Press Release
Henshin, Inc. announced today that it has optioned and is developing an animated feature film based on KLONOA: DOOR TO PHANTOMILE, the award-winning Bandai Namco video game.
“Klonoa is a late 90s video game icon, representing that special sense of hope and adventure we all collectively once had,” said Rob Pereyda, Henshin’s founder and producer. “We are honored to be entrusted by Bandai Namco with this franchise, and will work hard to do justice to the characters.”
Originally released in 1997 in Japan, the KLONOA series of video games spans over a half dozen titles and has been released in multiple languages across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The series follows an anthropomorphic cat-like “dream traveler” named Klonoa along with his friends Hewpoe, Lolo, Popka and more, as they adventure through dreams and travel to wherever help is needed.
The yet untitled animated KLONOA feature will be an entirely new story set in the same universe as the original game and is being produced by Henshin’s Rob Pereyda and penned by Hitoshi Ariga, who will also co-produce and lead character design. Ariga’s works include original character design for the POKEMON series, authoring the manga adaptations of MEGA MAN and THE BIG O and co-creating the comic series YOUKAI TORIMONOCHOU. Pereyda previously served in a producing role at Bandai Namco for classic franchise re-imagination, including BRAVOMAN, MAPPY and WONDER MOMO, and is a member of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council and ASIFA-Hollywood.
Further details on the feature will be announced at a future date.