Red Empire and OMG push hybrid-AI Mandopop musical into development
The animated project folds Ghost Month lore, Buddhist ideas and Indigenous cultural elements into a proposed franchise, while its creators say human performance remains central.
Red Empire Productions and Organic Media Group are developing "Alishan Escape: A Mandopop Ghost Adventure," an original animated musical built around hybrid-AI production techniques and Taiwan-inspired mythology. The story follows an international pop star who travels to Taiwan to finish an unfinished song written by her late parents, then crosses into the world of the dead during Ghost Month and must find her voice before her concert begins.
The film is set against Taiwan’s landscapes and spiritual traditions, and blends contemporary Mandopop with ancient mythology, comedy and supernatural adventure. Its source material draws on Ghost Month traditions, Buddhist philosophy and local Indigenous tribal cultures.
The project is a collaboration between Amie Casey, the founder and chief executive of Red Empire, and Steve Chicorel, a co-founder of OMG. Casey said the future of filmmaking belongs to creators who combine storytelling with new production technologies, and described the film as emotionally authentic, visually ambitious and rooted in a distinctive culture.
Chicorel called the project his love letter to Taiwan. He said hybrid AI, for this film, means combining technology with real singers and voices, and real actors and dancers whose performances shape the characters’ movement and emotion, rather than using AI as a substitute for human artistry.
The creative team has developed feature treatments for the first two films in a proposed franchise, along with a temporary soundtrack featuring lyrics and music by Chicorel. The companies are also in discussions with a major studio’s animation division about continued development.
Animator Greg Manwaring has joined the project. Variety described his career as spanning more than 35 years and including work on "The Lion King," "The Iron Giant," "Pocahontas" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
The new film follows another hybrid-AI animated project from the same companies. That series follows Al.i.Ce, a part-girl, part-machine character left in space after her father’s death, as she makes her way toward Earth to look for her estranged family.