Athena Studios is a brand new production company that aims to be a hot new name in stop-motion, much like LAIKA. On the most recent episode of the Animation Interviews podcast, Founder and CEO Jon Peters and animator Brice Parker talked about Auntie Claus, a Christmas special that promises to be a throwback to the classic Rankin/Bass specials that inspired it. But now it turns out that Auntie Claus won’t quite be Athena’s first project out of the gate.

Animation World News reported that Athena Studios is currently in production on an animated stop-motion short film titled Mermaids on Mars. Based on a story by children’s author Nancy Guettier, the film will revolve around Julian, a young boy who goes on an adventure to Mars, where he discovers that the last surviving mermaids of the universe are living in a small body of water there.

The film will feature five original songs by Guettier, who will also produce the project, while Jon Peters will direct. The studio has also helped adapt the original full-length script by Nancy Guttier and Jarrett Galante into a short format. Should Athena Studios branch out into feature films, it’s entirely possible that the short film may serve as a springboard for a feature adaptation (since a full-length script already exists).

Mermaids on Mars will debut in film festivals starting in January of next year. For more information on the film itself, visit the official Mermaids on Mars Facebook page.

What do you think? Could Athena Studios become the next LAIKA?