Zad Xalkins has eaten the galaxy — giant fungus fillets, eyeball delicacies, the lot — and now he's dragged his reluctant family to prehistoric Earth in search of a flavor no Raaian has tasted. What he doesn't plan for is his toddler, Xevena, wandering off and forming a glowing, wordless bond with a cave child. Two families, no shared language, no shared species, and wildly different ideas about what makes a good meal.
Untasted is the work of New Zealand writer-director Julian Stokoe, who has spent more than twenty years making original animation for television, film and digital media. Here he takes the familiar furniture of science fiction — first contact, alien worlds, invasion — and runs it through the sieve of ordinary domestic friction. The result is hand-drawn, sharply timed, and funnier for how petty its stakes become when set against an epic canvas.
Key Takeaways
- Untasted filters classic sci-fi tropes through family dynamics and questionable parenting, set in a hand-drawn prehistoric Earth.
- Stokoe and his team cut beloved jokes and re-animated finished scenes — the animation equivalent of reshoots — to protect the film's pacing.
- The short is a deliberate proof-of-concept for a feature-length version following Zad and his family further.
Stokoe spoke with us about boarding a script, the bickering that gave the film its heartbeat, and what a premier genre festival's backing does for a film that's proudly a bit odd.
Interview
What drew you to make this film, and why this story, why now?
Until we actually meet extraterrestrials, we've still got time to imagine what they're like. What if our alien invaders aren't terrifying, incomprehensible monsters, but are actually just like us, complete with family squabbles, fussy eaters, and terrible priorities? Sci-fi feels like the perfect way to entertain and also smuggle in commentary on how absurd human behavior really is.
What surprised you most about the filmmaking process, creatively or logistically?
It's surprising how massive the gap can be between a script and a storyboard. A line can read brilliantly, but once you draw it out, you realize the timing is off, the gag misses, or a beat needs room to breathe. The story didn't change, but boarding showed us exactly where to push things or slow down. It was a great reminder how writing and storyboarding for an animated film are so closely connected.
What moment in the film feels most like you, or like something only you could have made?
Definitely the bickering between Zad, the alien dad, and his teenage child. That back-and-forth comes straight out of real family life, even if they happen to be extraterrestrials on a prehistoric Earth. I love taking recognizable human moments and dropping them into completely absurd, fantastical setups.
What was the hardest creative decision you made while making the film?
Cutting funny scenes at the start to keep the pacing sharp. Losing material you love always hurts, but an individual joke isn't worth dragging down the whole opening. We also went back and re-animated finished scenes, which is basically the animation equivalent of doing reshoots. Not ideal, especially on indie budgets, but the film was so much better for it.
What tool, technique, resource, collaborator, or mindset shift helped most during production?
Hands down, having a team that brought their own voice to the table. On a small indie film, you rely on people doing more than just executing the script. Specifically our lead animator, Alex Dron, brings his own comedic sense of timing, or our background artist, Sam Moore, would add a visual detail that totally redefined our spaceship interiors. Those small touches elevated the film far beyond what I could have imagined.
How does your film fit within, or push the boundaries of, its genre or form?
It takes standard sci-fi tropes — first contact, alien worlds, invasion — and filters them through everyday family dynamics and questionable parenting. Visually and stylistically, it combines classic sci-fi imagery with character-driven comedy in a hand-drawn world. I love the contrast between epic sci-fi scale and incredibly petty, mundane problems.
What is the greatest strength of independent filmmaking, and what lesson would you share with others?
The freedom to trust your gut and make something delightfully weird. You don't have to file down the quirky edges for a broad audience. With Untasted, we could build a world around our exact sense of humor. The tradeoff is you have to stretch every dollar. My advice: be fearless with your ideas, pragmatic with your production, and never be afraid to rework something until it shines.
What does it mean to have your film selected for FilmQuest?
It was a huge shot in the arm. FilmQuest is such a powerhouse genre festival, and getting selected early in our festival run gave us a massive confidence boost. When you've spent months making something a bit odd, having a premier genre festival back your vision proves there's a real audience out there for this flavor of sci-fi comedy.
What do you hope audiences take away from this film, and where does it go next?
First off, a good laugh. But underneath that, the idea that the "other" might not be as alien as we think. We tend to view outsiders through our own anxieties, so I liked flipping that. Whether it's an alien or someone from a completely different walk of life, there's usually a lot more common ground than we expect.
After the festival circuit, we want to find the right home online so as many people can see it as possible. But Untasted is really just step one — we're using it as the springboard for a full-length feature that takes Zad and his family much further. This short proved the tone works, so now we're excited to build the bigger adventure. At the core of all my work is a desire to take audiences to fantastic places and find the natural humor inside them. I'm drawn to strange worlds, but what really excites me is uncovering the deeply human behavior hidden inside all the weirdness.
Main Cast & Crew
- Tom Sainsbury — Voice of Zad & Xum. One of Aotearoa New Zealand's best-known comedic performers, Tom Sainsbury is renowned for his satirical social media sketches and roles in Wellington Paranormal, The Educators and Small Town Scandal. He also made his feature directorial debut with the sci-fi thriller-comedy Loop Track.
- Julian Stokoe — Writer/Director. A New Zealand writer, director and creative producer with over 20 years of experience creating original animation for television, film and digital media. His credits include the animated comedy The Vloggingtons and award-winning interactive projects Curious Critters Club and 12 Huia Birds.
- Alex Dron — Second Animation Director. An animation director and designer with over 20 years of experience across film and television, spanning storyboarding, character design, traditional and digital animation, and compositing. His credits include McLaren, F Is for Family and Netflix's Plankton: The Movie.
- Sam Moore — Background Artist. Instagram: Christchurch-based illustrator and comic artist Sam Moore is the creator of Ugly Ink, known for its bold illustrations, character-driven humour and distinctly Kiwi perspective. His work blends expressive design and cultural satire, including his popular People of New Zealand series.
- Thomas "Mr Smith" Smith — Composer/Sound Designer. An award-winning composer and sound designer working across film, animation, games and advertising. His work combines cinematic scoring, experimental soundscapes and detailed sound design to bring stories and imaginative worlds to life.
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