Imagine making an animated feature almost entirely by yourself. Nick DiLiberto’s 2016 film Nova Seed is exactly that: a 64-minute science fiction spectacle for which this talented artist and creator hand-animated something like 60,000 frames over the course of four years. Before even watching the film, that is the sort of achievement worth celebrating. After watching it, I am irritated that this vivid explosion of creativity is not better known. How has it taken nine years for me to find out about it? What can I do to shake other animation enthusiasts by the shoulders, imploring them to go check this film out?

Do you need a synopsis? When the diabolical Dr Mindskull plots to reinvent the world in his image, the world’s only hope is the Neo-Animal Combatant (NAC) – a violent hybrid of lion and human. A synopsis honestly feels unnecessary: this is a colourful exercise in science fiction excess, rich with characters and setting and propelled by a frantic pace. It feels as if DiLiberto wrote the screenplay back when he was nine years old, acted out with a combination of Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe action figures.

The artwork is deliberately scrappy and primitive, but it is also highly consistent and quickly becomes absorbing. There is a fine line that DiLiberto treads with Nova Seed, in that his film is charmingly silly and childlike but simultaneously has a genuine heart to it. The specific aesthetic is amusing, and pulls the viewer in from the outset, but it is the underlying drama that sustains the whole hour. It is surprising just how detailed some of the more intimate moments and gestures turn out to be. It is a deceptive film in that regard: the longer it is viewed, the more impressive it appears. There is a strong sense of French bandes-desinees about the film, and I have little doubt anthology magazine Metal Hurlant provided a fair amount of inspiration.

The film’s various vocal performances and sound effects have an oddly amateurish charm, but Stephen Verrall’s propulsive electronic score is the real deal. It keeps the energy constant and high, as does DiLiberto’s regular changes of situation and scene. It is the ridiculous ideas that entertain the most, and the constant introduction of new and increasingly strange settings and characters.

Nova Seed is currently available via an admirably designed blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. It deserves to be seen more widely. Honestly, this kind of dedicated passion project deserves to be actively celebrated.