The Mysterious Island

Set in a near-future world ravaged by climate catastrophe, The Mysterious Island follows NEB, a sharp, defiant sixteen-year-old living in an overcrowded refugee camp with her mother KYRA. Determined to expose the systematic disappearance of fellow refugees, Neb secretly documents testimony from camp residents, building a case against AYRTON, a corrupt guard selling people into forced labor. When journalist DAVID SPILLET arrives by hot air balloon to investigate the disappearances, Neb races to get her footage to him before camp authorities can suppress it. A midnight confrontation spirals out of control, sending Neb, Kyra, and kind-hearted handyman PENCROFF adrift in the stolen balloon, before crash-landing on a remote, uncharted island. Stranded and hunted by Ayrton and camp guards, the three survivors navigate a strange, seemingly sentient island filled with impossible flora and hidden provisions. Guided by mysterious occurrences and unexplained events, they eventually discover DAKKAR, a near-mythical exiled whistleblower who has been quietly watching over them. He provides them a path to escape, but Ayrton intercepts them at the dock. Back aboard the rescue ship, imprisoned and seemingly defeated, the refugees must find a way to outmaneuver Ayrton, protect the people they love, and get the truth out before it is buried along with everyone willing to tell it. With time running out and the odds stacked against them, their resourcefulness and courage face their ultimate test.

Style

The Mysterious Island explores universal themes rooted in the shared human experience. At its heart lies the tension between humanity and nature, and a reflection of how civilization, for all its progress, can strip us of our most essential instincts. Thrust into an uncharted world and cut off from everything familiar, a group of survivors must rely on knowledge, resilience, and one another to endure. Nature becomes both refuge and threat. Visually, the film weaves together stylized 3D animated characters and 2D hand painted backgrounds, marrying painterly textures with the depth and dynamism of camera movement. The island itself is a living character, its lush tropical beauty masking constant, unpredictable danger. Set against the bleak, constructed world of the refugee camp, it embodies a provocative duality: the fragility of civilization versus the raw, untameable force of nature. Through this contrast, the film excavates questions of survival, identity, and human connection. Sound and music are inseparable from the characters' inner lives. The soundscape expands the storytelling rather than merely accompanying it. Acoustic and improvisational in the camp, elemental and primal on the island. La Isla Misteriosa is, above all, an adventure that is both timeless and profoundly human.

Tech

We are a team of producers and directors with over two decades of experience in animation. We have built our careers on mastering traditional techniques and production methods, but we are clear-eyed about the moment we are in. The creative landscape in Europe and Latin America is undergoing a profound transformation, and new tools, processes, and ways of thinking are reshaping what animation can be and who gets to make it. This project's development is conceived as both a film and a laboratory. We aim to explore emerging technologies that redefine how animation is produced, visualized, and experienced, aiming to opening new possibilities in world-building, character performance, visual style, and the integration of artistic and technical workflows. We are exploring a flexible, experimental process that keeps artistic intention and technological execution in close conversation with one another. That exploration will be grounded in a strong ethical and creative foundation. Every digital element will stem from original artwork and a clearly defined artistic direction, ensuring that technology serves the vision, and never the other way around. We are interested in how innovation can deepen expressiveness, not substitute for human creativity. In this sense, technology becomes a means of expanding the language of animation while remaining true to its emotional and aesthetic core. We know that not every experiment may yield immediate results, and we welcome that uncertainty. Each test will sharpen our understanding of what is possible, generating insights that we intend to document and share with the broader animation community. We believe that the future of the medium will be built by those willing to use technology as a tool for artistic empowerment rather than imitation. In this project, innovation and artistry meet, each pushing the other forward.

