James Baxter Releases Animation Test For Cancelled Movie MEDUSA And Now I Need It

Back in the simpler time of 2014, Sony Pictures announced a new animated movie they were developing titled Medusa. It would tell the story of the monster in a new way. Medusa would be just a girl trying to fit in with her peers and when her new found popularity angers the wrong God, she gets cursed to be the snake haired monster we know. She ends up banding together with a ragtag group of mythological misfits and learns that what makes you different is what makes you strong. While the story sounds fun though not groundbreaking, Lauren Faust, the executive producer of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, had been attached to the project. Sadly, everything eventually fell apart and finally in 2019 the project was officially canceled.

Recently though, legendary animator James Baxter released a short animation test for the ill fated film. While it is short, we do get to see a snake haired Medusa running, jumping, and interacting with the adorable snakes that comprise her hair. I really love the character design we get to see, it is very reminiscent of Hercules for obvious reasons which is a movie I love. I don’t know if the ultimate fate of this movie was going to be a good old fashion 2D hand drawn style or if it would have been a 3D animated film, but I think we really missed out on something fun when this got scrapped. I love the little details of having each snake have its own distinct little face and reactions to things and how Medusa is clearly designed for action with her spear and shield. 

Check out the animation test below and let me know what you think, would you have watched this movie?