Cradle: Unsouled - The Animatic Movie

Cradle: Unsouled - The Animatic Movie is an official animatic adaptation of the first two Cradle books, Unsouled and Soulsmith. It was directed by David Hartman and Jay Oliva of Lex and Otis Studios. As an animatic, it consists of mostly black and white hand-drawn key frames rather than full animation. It was funded by a Kickstarter campaign which raised 1.2 million dollars in February 2024. It was released to backers in November 2025 and publicly in January 2026.

Cast

• Travis Baldree as Lindon, First Elder, Li Markuth, Eithan, and hornets
• Maxine Phoenix as Yerin
• Baraka Mei as Suriel and Eri
• Kari Wahlgren as Kelsa, Elder Whitehall, and Suriel's presence
• Sumalee Montano as Seisha, Fisher Gesha, and young Fisher
• Matthew Yang King as Amon, Jaran, and Sandviper
• Morla Gorrondona as Elder Whisper
• Phil LaMarr as Sairus and prisoner
• Matthew Mercer as Kral, Teris, Li Elder #2, and librarian
• Steve Blum as Jai Long, Sword Sage, and Li Elder #1

Adaptational Changes

The animatic plot follows the plot of the source material closely, but there are a few changes.

Production

Part of the purpose in producing the animatic was as a tool for pitching a fully animated project to major studios.