Balloon Boy
Seattle, Washington | Film Short
Comedy, Satire
Balloon Boy is our heartfelt comedy film about a young Seattle slacker who spends one night with a nice inflatable woman he meets at a party and unexpectedly finds himself the single father of a balloon-headed baby boy. The world needs art, stories, and the occasional balloon to lift us up!
Balloon Boy
Seattle, Washington | Film Short
Comedy, Satire
2 Campaigns | Washington, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $10,240 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
104 supporters | followers
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Balloon Boy is our heartfelt comedy film about a young Seattle slacker who spends one night with a nice inflatable woman he meets at a party and unexpectedly finds himself the single father of a balloon-headed baby boy. The world needs art, stories, and the occasional balloon to lift us up!
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
BALLOON BOY
"Because the only thing harder than parenting is letting go."
Balloon Boy is a film about Abbot, a young Seattle slacker who spends one night with a nice inflatable woman he meets at a party and unexpectedly finds himself the single father of a balloon-headed baby boy. Now Abbot must learn that helicopter-parenting is universal and sometimes "letting go" is the greatest act of love.
"A hilarious, heartwarming, and quirky PG film that portrays
the challenges & triumphs of raising a 'unique' child in a meaningful and uplifting way."
WRITER'S STATEMENT
Hi! I'm Royce, the writing cog in this big creative team wheel. My gosh, where to begin…BALLOON BOY “arose” when my wife and I were new parents raising our two boys, Aspen and Aiden, in the early 2000s. We were both working full-time, struggling to stay fit, and I was collecting hundreds of rejection letters as a midnight writer. But this isn’t about me. This is about children and how they make YOU grow up.
Cara and I had two color-coded calendars with every hour of every day accounted for—daycare, sports, music, school, music-school, playgrounds, playdates, and much, much more. We discovered that parenting didn’t actually fit on a calendar. All you parents out there know what I’m sayin’. It was controlled insanity--labor, love, and chaos. Years of pop culture and world events passed us by while we OJT'd for adulting and micro-focused on these two little humans. And then one day, the boys graduated and just...left.
{SILENCE}
Our Balloon Boy actors at different ages.
I wrote BALLOON BOY while in the throes of that ridiculous, impossible, universal life experience. Fast-forward twenty years and I’m a child-free, full-time fantasy author and recovering parent. I showed that BALLOON BOY script to my professional filmmaker friends Deb and then Derek and then Eryn {the producer, producer/ cinematographer, and director cogs in our wheel} and discovered that this story is more relevant today than ever.
So we filmed it to share with you.
How is Balloon Boy both universal and unique?
Balloon Boy addresses universal themes.
- Adulting.
- Raising a "different" child.
- Family - bio and found.
- Helicopter parenting.
- Sometimes love means letting go.
The absurdist realism of the story creates strong metaphors for the above themes, and the film's universal messages are delivered through comedy.
Rated PG -- We wanted to make Balloon Boy accessible to as many people as possible. The film addresses adult themes with a PG delivery.
Why this story?
The story is both unique and familiar. It addresses family issues and resolves them in an inspirational way. It delivers a positive message without being pedantic through a wildly entertaining metaphor and reminds us what is important at the end of the day.
Why now?
We think the world needs a few more inspirational, positive stories to lift us up! Experiences that bring us together and remind us of what we have in common. Everyone has felt like "the different kid" at some time. Every parent has worried about their child. We're all in this together.
Why us and why you?
Many of us on team Balloon Boy are parents. And we were all children, right? This is a story for all of us about core foundations of our humanity--family, friends, and love.
Who are you supporting?
You are supporting working artists. Everyone on the Balloon Boy team is a professional currently working in indie film. Everyone on the project is getting paid. We are a predominantly Seattle cast and crew and support local productions.
