The following is an interview with writer/director/editor Steven Shea regarding the recent release of the adult animated sci-fi comedy feature film, Isla Monstro, in collaboration with Abyssmal Entertainment and The Nacelle Company. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Shea about his shared shared creative process in working with the cast and crew to bring the story and characters to life on the screen, what audiences may take away from the story’s themes, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent release of Isla Monstro! What can you tell us about the genesis behind this project, and how would you describe its premise?
Steven Shea: Thank you so much! This zany film follows a washed-up loser who stumbles off of a cruise ship and wakes up on a seemingly deserted island that he soon discovers is overrun with mutants and monsters from a failed 1980s government super soldier experiment. He gets the crazy idea to turn the island into a luxury resort using the mutants at its staff, which goes viral on TikTok and alerts the USA Government who thought the island had been destroyed. Hilarity ensues!
I had done live-action for 20 years, when then the pandemic hit, I was stuck at home, trying to find ways to produce without leaving the house. Animation seemed like the easy solution. I spent the 1st month of lock down scouring YouTube tutorials, and taught myself Adobe Character Animator, and started developing some TV series that my rep shopped. Since I hadn’t produced animation before, we had all passes, and because we had developed this concept so far (animatics, teaser, theme song, tons of art created), we decided to turn it into a feature film that we could produce in house. I had directed and sold multiple features before. What started as a fun weekend project with friends suddenly snowballed into a dream, when we added some legendary cast members, and got some incredible artists involved. We realized at the premiere we had spent 6 years, from the start of developing that initial pitch, to releasing it to the world in 2026.
BD: You have an amazingly talented cast and crew attached to the film. How would you describe the shared creative process of bringing this story to life for the screen?
SS: Whenever you put a comedy together, you want to make sure you get the funniest people you know. The funniest person I know is my high school friend/college roommate/spokesman for Dr. Squatch Soap, James Schrader. So, I came to James with the idea, and we knocked the script out together, trying to make it as funny as we could. And then in casting, hiring hilarious folks, as well, like Harland Williams, Dana Snyder, Atif Myers, and John DiMaggio. We did a lot of ad lib in the booth, as I like to let the talent be as funny as they want, as well. We recorded all 40 voice actors over the course of a year, in studio in L.A. And around the country through Zoom. And then, I edited the audio of the scenes together, and mo-capped each character myself at home.
For the designs of the world, I brought in Logan Van Der Wolf, and incredible artist who I had worked with before. I would grab a bunch of images and send to them, or sketch something (terribly) and say, “Hey, merge this fish with this person!” and they would! Once the film got much bigger, we brought in more artists to help including Chickenz, Elly Karipedes, and Zia Izzy.
BD: You have garnered incredible success with the film throughout the film festival circuit, including its world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival. How would you describe the critical and audience reactions to the film thus far?
SS: It has been wonderful watching this film find an audience. We have had a blast in screenings, and hearing from people streaming it at home, or getting the physical media. We are currently streaming in over 100 countries and available on Blu-ray, DVD and VHS, wherever you buy movies. As with all indie films, marketing becomes a challenge, as you have tight budgets and so many hours in the day. But we have been pushing constantly, to make sure that every person on the planet watches this thing!
BD: Do you have any future plans to take the film to additional film festivals throughout the rest of the year?
SS: We have concluded our film festival run. We are currently showing it at many of the Galaxycons around the country and talking to different markets about local screenings, as well. Since it’s currently streaming free on Amazon Prime and rent-able everywhere, we have been pushing the at-home route.
BD: Are there any other Abyssmal Entertainment projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
SS: As was always the plan with this project, we are currently shopping Isla Monstro: The Series through our reps. We’ve built a full internal pipeline and can produce the whole show from right here in L.A. We have also been expanding the brand with a new comic book that just launched its first issue, a ton of merchandise, zine, and a new video game app that will release by the end of the year!
Our most recent feature before this was a documentary titled Surviving Supercon which is a crazy, nuts-and-bolts, behind-the-scenes look at the biggest mom-and-pop comic con in the country. It’s currently available on streaming and Blu-ray/DVD.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about Isla Monstro and your other work?
SS: Isla Monstro can be found all across the socials, with the main site being www.islamonstro.com. You can follow the other production work of Abyssmal Entertainment at www.abyssmal.com.