Complete sequences

Extended trailer

Behind the scenes documentaries

Designing The Mysterious Island

Building The Mysterious Island

Animating The Mysterious Island

Rendering The Mysterious Island

Composing The Mysterious Island

Format: 4k, Scope, DCP
Color/BW: Color
Sound: Atmos
Duration: 80’
Technique: 3D
Genre: Drama / Adventure
Language: English
Production Companies: Studio Kimchi / Boipeba Filmes / COLA Animation
Country of Origin:
Spain / Brazil / Portugal
Year: 2030

 

Production Companies
STUDIO KIMCHI
BOIPEBA FILMES
COLA ANIMATION

Directed by
BRUNO SIMÕES

Inspired on the novel by
JULES VERNE

Story
BRUNO SIMÕES

Screenplay
LUISA PARNES THOMSON

Producers
BRUNO SIMÕES
CARLOTA POU
CARLOS SALDANHA
BRUNO CAETANO

Executive Producer
CARLOTA POU

BOIPEBA FILMES

Producer
CARLOS SALDANHA
MARCO ANTON

Script Consultants
ISABELLA BONO
CARLOS SALDANHA

Production Coordinator
FERNANDA CONDE


COLA ANIMATION

Producer
BRUNO CAETANO

Production Coordinator
ALICE CARMO

Storyboard
JORGE RIBEIRO
RICARDO ADREGO

Visual Development
DIOGO COSTA
GONÇALO DIAS

2D Animation
MONICA MARINHO

Music and Sound Design
AURELIEN VIEIRA LINO

Development Consultants
FAUSTA CARDOSO PEREIRA
MARIANA HIDALGO
BELLI RAMIREZ
JAVI DE LA CHICA
ANDREA BASILIO
DANIEL MARTINEZ LARA
JOSÉ LUIS FARIAS
MICHAEL KNAPP
SANTIAGO MONTESDEOCA
BORJA MONTORO
MĀRTIŅŠ UPĪTIS
EMANUELE PAVAROTTI
BARBIE HEUSINGER

STUDIO KIMCHI

Production Coordinators
LIDIA LUNA
INÊS PERES MESQUITA

Character Design & Art Direction
REGINA INSENSER

Visual Development
REGINA INSENSER
PATRICIA SAENZ

Color Keys
CATIA GRIFOLS
ESTRELLA VÁZQUEZ

Layout
BRUNO SIMÕES

Animation Director
DIANA SÁNCHEZ

AI Animation
WILBERT ALVAREZ

CG Generalists
MANAL BARGHOUT EL GHAILANI
NOELIA ARCOS RUBIO
TONI MORTERO

Development Interns
MAR MORENO
LUCA AYASO
JORGE VILLALONGA

Making Of
RODRIGO SEVILLA
BRUNO LOPES

Facilities Manager
ANA CHAPARRO

LIGHTFARM STUDIOS

Project Supervisor
FEPPA RODRIGUES

Producer
HÉLLYDA CAVALCANTI

Production Manager
JÉSSICA RODRIGUES

Concept Art
DIOGO FERREIRA
DIOGO SARAIVA

CG Supervisor
VITIM
GABRIEL LARANJEIRAS

Modeling
THIAGO TEIXEIRA DA SILVA
CAIAFFA

Texturing
MATHEUS ELIAS
EWERTON RUTH

Rigging
THIAGO VALENTIM
ALEXANDRE CARVALHO
JOAN DELLA ROSA

Layout Supervisor
JONATAS AMORIM

Layout
ANNA MATTE
LUCAS BUCHEB

Animation Supervisor
HELIO TAKAHASHI

Animation
GABRIEL PRESTES DE MORAES
KAUÊ SAMPAIO ASCIUTI
EWERTON MARCELINO FARIAS
CAIO NUNES SEQUEIRA
JONATHAN EDWARD DE MACEDO SIQUEIRA
JORGE ZAGATTO
ERINE JANEIRO BARBOSA RODRIGUES

Lookdev
VITIM
LUCAS BEZERRA

Lighting
MARCELO VAZ
HENZO COELHO

Compositing Supervisor
CLINT

Compositing
FILIPE HEINEN
NICOLE COSSO
ERIK CARDOSO
JUCA

© 2026 Studio Kimchi

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