Little Dog, Lot to Prove. The Directors of 'Bolt' Talk
By Steve Fritz
With a lot of movies, the story behind the scene can be every bit as
interesting as the one on the screen. That certainly is the case with
Disney’s latest production, Bolt.
Yes, it does have John Travolta voicing the title role of a dog that
doesn’t know his life is a TV series. It also features Mylie Cyrus as
Bolt’s teenaged owner coping with her confused pet being accidentally
shipped from Hollywood to New York City and then trying to get home.
The film also includes some incredible performances from the likes of
Susie Essman as a poor, homeless cat who is literally collared by Bolt
into making this cross country trek.
Still, the real story here isn’t this round, cuddly and ultimately
believable animals. It’s how this is the first straight Disney film
that was produced by Pixar’s John Lassetter.
Let’s put this another way. This is not a Pixar movie. The film clearly states it’s a Disney production.
So what does this imply? Bolt's co-directors, Chris
Williams & Byron Howard, have a distinct take on it. After all,
these two are longtime Disney veterans. They both did their internships
at Disney’s Orlando, Florida facilities, where they sharpened their
first professional pencils on Mulan. From there, both made the
pilgrimage to the main studio in Burbank, California. This is also the
first time they have worked together, much less directed a feature
film.
This leads to some very interesting perspective from inside the Mouse Works. Here’s what they had to say:
Newsarama: Your bio states you both worked at Disney’s studio in Orlando. Did you know each other then?
Byron Howard: No. You know we went through our internship at
Disney but we never crossed paths. I knew of Chris because his
wonderful drawings were already making impressions on friends of mine.
We didn’t get to know each other until we started this project.
NRAMA: But you both worked in Orlando around the same time, right?
Chris Williams: Byron actually lived in Orlando for a number of years while I lived there for an internship. I was there for Mulan for a while. I was also there for Lilo & Stitch for a while, but I was constantly coming and going.
NRAMA: This is the first feature film you’ve both directed, right?
BOTH: Yeah.
NRAMA: Now both of you have worked for Disney for 14 years, so
you’ve been through different leaders there. What’s it like now working
under Mr. Lassetter?
CW: One of the things we both always wanted to do was work for
someone like John. I remember the day when they called us all to this
big soundstage and told us we all were now working under him. We were
all so excited. He’s proven that he’s a high quality guy and a real
talented guy.
We all recognized that our lives weren’t going to get easier. He really
sets a high bar. He really pushes you to get better. What it meant is
we were all going to commit to only doing things that were going to be
great, high quality stuff. Above and beyond anything, it’s all about
his passion and his love for movies and animation is so contagious.
BH: He’s really a big kid. When he screens our movies we make
he’s always the one that’s laughing the hardest and the first. It also
comes from a very genuine place. He’s also the biggest Disney fan I
know. He really gets into this stuff. Like Chris has said, his
enthusiasm is contagious and we caught it.
The fact is no matter how hard the last film was, after it’s done
you’re always ready to jump in and make the next one. That’s the sign
of a great leader.
NRAMA: When I met him a year ago, he came across as a very low
key guy. He also said his axiom is if a kid loves a film, he or she
will make you watch it 1,000 times. How does that philosophy apply to Bolt?
CW: The thing that makes a movie work or not is telling a
great story and creating great characters. So for a kid to get attached
to a movie, there’s something that a kid gets attached to. There’s a
burden on us to create those great characters. It’s also important,
being these kids will make you watch it 1,000 times, that you like it
too. So we definitely wanted something adults can enjoy.
NRAMA: Was it always your intention to have John Travolta voice Bolt?
CW: When it was time to cast, we put together a wish list and
then matched the actors’ voices to the characters. You soon start to
sense which ones are going to fit. We thought that John Travolta would
be great.
Then when you find out you actually got John Travolta, not
forgetting Susie Essman (Mittens the Cat), we started to realize we
were getting all of or first picks. That gets really exciting, but you
also realize you better have a good idea what the characters are all
about. If you do, these actors can really start to form the characters.
BH: The great thing about John’s voice is he really
disappeared into the character. I don’t think that anytime I’m hearing
Bolt I’m hearing John Travolta. I’m just thinking this is how this dog
should sound. John did a marvelous job of sculpting his voice into this
role. He really gave us this great range. He could be this tough guy
when he was working on the show. He could also be quite tender or
confused when he was off camera. He was a character you could really
empathize with.
NRAMA: I didn’t hear any of the usual Travolta-isms in there.
BH: Susie Essman was the same way. She has such a dry wit but
also this warmth. When her backstory does come out, it’s such an
emotional moment. I think she really stole the show.
CW: It will make you understand how Bolt first thinks all cats
are evil but by the time the film’s over you understand they’re
vulnerable too. I’m a cat person myself. I own a cat myself.
BH: I am too. They all have that streak of being very evil and loving at the same time, don’t they?
NRAMA: The real revelation to me was Mark Walton as Rhino the Hamster. Is he really that crazy?
CW: He’s one of our artists, so that should tell you something
to start. Really, it’s his unbridled enthusiasm for Rhino. That’s very
real. Mark also doesn’t have any filters. He’s just this very genuine
person. We’re both very happy for his success. He’s just great as
Rhino.
BH: He’s just a naturally funny guy. He’s another real fanboy,
too. His house is just packed with all kinds of toys from animated
films. Let’s say it this way. It wasn’t that much of a stress for him
to be Rhino. When we first heard the scratch tracks with him, we just
knew he was a perfect match for the hamster. He really made that
character work.
CW: I mean he’s such a fanboy do you know the Robin Hood movie
with Kevin Costner? There’s a scene that’s become a famous shot. It has
an arm in the foreground that is shot with an arrow. It’s supposed to
be Costner’s arm. Anyway, you know it’s an artificial arm. Mark
actually owns that arm. He is such a movie nut that he had to have it.
