“One Small Step is our love letter to everyone who chased that impossible dream and the family that supported them through it,” says Chesworth.

The film’s stylized use of cg is being developed by Pontillas, who says he wants the film “to combine the best parts of digital illustration and modern 3D animation toward a fresh new direction.”

Zhang’s studio is set up as an international operation. In addition to its L.A. office, Taiko has also opened an animation studio in Wuhan, China.

“We’re proud to be a global company that offers a universal spirit of optimism and inclusion that speaks to all people,” founder Shaofu Zhang says. The company seems to be aiming toward creating projects that will play well in both the Chinese and Western film markets.

Other Disney artists who have joined the company in key roles are Joy Johnson and Andrew Jennnings.

Johnson is the cg supervisor in charge of setting up the studio’s system for animating. A VES Award winner for her work on Elsa in Frozen, she also oversaw character rigging of Zootopia’s lead character, Nick Wilde.

Jennings will handle the duties of pipeline supervisor. He was technical animation supervisor on the Disney short Inner Workings, as well as many of Disney’s recent features.

The company has also announced that veteran vfx animator Erik Lee is the animation supervisor in China, and Steven Horner is composing the music for the studio’s first project, One Small Step.

One Small Step is due to debut in 2018 on the film festival circuit.