Prepare to be astonished by a film so audacious and offbeat that even its creators are stunned it got the green light. “Spermageddon,” an animated musical directed by Tommy Wirkola (“Violent Night”) and Rasmus A.
Silversten (“Louis & Luca: The Big Cheese Race”), takes viewers on a wild ride through the perspective of Simon the Semen. This unique character, one of Jen’s sperm, embarks on a daring quest to find Lisa’s egg after the two awkward teenagers have sex for the first time.
Premiering at the Annecy Animation Festival, “Spermageddon” has already made waves, with Variety releasing an exclusive clip online. The film is an unusual collaboration between a horror director and a children’s animation filmmaker, yet this unlikely partnership seems to have hit the mark.
While it might sound like a Norwegian spin-off of Seth Rogan’s “Sausage Party,” it’s actually tailored for a teenage audience. Silversten explains, “We would say it’s like ‘Inside Out’ for adults, but we didn’t want it to be R-rated – we wanted it to be for teenagers. You see what happens to your brain and your body when you fall in love or feel passion.”
Spermageddon (Square One Entertainment)
Wirkola reminisces about his inspiration for the film, drawn from his teenage years listening to a call-in radio show where listeners asked questions about sex. “It’s cute, it’s awkward,”
he says. “I used to listen to this radio show where people asked the host about sex. It was surprising how little they knew sometimes. We wanted to have this innocence but also reflect the world where you have access to all sorts of sexual imagery and pornography.”
“Spermageddon” aims to challenge the often reserved Western attitudes towards sex. Its goal is to demystify the experience of having sex for the first time, acknowledging the normalcy of feeling awkward.
Following its debut, Wirkola expressed his amazement that the film was made, saying, “When we finally got to make it, there were times when I was looking at the screen, thinking: ‘How the hell did we get this movie made?!’”
Unable to find backing in Hollywood, Wirkola and Silversten turned to European studios, which were more receptive to exploring the film’s themes.
Wirkola notes, “We made it in Europe – that’s how. Years ago, I pitched it in Hollywood and it never went anywhere. When it comes to sex, it’s more delicate over there. When we wrote the script, it wasn’t that controversial. Then it suddenly became a ‘thing,’ not just in the US but also in many places in Europe. In Norway, no one will even blink.”
While “Spermageddon” is currently making the rounds on the animated festival circuit, an international release date has yet to be announced. Keep an eye out for this daring and hilariously bold film that’s sure to spark conversations.
