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Will Feature Joe Vasconcellos Theme Song

A special composition by Chilean musician Joe Vasconcellos will be the theme song for the animated film Ogu y Mampato en Rapa Nui (Ogu and Mampato on Easter Island), now in production and scheduled for release next year. Juan Diego Garreton, the executive producer of Chileanimadores, which is making the film, says songs by other national artists may be on the soundtrack as well.

The film is based on comic characters created by cartoonist Themo Lobos, which first came out in the 1970s and is part of Chilean popular culture. They were recently reissued by Dolmen.

The action takes place on the Chilean-owned Easter Island, a Polynesian outpost some 3,000 miles west of mainland Chile. Foreign visitors have adventures under the guidance of the naïve but brave cave dweller Ogu. And when according to the customs of the indigenous Rapa Nui of the island they go to the center of the earth, the meet Marama, a young woman who serves as island host and occasional guide.

Some 60 cartoon artists are currently working to produce the film under the direction of Alejandro Rojas. The producers say it's possible they'll choose well-known Chilean stars for the characters' voices in the film, as long as they're actors experienced in working with voice dubbing.

A two and a half minute synopsis of the film plus a "making of" (film about the making of the film) will be presented on Friday, June 2 at 9 p.m. at the Alameda Art Cinema (Alameda 139, downtown Santiago, 639-2749). Garreton said the voices used in the synopsis are not the final ones to be employed, and that the final decision on the voices to be used should be made in about two months. The drawings will take some nine more months to complete.

Chileanimadores began raising funding for the film, estimated to cost US$1 million, last November in conjunction with Spanish backers.

SOURCE: El Mercurio

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