In writing about the rise of crowdfunding in 2013, I noted that the biggest projects on Kickstarter all came from well-supported creators and often featured ties to traditional media. Just a few days later, Kung Fury has come along to buck the trend. Armed with nothing more than an amazing trailer and a dream, the team at Laser Unicorns has raised over $350,000 (and counting) for a ridiculous, 80s-tinted action comedy.
Everything you need to know about Kung Fury can be summed up in the film’s trailer, which was released the day after Christmas and has scored 3.7 million views in fewer than four days. If you’re not sold on Kung Fury after seeing a martial artist Adolf Hitler (the Kung Fuhrer), dinosaur-mounted Vikings, and a sweet hacking sequence using a Power Glove, then you clearly need to listen to ‘Africa‘ on repeat until you get in the 80s mood.
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That incredible trailer has allowed Kung Fury to absolutely break Kickstarter. At time of posting, the film’s campaign has beaten its goal of $200,000 by 75%, and a bold stretch goal could allow it to soar much higher. Should Kung Fury raise a million dollars, its Academy Award-nominated producer will attempt to pull some strings and find a distributor for a full-length movie. 30 minutes of Kung Fury will already be a dream come true, but a theatrical cut would be pure greatness. Make it happen, people.
Even if Kung Fury doesn’t meet its seven-digit stretch goal before January 25th, it will still stand as a Kickstarter success story. As it turns out, you don’t need to be Zach Braff or Veronica Mars to raise heaps of cash. If you craft a trailer with badass synth music, cheesy special effects, and an evil skateboard gang, you’ll be good to go.
