American McGee's Alice Short Films Funded by Kickstarter

A Kickstarter seeking funding for a short film based on American McGee's Alice called Alice: Otherlands has concluded, with the $200,000 goal being surpassed in the final 24 hours.

Just over $222,000 was raised during the three-week crowdfunding campaign. With the money, American McGee's company, Spicy Horse, will be able to obtain the film rights to Alice and arrange for a series of short films, among other things, to be created.

"[T]he funding will allow us to create a series of animated short films, pursue larger animated series possibilities, begin development work on a feature film and access larger funding options for a possible feature film production in the future," reads a post-campaign update from McGee on Kickstarter.

As outlined in the Kickstarter pitch, Spicy Horse itself won't be creating the films or earning a profit on the backers' money. $100,000 will go toward obtaining a 12-month license for the film rights and the remaining money will go toward the animations themselves. The exact scope of the project could still expand, as Spicy Horse is continuing to accept backers outside of Kickstarter.

The stretch goal of $250,000 that would have ensured Susie Brann and Roger Jackson, the voice actors in the games for Alice and the Cheshire Cat, respectively, would be involved was not reached. However, McGee did say, "I think we'll be able to make something work," due to how close to the goal Spicy Horse ended up and the fact that it's been seeking additional funding on the side.

The Otherlands films are not meant to replace a third game in the Alice series. Instead interest in the films will be used to help convince the necessary parties (including Electronic Arts) that a third game should be made. Negotiations for the game rights are said to be "ongoing."

The digital shorts are expected to be released in December 2014.

Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who spends his spare time agonizing over the final seasons of The X-Files. Check out what he's saying on Twitter and follow him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com