The project came to Claus via LA-based sales agent Cinema Management Group (CMG). Claus and CMG had already collaborated on their animated feature The Little Vampire 3D, which had sold all over the world. He had travelled to Paris to meet CMG principal Noeltner for “a nice lunch and some chit-chat.” It was then that Noeltner revealed that he was developing a project with the Peruvians.

“When I was on the train back from Paris to Amsterdam, I thought, you know what, that is something I would very much like to be involved with,” Claus remembers. He liked the environmental side of the story as well as the fact that it was rooted in Peruvian folklore and had a non-white female protagonist. He called Noeltner back to ask how it was being put together. That set in motion the chain of events which led to Claus directing the film alongside Jose Zelada.

Claus is vastly experienced in the art of co-production. As an independent filmmaker, he has worked with multiples partners from different countries. This may have been his first Peruvian venture but he approached it in the same open-minded and flexible fashion as all this previous movies. All of the design work - the clothes, the props, the look of the film - was done in Peru. “They had designed the digital characters, which we brought to life, we went on with animating the film, following the agreed screenplay, storyboards and so forth.”

There were language hurdles to overcome. Claus’ co-director Zelada did not speak any English. “It sounds crazy but, in the end, it was totally workable.” They agreed on a work-split and went out of their way to respect one another’s creative vision. It helped too that Claus was working with top Dutch editor Job ter Burg, whose other credits include titles like Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta and Martin Koolhoven’s Brimstone.

Around two decades ago, after he had produced films like Anthony Waller’s British thriller Mute Witness and An American Werewolf In Paris, the globe-trotting Claus set his sights on The Netherlands as a potential new home. He has close connections with various Dutch producers. “I liked the country, I liked the people, I decided to live here,” he explains. That was two decades ago. Yes, he speaks Dutch. As for animation, he describes it as the most “international” kind of filmmaking: one that easily travels across borders. Claus believes that a film like Ainbo resonates with audiences all over the world. Everyone is aware of the threat to the Amazon rainforest.

“I am amazed about how much children are aware about the environment and how much they care about protecting nature.” 

The producer-director is experienced enough to know how tough it remains for independent animation to compete in a marketplace dominated by Hollywood majors. “Family entertainment is always mainstream. There is no family entertainment art movie audience.”

The roll-out of Ainbo was delayed by the Covid crisis, but has done well wherever it has been released so far. Plans are still being put in place for the launch in the Netherlands and dozens of other territories, once lockdowns are lifted. “The film is something which the Latin American industry can be really proud of. There have not been a lot of films of that scale that have been produced there,” Claus declares.

Now, the director/producer is turning to new projects, among them is new animated epic Panda Bear in Africa, due to start animation this year, with scheduled delivery being the end of 2022.

For more information on Annecy, click here.

For more information on Ainbo: The Spirit of the Amazon, visit Cool Beans.
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Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund and Film Production Incentive - Animation.