NEW YORK, March 13 — Two graphic novels based on “The Dam Keeper” are in the works, with the first due out in 2016 and a feature film version also in development.

Tonko House founders Robert Kondo and Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi wrote and directed the animated short film, which has played at more than 75 film festivals and was nominated for a 2015 Academy Award for Best Animated Short, among many other distinctions.

The “Dam Keeper” books, according to the announcement, will pick up some years after the ending of the short and will address two questions audiences were left asking: “What happened to Pig’s parents?” and “How and why did this world come to be at the mercy of this dark cloud?”

A third graphic novel is also slated from Tonko House, with details about that and the feature film yet to be announced.

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You can find the full short on VimeoAmazon and iTunes.

Tonko House’s founders both previously worked on major animated movies: Kondo as art director for “Ratatouille,” “Toy Story 3,” and “Monsters University”; Tsutsumi in visual development for “Ice Age,” “Robots” and “Horton Hears a Who!” and as art director on “Toy Story 3” and “Monsters University.” Tsutsumi’s first children’s book, “I Can Hear,” was published in Japan in 2009. — AFP-Relaxnews