Lea Salonga To Topline Short Film Prequel To Abigail Hing Wen Novel; John Aoshima And Neil Blevins Attached For Animation
EXCLUSIVE: Lea Salonga (Mulan, Aladdin, Miss Saigon) is set to star in The Vale – Origins, a hybrid live-action and animated short film that will precede the forthcoming middle grade novel of the same name by Abigail Hing Wen.
Wen's novel will release Sept. 16, 2025 through AAPI publishing house Third State Books, founded by Stephanie Lim. The short film is in post production and slated for completion this summer. Wen wrote and directed the short film, which also has an animation team of John Aoshima (DuckTales, Ultraman: Rising) attached as director and Neil Blevins Incredibles I, II, Wall-E, Up) as animation designer.
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The short film follows the Lees, a grieving inventor family in Silicon Valley who find healing and connection through their young son's creativity in The Vale, a virtual reality fantasy world they made. The family-friendly short film shifts between the real, live action world and the animated world, blending reality and imagination in a visually stunning exploration of love, family, and resilience.
In addition to three-time Tony Award winner Salonga, the project features Robert Palmer Watkins(Uglies) and introduces Egan Xander, son of actors George Young (Falling for Christmas) and Janet Hsieh (Love in Taipei), in the role of Bran.
The short film is produced by Tracy Chitupatham and author Wen with consultants Holden Chang (Bridgerton) and Angie Sun (Trash Truck). Executive Producers include Deborah and David Liu, Tiffany Chang (Miss Asia USA 2024), Meredith and David Chamberlain, Kelly Liang and Phil Lew, Julie Liao and Lea Salonga.
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'It has been a dream to work closely with these trailblazing creative powerhouses on a project that brings us into the hopes and dreams of a diverse Silicon Valley family, and explores themes of family and healing through creativity, as well as the ethics around cutting edge technology,' says Wen, who wrote the novel in 2015, long before AI generation hit mainstream audiences.
The team behind the camera also includes consultants Holden Chang (Bridgerton) and Angie Sun (Trash Truck) with director of photography Dawn Suhyn Shim, live action production designer Emma Koh, composer Andromeda Wen, editor Shayar Bhansali, behind-the-scenes content capture directed by Creative Director at Instagram Grace Sun and Loveboat, Taipei marketing veteran Jane Lee.
Wen's young adult novel Loveboat, Taipei was adapted into Paramount's Love in Taipei (2023) starring Ashley Liao, Ross butler, Nico Hiraga and Chelsea Zhang. The rom com adaptation, based on the first of Wen's novels in a trilogy, was directed by Arvin Chen.
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