TORONTO -- As he prepares to debut his feature "Spark" at the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International on Friday, Toronto writer-director Aaron Woodley predicts more homegrown filmmakers will be following in his footsteps.
"There's really a handful of directors in this country right now who have made animated features, and that is going to change very soon," he said in a recent phone interview.
"I think there's just a huge wave of animated films crashing down on the industry right now."
Woodley wrote and directed "Spark," an epic space tale featuring the voices of Jessica Biel, Hilary Swank, Patrick Stewart and Susan Sarandon.
Jace Norman voices the titular character, a 13-year-old monkey who sets out to confront an evil general who has seized control of Planet Bana and plans to take over the universe.
Woodley, who has also worked as an animator and is the nephew of acclaimed filmmaker David Cronenberg, started writing the project four years ago.
He looked to myths and films that he loved growing up, as well as archetypal stories, including "Star Wars" and the 16th-century Chinese novel "Journey to the West."
"It's 'Star Wars' light," said Woodley. "I was hoping to get some of the depth of that storytelling with not much of the violence."
Woodley has directed several live-action films -- including "Rhinoceros Eyes" with Michael Pitt, "Tennessee" with Mariah Carey and "The Entitled" with Ray Liotta -- but found it hard to get money together to make such features. And it was even harder to get them released.
"There was like this stranglehold on independent filmmaking, live action, and to the point where it all but dried up," he said.
"I know because many of the filmmakers in this city are my friends and acquaintances and they're looking for new sources of money elsewhere, like how can we get our films made? If you don't have a $200 million budget, you can't compete in the marketplace, right?
"You can't go to battle with Superman or whoever-man. All the mans are taking up the screens."
By contrast, an animated film can be made for $15 million and do well at the box office, he added, noting the genre appeals to a wider audience and big-name stars love doing such voicework.
"People still go the movie theatres to see animated films, even lower-budget ones," Woodley said, and added that more and more independent boutique production studios are now popping up and making animated features.
And fellow filmmakers have told him: "This is the way to go."
"It's almost like the birth of a new little independent cinema that's coming this way, and I think it's in reaction to the changing landscape out at the theatres."
"Spark" does not yet have a release date.
