"I wanted to create an animated film from the animal's point of view, to tell their stories of loyalty, courage, friendship and love, serving in the trenches and risking their lives on the battlefield. In the end, they were soldiers too."
Frank Detrano, Artist in TV & Film Animation
From Script to Screen: A Journey Through the Animation Film Development Process for Hearts of Valor
The Story of Columb, a Mercy Dog Soldier
A Dream of a Home & Family
Comrades in Arms... A Family in Peacetime
A Dream of a Home & Family
Wandering the streets of London, Columb is seen marching in step with British troops during a parade and the stray shepherd is sent to be trained as a Mercy Dog at a facility in England. Soon, his intelligence and agility are evident in the trenches of No Man's Land while rescuing wounded soldiers on the battlefield. Adopting the army and his handler, Sgt. Fitzsimmons, as family, Columb
dreams of a home and his one fear is that when the war ends he will be alone again. Suddenly, the trenches are bombed by the enemy and Fitzsimmons is forced to call a hasty retreat, seemingly leaving Columb, Bonnie, Major and Bandit behind.
"We are Soldiers too."
Comrades in Arms... A Family in Peacetime
A Dream of a Home & Family
The following morning, Columb realizes what has happened and convinces his friends that they are soldiers with a duty and responsibility. They must rejoin their army unit. So begins a journey across war torn France where they are captured by the German Shepherds and meet Moliere, Daisy and Hans in a POW camp. Escaping from an enemy troop train, our "four-legged soldiers" head west in an adventure filled with drama, comedy, danger, fear and doubt. Meanwhile, Fitzsimmons has not not given up hope and tries to find them even though his regiment continues moving away from the trenches.
Comrades in Arms... A Family in Peacetime
Comrades in Arms... A Family in Peacetime
Comrades in Arms... A Family in Peacetime
With the German Shepherds in pursuit, they stumble on a secret outpost planning a surprise counter-attack. Overpowering the soldiers and stopping the invasion, Columb and his friends return to Paris as heros. During a victory celebration, they are awarded medals and all the military service animals are saluted. But now, the parade is over. His friends are either adopted by new owners or reunited with old ones and Columb is left alone in the plaza. Suddenly, a ball rolls in front of him. Fitzsimmons adopts the shepherd mix and tosses the ball into the air. Columb races after it and his dream from the trenches comes true.
The Trailer Narrator
Chantelle Albers
Chantelle Albers is an American actress with a love for filmmaking, theatre, acting and singing. Since she was a child, Chantelle has always had a passion for dogs and animals in general. Graduating from North Dakota State University with a BFA in Theatre Performance, she received an Irene Ryan award nomination for her role as Karen Wright in The Children's Hour. Moving to LA, Chantelle worked in comedy, horror, drama and continued to perform in live shows. In addition to acting, she became active in producing and starred in the horror film, The 6th Friend, on Amazon, Tubi and Movie Central. With a limited theatrical release with Cinemark Theatres, it went on to win numerous Best Feature, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards. Chantelle worled with members of The Actors Studio on the historical show Their Finest Hour where she played Brit Pamela Churchill, bringing Churchill's heartache and seductive scandals to life. She leads the western film Two Sinners and a Mule released in theatres with Lionsgate and is now streaming.
The World of the Mercy Dog
On the Battlefield for Centuries
Canines serving in the military is nothing new and dates to ancient Greece and Rome. However, the organization of service animals into units, particularly Mercy Dogs, reached its zenith with the onset of World War One. Fifty thousand canines reportedly were enlisted by Great Britain, France, the United States and Germany. Many were strays or were found in shelters and some, surprisingly, were donated by their own families in a patriotic gesture. One can only imagine the emotional toll inflicted on a pet who was suddenly lifted out of a safe and secure home environment and now transported to a battlefield.
From Shoeburyness to No Man's Land
At a facility in England, British Mercy Dogs underwent six weeks of intense training mostly at night and were taught to ignore gunfire and explosions, avoid lethal tear gas and navigate through barbed wire across rocky terrains. Following a battle, they were given a signal and sent out to locate wounded soldiers while alerting the stretcher bearers by either barking or taking back a piece of a uniform with them. Sometimes, they would stay beside a soldier giving him comfort until help arrived, even risking their own lives. Many soldiers have said that the presence of these dogs on a battlefield was an inspiration of hope.
An Unwavering Bond
Very often, the army brass told their handlers not to form any emotional attachments to the dogs. This meant not only the Mercy Dogs, but the guard dogs and messengers too. However, this rule was rarely observed with many soldiers in the field regarding their canine companions as equals and vowing to never leave them behind. It is this unwavering bond between an army handler and a stray who becomes a Mercy Dog that lies as one of the central themes of Hearts of Valor.
The Creator of Hearts of Valor
Frank Detrano
I've been fortunate to have two talents, artistic and literary. Although majoring in journalism at Hofstra University, I embarked on careers in opera, teaching seminars on ancient civilizations and running a graphic design studio. A Disney TV special rekindled my love of drawing and I enrolled in storyboarding classes at SVA . My first job was on Daria for MTV. I also began creating my own animation series projects. Relocating to LA, I've worked for all the major studios and have enjoyed over 20 years of professional experience as a storyboard artist.
Hearts of Valor is my first feature animated film and, as I've mentioned earlier, I was inspired by the loyalty, courage and sacrifice of Mercy Dogs during World War One. I wanted to tell their story, their hopes and dreams, fears and heroism while serving on the battlefields. It is a passion project for me and a thrilling, heartwarming adventure I am honored to bring to the entire family.