Matt Braly Unveils First Look at Clara and the Below at Hollywood’s 2026 Animation Is Film Festival
By Tara Bennett
October 21, 2026
Main Facts
Six months after shattering independent crowdfunding records on Kickstarter, Amphibia creator Matt Braly has treated audiences to their first official glimpse of his eagerly anticipated indie animated series, Clara and the Below. Premiered during a special presentation at the 2026 Animation Is Film Festival in Hollywood, the work-in-progress footage offered a deep dive into a project Braly has succinctly pitched as "Toy Story meets Bloodborne."
Described as a dialogue-free, gothic reinterpretation of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s classic short story The Nutcracker, the series follows a young girl named Clara. Every night, alongside her faithful nutcracker companion Chompers and a roster of period-accurate vintage toys, Clara descends through her family’s fireplace into a surreal, fog-drenched realm known as "the Below." Her mission: to battle hostile spirits and unearth a cure for her gravely ill father.
However, as Braly revealed during the panel, the narrative runs far deeper than a standard monster-hunting adventure. The spirits Clara is forced to eradicate are the actual ghosts of the men her father slaughtered on the battlefield. Consequently, the series pivots into a dark psychological and ethical dilemma, forcing Clara to confront the horrifying reality of the man her father truly is.
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Accompanying the footage release, exclusive concept art, character turnarounds by lead character designer Ken Basca, environmental backgrounds, and a full-arc color script by art director Britney Thoreson shed unprecedented light on the production’s haunting aesthetic. An official teaser is slated for release in January, with full episodes targeting a 2027 premiere.
Chronology of Production and Reveal
The journey of Clara and the Below has transitioned swiftly from conceptual ambition to tangible production milestones:
- Early Development: Initial visual exploration began with preliminary design concepts crafted by Remus Buznea and Kyriaki Kyriakou, who established the foundational comic-book-inspired inky line style.
- Spring 2026: Braly launched a Kickstarter campaign to independently finance the series, achieving massive success as fans of his previous work on Disney’s Amphibia rallied behind his first venture into mature horror animation.
- October 21, 2026: Braly, alongside art director Britney Thoreson and lead character designer Ken Basca, presented the inaugural work-in-progress footage at the Animation Is Film Festival in Hollywood, accompanied by an exclusive art drop detailing the series’ distinct visual language.
- January 2027 (Upcoming): An official teaser trailer is scheduled to debut publicly.
- 2027 (Upcoming): The primary run of episodes is scheduled to roll out, though financing for the fourth and final chapter remains unresolved.
Supporting Data & Visual Design Architecture
The Animation Is Film Festival presentation heavily emphasized the meticulous world-building, color theory, and anatomical design choices driving the production.
The Art of Contrast: The Above and the Below
Art director Britney Thoreson, whose personal bucket list included helming a horror project, discussed the project’s heavy reliance on striking visual values rather than mere color choices. Drawing direct inspiration from Scott Wills’ iconic background styling on Samurai Jack, Thoreson outlined the intentional disorientation built into the settings.
"If we’re gonna start off with a really dark interior at the beginning of the shot in the beginning of the series, the natural opposite is to go almost as bright as possible," Thoreson explained regarding the transition from Clara’s domestic home to the subterranean world.
The Below defies typical dark-dungeon horror tropes by taking place outdoors during what appears to be an overcast daytime, complete with an expansive, eerie forest. Heavily influenced by psychological survival horror franchises like Silent Hill, the environment utilizes dense fog to create heart-pounding anticipation. Characters are forced to edge closer to obscured threats, heightening the tension of whether an approaching entity is friend, foe, or fatal.
Character Design and Anatomical Grounding
Lead character designer Ken Basca expanded on the stylized, comic-book-inspired linework established by early designers Remus Buznea and Kyriaki Kyriakou. To ensure the action sequences carry visceral weight, Basca deliberately integrated understated anatomical grounding into Clara’s design.
"She has these forearms that are slightly defined," Basca noted, drawing direct structural comparisons to the character work in Teen Titans. This subtle musculature provides visual logic for a young girl wielding a sword against otherworldly monsters.
Conversely, the ghouls and ghoulish antagonists—such as the entities modeled after Drosselmeyer—utilize distorted human proportions. Elongated forearms and exaggerated, protruding bony elbows create a stark visual contrast against Clara’s grounded silhouette, cementing the unnatural, unsettling horror of the Below.
Musical Landscape
The festival footage utilized a temporary track of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s legendary The Nutcracker ballet score. However, Braly confirmed that the final audio experience will feature a completely reinterpreted and re-recorded score composed by TJ Hill, who previously collaborated with Braly on Amphibia.
Official Responses and Creator Insights
The creative team was transparent about both the artistic triumphs and the logistical hurdles facing independent animation studios in the current media landscape.
Discussing the narrative core, Matt Braly emphasized the emotional and moral weight bearing down on the protagonist. "As she kills these spirits, she comes to understand that these are the ghosts of the men that her father has killed on the battlefield," Braly shared. "So the story really is about Clara becoming aware of the kind of man her father really is, and it’s creating an ethical dilemma."
While the crowdfunding campaign successfully launched the series, financial realities remain a pressing concern for the production’s future. Braly candidly addressed the status of the series’ concluding chapter, revealing that the fourth and final chapter is currently unfunded.
Reflecting on the crowdfunding process, Braly expressed mixed feelings about relying entirely on platforms like Kickstarter for multi-part indie epics. "I don’t know that I would do Kickstarter again because there were a number of pitfalls and lessons learned that if I were to do it again, obviously I would be smarter about it," he admitted.
Despite these administrative hurdles, Braly remains optimistic about securing the capital required to complete the story’s grand finale. Whether through targeted merchandise ventures or attracting a corporate benefactor—jokingly referring to the search for a "sugar daddy"—the creative team is fully committed to seeing Clara’s journey through to its dark, complicated conclusion.
Implications for the Independent Animation Sector
The rollout of Clara and the Below at a prominent showcase like the Animation Is Film Festival marks a critical bellwether for the modern independent animation ecosystem. As major studios increasingly pull back on original 2Nd-D and creator-driven properties, high-profile showrunners like Matt Braly are proving that direct-to-audience crowdfunding and hybrid indie models can greenlight mature, visually daring concepts that corporate networks might otherwise bypass.
By stepping outside traditional studio gatekeeping, Clara and the Below demonstrates the viability of prestige indie animation—works that combine the commercial appeal of recognizable source material (such as The Nutcracker) with uncompromising artistic vision, mature psychological themes, and auteur-driven aesthetics. As the industry watches for the January teaser and the subsequent 2027 episode drops, the project stands as a high-stakes test case for whether independent creators can sustain long-form serialized horror animation entirely on their own terms.
