
โHair Loveโ is a heartfelt animated short film that centers around the relationship between an African-American father, his daughter Zuri, and the most daunting task a father could ever come across โ doing his daughterโs hair. The short, a passion project from Matthew A. Cherry, will be making its theatrical debut in North America on August 14th, 2019, playing in front of โThe Angry Birds Movie 2,โ from Sony Pictures Animation and Rovio Animation.
Directed by Cherry (executive producer, โBlacKkKlansmanโ), Everett Downing Jr. (animator, “Up,” “WALLยทE”), and Bruce W. Smith (creator, โThe Proud Family,โ animator, โThe Princess and the Frogโ), โHair Loveโ is a collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation that was launched as a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 with a fundraising goal of $75,000. Strong support led to the campaign amassing nearly $300,000, making it the most highly-funded short film campaign in Kickstarter history.
โTo see this project go from a Kickstarter campaign to the big screen is truly a dream come true,โ said Cherry. โI couldnโt be more excited for โHair Loveโ to be playing with โThe Angry Birds Movie 2โ in front of a wide audience and for the world to see our touching story about a black father trying to figure out how to do his daughters hair for the very first time.โ
โHair Loveโ features the voice of Issa Rae (โInsecureโ) as the young girlโs mother. The short is produced by Karen Rupert Toliver, Stacey Newton, Monica A. Young, Matthew A. Cherry, and Lion Forge Animationโs David Steward II and Carl Reed. Peter Ramsey (โSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseโ) and Frank Abney (animator, โToy Story 4โ) serve as executive producers.
โThis is such a special story that means so much to us,โ added Ramsey, โMatthew has rallied an insanely talented group of people to get this short made, and to be able to share it with the world is a gift. We hope that audiences can feel this teamโs dedication up on the big screen, we are incredibly proud of it.โ
The shortโs co-executive producers include Jordan Peele, Andrew Hawkins, Harrison Barnes, Yara and Keri Shahidi. The shortโs associate producers include NโDambi Gillespie, Gabrielle Union-Wade & Dwayne Wade Jr., Gabourey Sidibe, Stephanie Fredric and Claude Kelly.
Physical production of โHair Loveโ has taken place at the Los Angeles-based animation studio, Six Point Harness (โGuava Islandโ).
The picture book โHair Loveโ was released by Kokila Books/Penguin Random House releasing on May 14, 2019, and became a New York Times Bestseller.