LATAM urban legends make their way to HBO
Details
Gabriel Miramar-Garcia
| 06 March 2017

Popular Latin American urban legends are arriving on HBO LATINO in Fantasmagorias, the first production of short animated films from HBO Latin America.

Using advanced animation techniques, by blending traditional 2D and computer animation, Fantasmagorias brings to life Latin America’s supernatural legends which are often passed down from generation to generation through word of mouth. All eight episodes will be available on HBO’s digital platforms: HBO GO, HBO NOW and HBO On Demand.

“Fantasmagoria refers to a dream state where real and imaginary elements are blurred," said Lucinda Martinez, SVP, multicultural and international marketing, HBO Latino. “The HBO Latino series is a reimagining of urban legends we remember from our childhood, when we’re still wondering if what they told us was true or folklore.”

The specific aesthetic proposal of Fantasmagorias is inspired mainly by comic and cinematographic language, and features: a ubiquitous narrator who tells the stories; the atypical palette of black, white and magenta colours; the animation treatment with a traditional 2D illustration; and a cinematographic quality present in the sound, framing and rhythm of the narrative. Also, every episode has hidden references to cult films such as The Shining (Stanley Kubrick), E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg) and Village of the Damned (John Carpenter), among others.

The short-series Fantasmagorias includes eight authentic Latin American stories that, for storytelling purposes, have been located in different countries within distinctive regions: La Llorona (Mexico), La Cena Maldita (Argentina), Robo de Órganos (Brazil), El Silbón (Venezuela), Pasajera Fantasma (Chile), El Chupacabras (Brazil), La Sayona (Venezuela) and Gemelas Malditas (Argentina). Every Fantasmagorias episode has a running time of two to three minutes.