Despite his sudden rise to international fame, Michael Belmont, aka M dot Strange, advocates that life is simply better with ice cream. His feature-length film “We Are the Strange” is about two outcasts who risk going to the evil city to get ice cream. Among many things, they encounter monster ambushes, giant robot attacks, and explosions.

What started as a project in Belmont’s bedroom, “We Are the Strange” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 after the movie trailer’s overwhelming popularity on YouTube. To show his gratitude, Belmont has been offering a series of tutorials on YouTube to create his particular style of animation, which he’s dubbed “Str8nime” — a fusion of 8-bit videogame culture, Japanese anime, and of course, a healthy dose of strangeness. Spark visits the San Jose filmmaker and his cast of characters.

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