Citronella Stories announces the North American release of BUG THERAPY, a 3-D award-winning, animated short that focuses on mental health. Sterling K. Brown, Meghan Trainor, Jay Leno, Tom Green, Dr. Phil McGraw, Emily Goglia and Jason Reisig all voice characters pushing barriers to de-stigmatize mental health.
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In honor of Mental Health Awareness month Bug Therapy will be available at select theaters and on limited virtual platforms at no cost starting May 1. You can watch the film here: www.linktr.ee/bugtherapymovie.
Michael Jann (Emmy-nominated former Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon writer) and Michele Jourdan collaborated on the project to eliminate the stigma attached to mental health and underscore the importance of therapy.
In Bug Therapy, Citronella (Trainor), a mosquito who faints at the sight of blood, tries to muster the courage to attend group therapy, led by Dr. Pill (Dr. Phil McGraw), to overcome her phobia. She learns that everyone faces mental health struggles – Stick Bug (Brown) battles depression over never feeling seen, Fly (Leno) is OCD and germophobic and can’t stop washing his hands, Grasshopper (Green) suffers from addiction to coffee, Praying Mantis (Goglia) is narcissistic/delusional and believes she’s God, Dragonfly couple (film writers Michael Jann and Michele Jourdan) are co-dependent, and Spider (Reisig) tries to overcome his phobia of spiders.
“This film is literally our mission statement to fight the stigma, and to change the conversation about mental health,” said Jessica Cruz, CEO NAMI CA (National Alliance on Mental Illness). “This could help so many people.”
The film, which has received stellar reviews and festival awards, was the recipient of an Epic Games MegaGrant. It is set for a wider theatrical release in June, with a global release scheduled this fall. The filmmakers are also in development creating a full length feature film, as well as, a series as part of ever expanding Bug Therapy universe.
The film is animated by 88 Pictures and directed by Jason Reisig (Smallfoot). Randy Mills is Producer and Eric Bergman Co-Produces. In addition to being co-creators, Michael Jann and Michele Jourdan of Citronella Stories are Executive Producers, along with Jason Reisig, Randy Mills, and 88 Pictures’ Milind D. Shinde.
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This sounds like a great movie. It is important for everyone including children to learn the message shown here.
I had not heard of this movie until I read your post. This sounds like it has a really good message so I am really looking forward to seeing it.