T.A.T.u. Paragate - Trailer
A fan-made concept trailer of what could have been.
t.A.T.u. Paragate was an anime movie set to be released in 2004 based off the at-the-time popular pop group t.A.T.u. It was announced in 2003 and was to be animated by iMOVE (who did animation work on Death Note and Inuyasha among other popular 2000's anime).
However, in early 2004 the girls of t.A.T.u. broke their contract with their manager Ivan Shapovalov, who they claimed was too concerned with drumming up scandals for t.A.T.u, and had allegedly based the duo's image off of the josei kosei erotic genre. Along with the contract split, the movie ended up being shelved and its website was deleted in 2005.
The girls of t.A.T.u. split in 2011, saying they were "very tired of each other", making it very unlikely the film will ever be released.
Release[]
Only two promotional images, featuring Katina and Volkova in anime style, were ever officially released. A promotional snippet for t.A.T.u Paragate appeared in an issue of Newtype in late 2003, with a rough plot outline and a crew list. The snippet also claimed that the movie would be released in November 2004.
After the group's conflict with Shapolavov, the movie was shelved and the website went offline in 2005. Given how little official information or images were released, let alone any form of animation footage, it is possible that the film was never produced beyond the script stage.
Staff[]
According to the Newtype article, the film was slated for a November 2004 release. The confirmed crew were as follows:
- Ivan Shapovalov would direct the plot and music elements
- iMOVE would be the animation house
- Shinichiro Watanabe would produce the opening animation
- Directed by Norio Kashima and Susumu Kudo
- No voice actors were confirmed at the time
The film's plot was not yet confirmed, as was described in the "Story" section:
A bit of a hot topic in Japan, the Russian high school duo t.A.T.u, is going anime. Aside from the story, we wonder, will Julia and Lena play themselves? Although details are yet to be confirmed, it seems this could become a big sensation for anime?
The movie was also advertised with limited merchandise at Comikket 2003. Aside from a small poster illustration of Katina and Volkova nude and embracing, no other exclusive material was on display at this event.