The background artist on Adult Swim shows like ‘Smiling Friends’ and ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’ discusses his animated short, now in production, a vibrantly stylized reinterpretation of the story of Jesus featuring bipedal animals rather than humans.
When he was confirmed in the Catholic church, former Adult Swim and Cartoon Network freelance animator Charles Kugler wasn’t allowed to choose Saint Teresa of Ávila as his patron saint, despite his deep love for the well-known nun and religious reformer. But Kugler got the chance to explore the characteristics and theologies of his favorite saint in his new 2D animated short film, Judas Iscariot.
“As a man, I was not allowed to have a female saint for my patron though I’ve always been really fascinated by Saint Teresa and she’s always had an interesting presence in my faith,” says Kugler, who wrote and directed the short. “The way she speaks about her connection to God is so humble and also very painful. She talks a lot about divine pain and how love for God is something that is not so simple for mortals to understand. It seemed fitting to base a lot of Judas’ character, specifically on these texts. Even some of the dialogue in the script is straight from this book.”
Produced through Kugler’s newly founded Studio Stigmata, Judas Iscariot is an animated retelling of The New Testament of the Holy Bible, with a vibrantly stylized reinterpretation of the story's core figures: Jesus of Nazareth – a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader recognized by Christians as “The Son of God” – as well as Jesus’ 12 disciples and his trusted follower Mary Magdalene. The story, which features the characters as bipedal animals rather than humans, mainly focuses on the relationship between Jesus (a red bull) and one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (a blue rabbit), whose betrayal is what leads to Jesus’ crucifixion and death.
Check out the trailer:
“Some people feel Jesus should have been a lion, to represent the Lion of Judah, or a lamb to represent The Lamb of God,” notes Kugler. “But a bull is not only a sacrificial animal, it’s also neither predator nor prey. They are strong creatures, but they are not predators. And Jesus was a complex figure. He doesn’t fit an archetype. And I felt making Judas as a rabbit was the right choice because it’s like the polar opposite of a bull. Bulls are mighty and steady. Rabbits are very weak and fast-moving, nervous, and frantic.”
Melis Çemberci, lead character designer, adds, “Making these characters animals also let us imply certain things with the design. For example, Jesus’ bull horns are shaped like a halo around his head, which was much more creative than just drawing a floating halo.”
The short film, which is expected to run 15-20 minutes long, began its Kickstarter campaign this past April finished last Saturday, May 17, with over 3,000 backers pledging nearly $165,000 to help bring this project to life. That’s more than $130,000 over their original goal.
Judas Iscariot explores mature themes pertaining to love, devotion, and control. What's the difference between love and worship? Are we ever free from the people we love? When does forgiveness become impossible?
“I grew up very religious and The Passion of the Christ was always such a striking story to me,” shares Kugler. “If I’m being honest, it’s probably the most important story to ever come out of humanity. At least, it’s definitely the one about which people have the most to say. I wanted to do something that combined an appreciation for that story with my love for animation.”
Along with the Christian Bible, The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila and even certain texts from the Catholic Apocrypha (biblical or related writings not considered by all to be from the official canon of scripture), Kugler and his team also drew inspiration from iconic animated films like Wolfgang Reitherman’s Disney Animation feature, Robin Hood. The 1973 film also swapped human characters from the legendary stories of this 14th century heroic outlaw with walking, talking animals.
“I think, when an audience is watching an animated movie, they can place more of themselves into this animal character because it’s not trying to exactly mimic a real human on screen,” says Kugler. “These animals create almost like a blank canvas on which viewers can place their own emotions and experiences. Veggie Tales is another good example of that being done in Christian circles.”
And Kugler wanted the Judas Iscariot project to be something appreciated by both religious and non-religious audiences. Even the production team is an eclectic mix of people from all walks of life and types of faith. Collectively, they’ve worked on projects like Smiling Friends, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Fairly OddParents: A New Wish, and more.
And they all thoroughly enjoyed working on this project.
