Dalton Grant Jr and Cindy Rangel’s new animation and effects studio, Red Giant Studios, will release its first 3D CG-animated short The Way To Heaven in July.

Red Studios collaborated with Guilin Jieli Digital Animation, an offshoot from the founder of Jieli Publishing, one of the largest children’s’ book publishers in mainland China.

Grant Jr directed and Mier Tang served as co-director and executive producer on the story, which is based on an ancient Chinese myth and takes place in the Guilin region.

The companies officially started work on the project in May 2008. Red Giant Studios has another short film in the pipeline and is developing its first feature-length film.

“Since the beginning of this film, our initial idea has always been to not just have a pretty film but, most importantly, to have one that tells a good story and this myth, in particular, just felt like the right story for us to do as our first project,” Grant Jr said. “Upon its completion this summer, the film will be traversing the international festival circuit.