Much more versatile position with Mack Animation
Useful skills’ extension
Since 2010, the animation company Ambient Entertainment has regularly created successful projects with Europa-Park, bringing the popular character Ed Euromaus to life on cinema screens for the first time, among other things. In the future, this Hanover-based company will contribute even more intensively with its powers of innovation and skills in the field of top-quality computer-animated content and on behalf of MackMedia. In the light of this closer partnership, Ambient Entertainment and MackMedia have decided to establish Mack Animation. From the 2018 winter season, visitors can already look forward to the first exciting results: in the Magic Cinema 4D, the new film ‘Chaos in Wonderland 4D’ ensures top entertainment and on the ‘Alpenexpress Coastiality’, the sixth VR experience with celebrated comedian Otto Waalkes and his Ottifants will win guests over with their wild trip through East Frisia.
Skills such as creativity, ingenuity and passion alongside a keen sense of the increasingly rapid market developments have always been among the strengths of Ambient Entertainment. Similarly to Europa-Park in Rust, the rollercoaster manufacturer Mack Rides in Waldkirch, the MackMedia company or also the start-up VR coaster in ‘virtual reality’ experiences on rollercoasters, courageous innovations in the animation film sector have always been characteristic for this studio based in Lower Saxony. Successes include the first completely computer-animated cinema film to originate in Germany, ‘Back to Gaya’ (2004) which was directed by CEO Holger Tappe.
Together with co-producer MackMedia, Ambient Entertainment created the 90-minute film ‘Happy Family’ (2017). In the same year, this close partnership also produced a spectacular and sophisticated film for Europe’s largest flying theatre: the Voletarium. Directed by Holger Tappe, state-of-the-art camera systems captured sensational shots of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes and attractions that visitors to Germany’s largest theme park admire on a daily basis. In realising the film, Europa-Park, MackMedia and Ambient Entertainment have broken new ground together in many areas.
Mack Animation has been established as a new segment of the company group in order to perfect the partnership further, tap potential even more effectively and collaborate with Mack Rides even more intensively at the overlap between attractions and media content.
‘With Mack Animation and Ambient Entertainment’s approximately 20 years of animation industry know-how, we also want to develop new innovations in the field of attractions and media, and expand our product portfolio in this direction in a targeted manner’, explains Michael Mack. Holger Tappe is the CEO of Mack Animation. With the new film ‘Chaos in Wonderland 4D’” and the sixth VR experience on ‘Alpenexpress Coastiality’, Mack Animation is already delivering its first impressive results in winter 2018.
‘Chaos in Wonderland 4D’ new in the cinema
Professor Dr Andrej Nikolajew, well-known from the MackMedia ‘First Flight Theory’, gives Ed Euromaus and Edda Euromausi the important task of looking after a magical object of the ‘Adventure Club of Europe’ (ACE) during the night. The magic power of this unique object: it brings things to life. Ed wants to show the secret object to the statue of his grandfather when the evil night raven appears, snatches it from him and makes everything in the park come to life. Suddenly Madame Freudenreich’s dinosaurs and numerous fairy tale figures are stamping through Europa-Park which threatens to sink into chaos. A wild chase follows in which Ed and Edda – with the help of their grandfather who has been brought to life – have to overcome many obstacles to save Germany’s largest theme park from ruin.
From 24 November 2018, the Magic Cinema 4D is presenting this new 12-minute film entitled: ‘Chaos in Wonderland 4D’ in the French themed area of Europa-Park. On behalf of MackMedia, Mack Animation has created this fourth 4D high-resolution quality film in Germany´s largest theme park completely digitally. The film music comes from the internationally successful composer Volker Bertelmann, alias Hauschka, who has already been nominated for an Oscar award. ‘MackMedia was a wonderful partner during the creative process. I hope that the film will be received by the public with the same enthusiasm which we experienced while making it’, enthuses Hauschka. The soundtrack was recorded at the legendary Air Studios in London where numerous Hollywood film music has been created.
The previous three 4D film productions by MackMedia are ‘The Secret of Balthasar Castle 4D’ (2011), ‘The Time Carousel 4D’ (2015) and ‘Happy Family 4D’ (2017); they have already delighted eight million visitors to Europa-Park – and have also been seen in 40 additional countries.
Otto Waalkes’ personal greeting to the guests
From the 2018 winter season, visitors to Germany’s largest theme park can enjoy a completely new VR experience on the ‘Alpenexpress Coastiality’. Mack Animation takes passengers on a breath-taking ride through East Frisia and the world of the Ottifants with comedian and artist Otto Waalkes. The adventure kicks off with a greeting message by Otto, who welcomes passengers personally in his peculiar manner, entertaining them wonderfully while they are waiting for the spectacular journey through his homeland. Together with ‘Baby Otti’ in its buggy that starts rolling unnoticed, it’s going to be a turbulent trip. The little one whooshes along the North Sea, together with the dog, over sand dunes, just missing the beach chairs and turning East Frisia completely topsy-turvy. The baby buggy finally comes to a stop near the gossiping Ottifant mothers who have not noticed any of the hurly-burly at all.
Further information at https://mackanimation.com/en/
