By Allen K. Lunde and Michelle MacEachern, Correspondents / POSTED: 05/13/15, 4:55 PM PDT

“The Spaceman”, a locally-made film by Josh Funk and friends, is about a man who builds a cardboard spaceship and travels to a distant planet to dispose of a mysterious object.

MICHELLE: I liked it better than the latest “Avengers.” It’s weird how a film that costs millions to make can be cloying, while a locally-made project with cardboard props can be enthralling. But that’s how I felt about it.

ALLEN: I had heard about the film, but hadn’t seen it yet. I was able to get a copy at the Art at the Matador event and I’m thrilled I did. You can actually watch the film at www.joshfunk.com. You should do that immediately.

MICHELLE: To be honest, I’ve seen some really good locally-made films, and some truly tacky stuff. Generally, (and as someone who has never directed anything in her life) you’d think it would be easier to make something in modern times — and you’d think science fiction was a genre to avoid with a low budget. But somehow, this Chico State grad put together a film that’s very worth watching.

ALLEN: Like Robert Rodriguez did in “El Mariachi”, Funk and his team makes a virtue of their limitations. The obviously cardboard sets and props somehow become completely believable. You should be laughing when star Jordan Funk puts on a cardboard helmet, but instead you are just intrigued. It was a wise choice to make the film in black and white. Josh Funk is an artist and the visuals in the film have real artistic merit.

MICHELLE: It’s a short, so I didn’t expect to get to know our hero terribly well. He’s a man on a mission, and that’s enough. There’s an obvious nod to Tim Burton here. But the director has his own style. And I’d be interested to see his next project, even if there were no local connection. It’s that good.

ALLEN: I felt the same way. I’m much more excited to see what Funk will make next than I am to take another trip into Marvel land.

MICHELLE: The movie is great on its own, but if you watch the “making of” section, you’ll be even more impressed, at what they accomplished with what they had.

ALLEN: Not to mention the “making of” video is pretty entertaining on its own.

By Leila Rodriguez, Correspondent / POSTED: 02/18/15, 8:53 PM PST

Chico >> “The Spaceman” by director and creator Josh Funk finally makes its landing on to the big screen in Chico this weekend. The short film debuts Saturday and Sunday at the Pageant Theatre, 351 E. Sixth St. After two years of hard work and creating a spaceship in his backyard shed, Funk has left his full-time job to fully commit to a career in the arts.

The premiere kicks off with a screening of “Wormholes,” Funk’s first stop-motion short film, followed by a two-minute behind-the-scenes short of “The Spaceman” and finally the showing of “The Spaceman.” A question-and-answer session with Funk and his crew will commence after the movie. The puppets used in the film will also be on display for guests to take a gander.

“The Spaceman” is a 12-minute, live-action, stop-motion adventure film starring Funk’s younger brother, Jordan, and a bug-eyed alien monster. The story follows an adventurous Spaceman who crafts a cardboard spaceship and ventures to another planet to dispose of a mysterious object. While exploring, he encounters an alien and they battle.

“I don’t want people to think too much about it,” Funk said. “I want people to have fun and smile and kind of think about being a kid again because of the cardboard spaceship idea. It’s not a comedy but it’s a ridiculous concept.”

It’s a campy movie tapping into a youthful imagination Funk and his brother fondly remember as children.

His project was partly funded from a Kickstarter, crowd sourcing campaign. Within a few days, Funk exceeded the Kickstarter goal allowing him to purchase another puppet with a slightly different expression, construct a large forest scene for the film and provide those generous folks who donated to Funk’s project some awesome rewards.

Funk was surprised by the benevolent outpouring and he said the majority of the donations materialized from locals. “When you start animating, there are hurdles and things you didn’t think about before,” Funk said. “So I had to rethink it on the second puppet. I was able to get everything I needed but because I had the money I wanted to make it as good as a I could.”

This was the first time the two brothers worked closely together aside from recording music. “There’s a big age difference between us,” Josh Funk said. “He’s nine years younger and growing up I was always playing in bands and he was always bugging us and now it’s kind of cool (Jordan’s) grown up and we’re working together. It’s fun.”

This was Jordan Funk’s first time acting and the novice actor said he enjoyed his time in front of the camera. Working with the green screen and fighting a miniature monster proposed some challenges for Jordan Funk.

“I had no dialogue in the entire film, so it’s all facial expressions and that was hard to do,” he said. Some voiceovers by Jordan Funk invite viewers into the character’s thoughts but aside from those bits, the film is driven by the scenes.

“It was a hard project to start off with right away because you have to convey a lot without saying anything” Josh Funk said. “It’s just him and a monster so he’s not talking to anyone or saying anything out loud. It’s a little different and a little harder acting because you have to say a lot with your face.”

The original concept of “The Spaceman” stemmed from a rough sketch Funk dreamed up a few years ago after Josh Funk’s first completed stop-motion film “Wormholes.”

In the span of two days, the Funk brothers filmed the first version of the entire movie. After they received extra funding from Kickstarter donations, Funk returned to his storyboard and expanded the movie including locations. The majority was filmed in Funk’s backyard shed with the exception of a few scenes shot in Forrest Ranch, Lindo Channel and Fern Canyon.

“In my head, it ended up where I wanted it to be,” Josh Funk said. “What I had envisioned originally ended up being better than I thought in certain areas.” The animation and special effects were a new territory for Funk and he said he had doubts at first.

“I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do some of that stuff,” he said. “I thought I was going to compromise on certain shots and eliminate them or do a version that wasn’t as good but we met everything I wanted to meet.”

With the film’s completion and the premiere approaching, the brothers reflect on the entire adventure with fond memories.

Jordan Funk has a particular stand-out memory: he also met his fiance on set. Brigette Enos was brought onto the Space team as an acting makeup artist for the Funk brothers’ Kickstarter video. During the course of filming, Enos stuck around lending her makeup skills to a few scenes and the two fell in love.

“So technically I don’t have to pay (Jordan),” Josh Funk said laughing. “I should have thought of that. So you owe me. I got you a wife.”