted (with the exception of some CG animation and VFX) epic adventures and there aren’t many of their kind. The chance to make a film like that doesn’t come around often.
“It really is a lot of fun,” says Hale, whose first puppet teacher was Karen Prell (Red Fraggle) from Fraggle Rock, and who spent lots of time in writing workshops with The Muppet Show’s long-time head writer Jerry Juhl. “When I started working on Big Nate, after I first set up my art director's office, people would just come by my office to look at the puppets I had. There’s something about working with something real that is really magical, and people are drawn to it.”
He adds, “It is hard to convince people to take a risk on these films, but people like us get passionate and you can’t keep that creative spirit down.”
Those interested in joining Hale’s Yamasong 2 team can reach out to him through: [email protected]
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
