Can a four-minute animated film capture and convey the intimate horrors and dark heroism of war? According to US veterans who’ve seen the film and the two marines who helped co-produce it, “Chosin: Baptized by Fire” proves you can.

Based on the graphic novel “Hold the Line” written by infantry veteran and Marine Richard C. Meyer and illustrated by Thomas Jung and directed by NYC animation/VFX studio HOPR, the film was inspired by the true story of the heavily outnumbered Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines fighting the Communist Chinese Army during the Chosin Reservoir campaign of the Korean War in November, 1950

Chris DiFiore, Partner/CD at HOPR: “Animation is not the typical medium for topics such as the Chosin Reservoir. We didn’t want the fact that the short was animated to lessen the impact of the story. Our goal was to craft a style that was accessible to a wide audience, but was detailed enough to convey the sheer chaos and horror of war.

“The short’s characters are fictional but the story was based on this incredible true story, so while we wanted to make sure the animation was entertaining we needed to stay true to the actual events.

“The Korean War is often referred to as the forgotten war, so we knew that our short was also going to be educational for a lot of the viewers. Our greatest sense of achievement came when veterans who served during the Korean War, saw our film and said ‘you got it right.'”

Directed By:
HOPR

Written By:
Anton Sattler
HOPR

Production Company:
HOPR

Creative Director:
Chris DiFiore
Neo Afan

Art Director:
Byron Gray

Illustration:
Stephen Andolino
Tory Sica

3D Design & Animation:
Jeff Bryson

Animation:
Will Pittas
Peter Ahern
Kevin Li
Andy Kennedy

Compositing:
Makoto Sato
John Seppala
Minhwa Jung

Produced By:
Chris DiFiore
Brian Iglesias, PGA
Anton Sattler

Executive Producers:
Anton Sattler
Richard C. Meyer
Brian Iglesias

Music and Sound Production:
So Loud Music & Groove Guild

Music Composition:
Jon Notar

Sound Design:
Charles Maynes

Additional Sound Design:
Jon Notar and Paul James Riggio

Film Mix:
Jon Notar

Based on the graphic novel “Hold the Line” by Richard C. Meyer