Barber Westchester (Film)

Barber Westchester is an 2021 90 minute animated film by Jonni Phillips that has been in development since 2017. The film is similar in scope, length, and style to Phillips's 2019 film The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascensia. The film launched on December 12th, 2021 exclusively on her Patreon and it premired on Youtube (2 PM pacific, 5 pm eastern) on January 22, 2022. It is also the first production produced by Phillips independent animation studio Herbert Sorbet Studios, which was founded in January 2021.

Plot
The film has been described by its creator as a "semi-horror flick" about a kid (Barber) who gets an internship at NASA and on their first day, finds out that space is fake and NASA is a sham. The film was expected to be released in November 2021, however it released on December 2021 instead.

The film's setting, characters, and themes will follow up on Jonni's 2019-2020 series Secrets and Lies in a Town of Sinners which was written as a prologue/companion to the Barber film. SaLiaToS follows several families within the fictional town of Des Amato, California. In the series, Barber Westchester, a young aspiring astronomer experiences the death of their brother, Jared and struggles to navigate the world of their father's fringe religion The Cult of DACIA. The series concludes when Barber receives an invitation to intern for NASA.

Production
The initial concept for the world of Barber Westchester was developed in 2017 while Phillips was attending CalArts and in production on Goodbye Forever Party, and the film officially entered production in May of 2020, following the conclusion of the SaLiaToS miniseries.

On September 19, 2019, Jonni Phillips announced the plot of the film and an initial production plan, announcing a projected release window in September 2020. Phillips intends to finance the film entirely through donations on the financial platform Patreon, though initially the Barber Westchester concept was pitched to several professional animation networks including Adult Swim. In Sept. 27 of 2019, Panimation TV announced that the film will be featured in 2 Hot 4 Velvet, a queer animation collective. Phillips intended to complete the film with no outside assistance. The film was being animated digitally currently despite rumors of it being traditional. The film was in the final stage of production, mainly working with the musical score, backgrounds, and color.

Cast and Crew

 * Jonni Phillips - director, writer, voice of Mayor Winsconsin, animator, storyboards, editor
 * Dylan Kanner - Music, storyboard assistance
 * Emily Martinez - guest animation
 * Benni Quintero - guest animation, voice of the NASA guys, storyboard assistance
 * Ian Worthington (Worthikids) - guest animation, voice of Bene
 * Chris Kim - guest animation, voice of Barber Westchester, storyboard assistance
 * Alex Ahr - storyboard assistance
 * Jenna Caravello - storyboard assistance
 * Isabel Higgins -storyboard assistance
 * Lindsey Demars as Margaret
 * Sam Lane as Lordland Candlestick
 * Yasmeen Abedifard - guest animation
 * Mel Murakawa-White - guest animation
 * Frankie Tamaru - guest animation, voice of Peter Westchester
 * Kelly Ficarra - guest animator
 * Victoria Vincent - guest animator, voice of Templeton and Bambino
 * Tyrell Soloman - paintings
 * Maddie Brewer - additional character animation, singing voice of Mayor Winsconsin
 * Sidney Gale - additional character animation, animation assistance
 * Zaria Bohanon -additional character design, voice of Silver Lemmings
 * Felix Colgrave - voice of Gerard
 * Frances Woodard - voice of Jared
 * Zach Dorn - voice of Mailman Westchester
 * Grace Milk - voice of Dentist Westchester
 * Tommy Takezawa - voice of Liverspot
 * Parker Davis - voice of Winston
 * Sanjna Bharadwaj - voice of Abigail Laternet
 * Ratstrid Vermington - voice of Amy Withers
 * Max Wilde - voice of Bev
 * Dave MH - voice of Reporter
 * Jake Ryan - editing and storyboard assistance
 * The Florida Museum of Natural History - courtesy of Parrot noises