“I grew up in Istanbul, which was a very diverse culture made up of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism,” shares Çemberci. “I really respect Charles’ artistry and, for this project, was able to draw from a lot of Eastern Orthodox aesthetics and art. I was inspired by Christian art, medieval illuminations, Catholic architecture and brought that all together. The project excited me, and I was really happy that I got to put some of myself into this.”
Animation lead Fernanda Cipriani Llontop, who grew up Catholic, added, “And I was so down to experiment and come up with this entirely new art style. And obviously I’m always down to help a friend on a project.”
As a reformed Southern Baptist, Judas Iscariot’s marketing manager Ella Waddell says she was used to a more reserved approach to theology and Kugler’s film was a welcomed change of pace.
“Baptists typically take more of an academic and almost Calvinistic approach to religion,” says Waddell. “Catholics have all this beautiful imagery, and Baptists are much more reserved whenever it comes to visualizations. Being able to show such a powerful story with such powerful visuals is something that allows people to connect to this story and it’s what draws me to this project. Charles and I would have these really deep conversations at 3 a.m. talking about these faith stories and the visuals for this film.”
They are certainly worth talking about. The 2D animation’s line work is in constant motion, even when characters are standing still, and the color schemes are saturated in red, purple, green, and blue.
“I’m a background artist,” says Kugler. “Colors are my whole thing. And I was fiddling with the colorscripts for months up until the trailer. Each scene in the trailer highlights all the diverse color palettes we want to have in this film. That first scene has a lot of yellows, then you’ve got these deep blues and greens. I tried to sneak green into every single scene as much as possible. I don’t want to reveal too much, but green plays an important role in this story.”
What Kugler did share is that some of the colors in the film resemble the “Five Colors of Lent” or the “Five Liturgical Colors.” Green means life and growth. Yellow means glory. Red, like the red bull representing Jesus, symbolizes sacrifice. Blue represents deep reflection and is symbolized through Judas as the blue rabbit. Purple, which has long represented God’s Love in Christianity, is a combination of Jesus’ red character coloring and Judas’ blue hues.
“I was inspired by artists like Mary Blair and Eyvind Earle and studied those works and high contrast colors like crazy,” shares Kugler, referring to the animators and artists known for films like Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty. “I wanted to give the audience something to chew on with colors and make everything as impactful as possible. We wanted this to feel like a dream.”
Cipriani Llontop added, “We went through a lot of those miniature paintings and concept art from Sleeping Beauty at the very start of production. Our film also really lent itself to those kinds of traditional patterns and textures.”
There are plenty of scenes where colors are also layered on top of each other either through shadows or visions overlaying reality, and the sequences look like stained glass windows found in churches.
“I remember in a lot of meetings Charles was really stressing about the colors because he wanted every frame to look like a painting,” shares Celeste Monsivais, who was part of the visual development team on the film. “He wanted someone to pause in the middle of any sequence and be able to just stare at it and appreciate it. It’s super ambitious but also a very intentional art style that really shines through in the trailer and, we hope, shines in the full length of the film.”
Çemberci adds, “That’s the strength of animation. We get to do things that are just outside the realm of possibility.”
The Disney inspiration is clear, but when asked if his time working with studios like Adult Swim and Cartoon Network affected his chosen art directions for Judas Iscariot, Kugler initially didn’t think there was much of a relation.
“I was just a background artist,” says Kugler. “I wasn’t in charge of anything.”
Çemberci chimes in, “But you were in the soup.”
Kugler replies, “I never thought about that before. I never thought about how my love for Adult Swim and their animation space would lead to me emulating that vibe. I’ll have to think about that.”
The animatic, voice acting and score for Judas Iscariot is projected to be completed by the end of 2025, with the final version of the film ready to appear in festivals by 2026. A public YouTube release is also planned for 2027.
For those wanting to aid in seeing Judas Iscariot reach the finish line of production, Kugler encourages everyone to follow their social accounts to keep up with the production process.
Instagram: @judasiscariotfilm
Twitter: @judasfilm
Website: judasiscariotfilm.com
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