Producer Derek Johnson met Royce Buckingham in the Northwest Screenwriters Guild's screenwriting incubator, The Green Room, and read his heartfelt and hilarious short script Balloon Boy. Producer Debra Pralle had been aware of Royce's script for years, is a parent herself, and was eager to be involved. This led to a pivotal restaurant meeting between the three, where Balloon Boy was launched. With a critical mass of creatives behind the project, including director Eryn Rea, Derek gathered his A-team crew, Debra headed up casting and locations, and we embarked on an awesome shoot in the summer of 2025.
expect to launch a festival run from July 2026 through 2027. In the meantime, we are creating our edit and working with VFX and our Director to polish all parts of this film! Below is our production timeline for the next year. In July, you will have a chance to see Balloon Boy at our private theater screening.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT -- BALLOON BOY is so memorable on the page, and I am thrilled to join the team as Director and help bring this story to life. At its core, there are relatable themes for any viewer, while wrapped in unique circumstances. With humor baked in, the acting will be grounded with depth and nuance. We are also excited to utilize modern technology to create the digital assets needed for the Balloon Boy character's head. We hope the finished short film honors the heart of the story and moves audiences with unforgettable charm. This will be an adventure to direct and I am thankful for the opportunity.
–Eryn Rea
We've already raised $20,000, completed principal photography & paid our cast and crew. Yay! You're seeing actual footage in the video above.
We are now asking you to help us fund some of our expensive post-production costs, including:
- Professional motion-capture balloon-headed child FX.
- Music!
- Festival expenses.
We must raise 80% of our goal to receive funding.
Preproduction
Fully funded and complete.
Shooting
Fully funded and complete.
Post Production
We are raising $11,400 in completion and festival funds.
Our rubbery STRRRRRETCH GOALS include development of the feature length film, which Royce is writing now! Development funding could include script coverage and writing, copyright and legal fees, or sending our project to film markets with a producer to help sell and distribute the film in both its versions.
THANK YOU for supporting BALLOON BOY!
Please don't forget to LIKE our page and SHARE the URL link to this campaign.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Editing
Costs $1,200
We need to pay our editor for this movie as we have some very sophisticated tech and concept for the post side of things.
Producers Deffered Pay
Costs $2,400
Deb and Derek have put in a ton of hours and weeks of time without any compensation; we would really love to help them out with a stipend.
The Balloon Boy
Costs $2,100
Our Special effects team needs support to complete the fully animated character.
Film Festival Submission
Costs $2,200
We will travel to the festivals we get into for screenings. Travel and entry fees cost real money.
Sound Design, Score and finishing of the film.
Costs $2,500
No movie is complete without a score, and the audio mastering is 70% of the film's value. Let's not forget the color correction!!
Director Fee
Costs $1,000
Our Director Eryn Rea is highly experienced and gifted, and, like a producer, will oversee the end-to-end creation of our film.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
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Royce Buckingham (Writer, EP)
Royce Buckingham is the author of 15 fantasy and comedy novels with Big 5 publishers, including Random House, Penguin and St. Martin’s Press. His work includes two middle grade best sellers. His middle grade fantasy novel, Demonkeeper, has been translated into 11 languages. He is a WGA screenwriter who has optioned work and made a major Hollywood script sale. Royce is the father of two boys and writes unique stories that balance heart, humor, and cinematic energy.
Derek Johnson (Producer, DP)
Derek Johnson is a producer and filmmaker driven by an insatiable curiosity for human stories and the visual poetry of cinema. His creative journey spans from the stillness of a single photograph to the immersive worlds of feature films and documentary storytelling. He is the producer of Healing Waters, his first award-winning feature film, now streaming on Apple TV. His work has earned both a Clio Award and an Emmy, the latter for camera work on an HBO feature about 9/11.
DEBRA PRALLE (Producer)
Debra has been a professional actor for a looong time and a director/writer/producer/educator for over a decade. Her film directing debut Period, premiered at HollyShorts in LA, won Best Comedy at the 2021 Hip Hop Festival and has had over 7 million views on YouTube. She's directed several short films and the comedy pilot A Broad Abroad on location in Italy. She is the CEO of her production company, Open Window Entertainment.
