Ringling grad seeks $350K kickstart for animated film

SARASOTA — Aaron Blaise, a 1989 Ringling College of Art and Design graduate, has teamed up with his longtime Disney collaborator, Chuck Williams, on a Kickstarter campaign to raise $350,000 for a new movie.

Kickstarter is a for-profit business that allows people to raise money, usually for creative projects, through crowd funding. Some projects on Kickstarter offer perks to investors, like early access to the final product.

Blaise and Williams, who co-directed the Academy Award-nominated movie “Brother Bear,” seek the funds to start production of their animated feature film, “Art Story.” They have 931 backers who have pledged $90,431 through Aug. 12. The Kickstarter campaign ends Aug. 23.