New York’s Newest Hero Is Phantom Boy, Watch UK trailer

Leo has a big secret, but he is a hero, a special kind of hero with an evil illness Cancer. Phantom Boy is the highly anticipated latest from filmmakers Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol, (A CAT IN PARIS was nominated for an Academy Award), a stylish noir caper set in the shadowy streets and alleyways of New York.Soda Pictures have sent us the UK version of the trailer, check it out…

Featuring the vocal talents of Vincent D’Onofrio, Jared Padalecki and Fred Armisen, the film tells the story of Leo, an 11-year-old boy whose mysterious illness allows him to transform into a ghostly phantom and leave the confines of his body. While in a hospital, he teams up with an injured detective in order to foil a destructive plot concocted by a nefarious villain known only as ‘The Face’.

Leo has a secret. A mysterious illness has transformed him into a phantom boy, able to leave the confines of his body and explore the city as a ghostly apparition. While in the hospital, he befriends Alex, a New York City cop injured while attempting to capture a nefarious gangster who has taken control of the city’s power supply, throwing the metropolis into chaos. Now they must form an extraordinary duo, using Leo’s phantom powers and Alex’s detective work to foil the plot and save New York from destruction.

What I like about this is it proves animation doesn’t have to be some over indulged product placement cartoon, but something with substance and Style. When it comes to illness like cancer in children we sometimes forget they get the nasty illness adults do plus our approach to telling them about it can be ‘minimal’. Phantom Boy will certainly be adored by kids, a great way to learn them about the illness but also pull at the heartstrings of the parents.

The film is released in UK cinemas on 21 October in conjunction with Children’s Cinema Club, a BFI-supported initiative to release traditional, non-mainstream animations to a wider audience. It is also a highlight of the Family section of the 2016 BFI London Film Festival.