Eryn Rea (Director)
Eryn Rea works as a multi-hyphenate in Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles, California. Her recent production slate includes 4 different episodic series. She has directed, written or co-written six produced short films, and wrapped her directorial debut for a feature film in 2024 which will premiere this year. Her background in acting, directing, casting, and production informs her collaborative process of storytelling.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
BALLOON BOY
"Because the only thing harder than parenting is letting go."
Balloon Boy is a film about Abbot, a young Seattle slacker who spends one night with a nice inflatable woman he meets at a party and unexpectedly finds himself the single father of a balloon-headed baby boy. Now Abbot must learn that helicopter-parenting is universal and sometimes "letting go" is the greatest act of love.
"A hilarious, heartwarming, and quirky PG film that portrays
the challenges & triumphs of raising a 'unique' child in a meaningful and uplifting way."
WRITER'S STATEMENT
Hi! I'm Royce, the writing cog in this big creative team wheel. My gosh, where to begin…BALLOON BOY “arose” when my wife and I were new parents raising our two boys, Aspen and Aiden, in the early 2000s. We were both working full-time, struggling to stay fit, and I was collecting hundreds of rejection letters as a midnight writer. But this isn’t about me. This is about children and how they make YOU grow up.
Cara and I had two color-coded calendars with every hour of every day accounted for—daycare, sports, music, school, music-school, playgrounds, playdates, and much, much more. We discovered that parenting didn’t actually fit on a calendar. All you parents out there know what I’m sayin’. It was controlled insanity--labor, love, and chaos. Years of pop culture and world events passed us by while we OJT'd for adulting and micro-focused on these two little humans. And then one day, the boys graduated and just...left.
{SILENCE}
Our Balloon Boy actors at different ages.
I wrote BALLOON BOY while in the throes of that ridiculous, impossible, universal life experience. Fast-forward twenty years and I’m a child-free, full-time fantasy author and recovering parent. I showed that BALLOON BOY script to my professional filmmaker friends Deb and then Derek and then Eryn {the producer, producer/ cinematographer, and director cogs in our wheel} and discovered that this story is more relevant today than ever.
So we filmed it to share with you.
How is Balloon Boy both universal and unique?
Balloon Boy addresses universal themes.
- Adulting.
- Raising a "different" child.
- Family - bio and found.
- Helicopter parenting.
- Sometimes love means letting go.
The absurdist realism of the story creates strong metaphors for the above themes, and the film's universal messages are delivered through comedy.
Rated PG -- We wanted to make Balloon Boy accessible to as many people as possible. The film addresses adult themes with a PG delivery.
Why this story?
The story is both unique and familiar. It addresses family issues and resolves them in an inspirational way. It delivers a positive message without being pedantic through a wildly entertaining metaphor and reminds us what is important at the end of the day.
Why now?
We think the world needs a few more inspirational, positive stories to lift us up! Experiences that bring us together and remind us of what we have in common. Everyone has felt like "the different kid" at some time. Every parent has worried about their child. We're all in this together.
Why us and why you?
Many of us on team Balloon Boy are parents. And we were all children, right? This is a story for all of us about core foundations of our humanity--family, friends, and love.
Who are you supporting?
You are supporting working artists. Everyone on the Balloon Boy team is a professional currently working in indie film. Everyone on the project is getting paid. We are a predominantly Seattle cast and crew and support local productions.
Producer Derek Johnson met Royce Buckingham in the Northwest Screenwriters Guild's screenwriting incubator, The Green Room, and read his heartfelt and hilarious short script Balloon Boy. Producer Debra Pralle had been aware of Royce's script for years, is a parent herself, and was eager to be involved. This led to a pivotal restaurant meeting between the three, where Balloon Boy was launched. With a critical mass of creatives behind the project, including director Eryn Rea, Derek gathered his A-team crew, Debra headed up casting and locations, and we embarked on an awesome shoot in the summer of 2025.
expect to launch a festival run from July 2026 through 2027. In the meantime, we are creating our edit and working with VFX and our Director to polish all parts of this film! Below is our production timeline for the next year. In July, you will have a chance to see Balloon Boy at our private theater screening.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT -- BALLOON BOY is so memorable on the page, and I am thrilled to join the team as Director and help bring this story to life. At its core, there are relatable themes for any viewer, while wrapped in unique circumstances. With humor baked in, the acting will be grounded with depth and nuance. We are also excited to utilize modern technology to create the digital assets needed for the Balloon Boy character's head. We hope the finished short film honors the heart of the story and moves audiences with unforgettable charm. This will be an adventure to direct and I am thankful for the opportunity.
–Eryn Rea
We've already raised $20,000, completed principal photography & paid our cast and crew. Yay! You're seeing actual footage in the video above.
We are now asking you to help us fund some of our expensive post-production costs, including:
- Professional motion-capture balloon-headed child FX.
- Music!
- Festival expenses.
We must raise 80% of our goal to receive funding.
Preproduction
Fully funded and complete.
Shooting
Fully funded and complete.
Post Production
We are raising $11,400 in completion and festival funds.
Our rubbery STRRRRRETCH GOALS include development of the feature length film, which Royce is writing now! Development funding could include script coverage and writing, copyright and legal fees, or sending our project to film markets with a producer to help sell and distribute the film in both its versions.
THANK YOU for supporting BALLOON BOY!
Please don't forget to LIKE our page and SHARE the URL link to this campaign.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Editing
Costs $1,200
We need to pay our editor for this movie as we have some very sophisticated tech and concept for the post side of things.
Producers Deffered Pay
Costs $2,400
Deb and Derek have put in a ton of hours and weeks of time without any compensation; we would really love to help them out with a stipend.
The Balloon Boy
Costs $2,100
Our Special effects team needs support to complete the fully animated character.
Film Festival Submission
Costs $2,200
We will travel to the festivals we get into for screenings. Travel and entry fees cost real money.
Sound Design, Score and finishing of the film.
Costs $2,500
No movie is complete without a score, and the audio mastering is 70% of the film's value. Let's not forget the color correction!!
Director Fee
Costs $1,000
Our Director Eryn Rea is highly experienced and gifted, and, like a producer, will oversee the end-to-end creation of our film.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Royce Buckingham (Writer, EP)
Royce Buckingham is the author of 15 fantasy and comedy novels with Big 5 publishers, including Random House, Penguin and St. Martin’s Press. His work includes two middle grade best sellers. His middle grade fantasy novel, Demonkeeper, has been translated into 11 languages. He is a WGA screenwriter who has optioned work and made a major Hollywood script sale. Royce is the father of two boys and writes unique stories that balance heart, humor, and cinematic energy.
Derek Johnson (Producer, DP)
Derek Johnson is a producer and filmmaker driven by an insatiable curiosity for human stories and the visual poetry of cinema. His creative journey spans from the stillness of a single photograph to the immersive worlds of feature films and documentary storytelling. He is the producer of Healing Waters, his first award-winning feature film, now streaming on Apple TV. His work has earned both a Clio Award and an Emmy, the latter for camera work on an HBO feature about 9/11.
DEBRA PRALLE (Producer)
Debra has been a professional actor for a looong time and a director/writer/producer/educator for over a decade. Her film directing debut Period, premiered at HollyShorts in LA, won Best Comedy at the 2021 Hip Hop Festival and has had over 7 million views on YouTube. She's directed several short films and the comedy pilot A Broad Abroad on location in Italy. She is the CEO of her production company, Open Window Entertainment.
Eryn Rea (Director)
Eryn Rea works as a multi-hyphenate in Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles, California. Her recent production slate includes 4 different episodic series. She has directed, written or co-written six produced short films, and wrapped her directorial debut for a feature film in 2024 which will premiere this year. Her background in acting, directing, casting, and production informs her collaborative process of storytelling.