That comes across in Rhino.
NRAMA: Now was the film done in Burbank or did you go up to Pixar’s complex in Oakland?
CW: All the animation was done here.
BH: It was all in-house. The thing we did benefit from was as
we did the story, we did show the film to the Pixar brain trust.
Conversely, they now show their films to us. It’s very open
communications.
CW: The thing we knew even before John arrived is we had
talent in the building. We had great people. What John Lassetter, and Ed
Catmull, are really great at is they really know how to get that talent
on screen. So it’s the same people, only in a new environment. You can
see we’ve taken a huge step forward. Every department really stepped
up. We all knew this was a John Lassetter movie and it has to be great.
It’s a lot of positive energy.
NRAMA: I have to say, there’s been some great films out this year. Not just Wall*E, but also films like Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2, Azur & Asmar and Igor. Would you say the quality level in general is being pushed up?
BH: I would say that, as many know, the animation community as
a whole is really small. So you will end up working with just about
everybody on one project or another sooner or later. It’s created a
philosophy of it doesn’t really matter what studio you work for, every
animator is a colleague one way or another. This means we all also root
for each other. When someone makes a great film, it’s good for all of
us. So I’m very encouraged to see all these studios coming out with
such great projects.
CW: Lately there really has been a passion for great
storytelling. It’s permeated throughout the entire animation industry.
When I go to an animated movie, I see more passion for one of them than
any typical live action feature these days. So I’m real happy to be
making animated movies these days.
INTEL & DELL ANNOUNCE FIRST FILM…AND ALL ARE INVITED TO HELP
Intel Corporation today announced the start of Mass Animation, the
first collaborative, worldwide effort to produce a computer-generated
animated short film for theatrical release.
Artists around the world are invited to animate the shots of a
5-minute, CGI-animated short film titled “Live Music,” which is
produced and directed by Yair Landau, former president of Sony Pictures
Digital. The collaboration, through a unique application built on the
Facebook Platform, will run through Jan. 30. Animators, regardless of
experience, may begin work immediately, and community voting will open
Nov. 24 at www.facebook.com/massanimation.
“Live Music” is inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
and early CGI films. Set in a musical instrument store, the story
follows Riff, a rock ‘n’ roll guitar, who, as Landau describes it,
“falls in love to the wrong song but ends up with Vanessa, the
classical violin of his dreams.” The story is conveyed through the
universal language of music, allowing the expressions and actions of
the characters to be instantly relatable globally. The instruments are
brought to life through original compositions and familiar rock tunes
played principally by legendary guitarist Steve Vai as Riff and
acclaimed violinist Ann Marie Calhoun as Vanessa.
“Mass Animation’s first project, ‘Live Music’ is a great story that we
are excited to tell through a breakthrough Facebook application,”
Landau said. “This new method of creating films draws upon a global
community and social technology to allow people to come together in a
whole new type of creative collaboration. Animators around the world
will get a chance to showcase their talent and imagination in the film;
animation fans will have a say in which shots best convey the story and
characters, and therefore deserve to make the final cut.”
“This project is about the magic that can happen when thousands of
artistic people all over the world put powerful computing tools to use
in the spirit of collaboration,” said John Cooney, online programs
manager with Intel’s Partner Marketing Group. “The power of the Intel®
Core i7 processor technology, introduced today and part of the
project’s prize package, makes it possible for content creators to
design, animate and innovate.”
The tools and 3-D models that animators will need to collaborate on
this project including a limited duration version of Autodesk Maya 3D
Animation software are provided, and can be accessed through the Mass
Animation application on Facebook built by Aniboom.
Dell will be awarding a Dell Studio XPS desktop PC powered by an Intel
Core i7 processor to animators whose creation is rated the best by the
community on a weekly basis. An international jury of animation experts
will select the shots to be considered for the film. As director,
Landau will have the final say as to which submissions make the final
cut. Animators whose work makes it into the finished product will
receive on-screen credit and $500 (US) in compensation.
In addition to Intel and thousands of participants in the project, Mass
Animation’s partners in making “Live Music” include Dell, Autodesk,
Reel FX Entertainment and Aniboom.
Visit www.facebook.com/massanimation to start collaborating today.BOOMERANG TO AIR “LOST” H-B CLASSIC
In 1972, America's families had endured the tragedy of the Munich
Olympic Games, a controversial presidential election and the ongoing
losses of the Vietnam War. On Thanksgiving Day that year,
Hanna-Barbera, the world's leading producer of animated television
entertainment, debuted a 30-minute original holiday special to remind
everyone that there is always a reason to give thanks: The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't.
This year on Thanksgiving day, Nov. 27, 2008, Boomerang, Cartoon
Network's all-classic cartoon network, will offer the 26th Anniversary
presentation entirely free from commercial interruption. It will enjoy
two Boomerang telecasts, first at 10:00 a.m. and then again at 8:00
p.m. (both times Eastern).
Featuring a cast of Hanna-Barbera's best vocal talent such as June
Foray and Don Messick, the film is a story about friendship that is
also full of adventure. Set in 1621, it chronicles one dangerously
fateful day for Johnny Cooke, a young Pilgrim boy, and Little Bear, an
Indian boy, who are discovered to be missing. The first Thanksgiving
feast cannot start without them, and when their friend Jeremy Squirrel
hears they are in peril he goes on a daring rescue mission
"Animated holiday specials such as The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't
are family traditions," said Stacy Isenhower, senior vice president of
programming and scheduling for Boomerang and Cartoon Network. "We know that our viewers, both young and old, will feel the
spirit of the holiday with this cartoon classic-it reminds us again
that there is always a reason to be thankful."
NEXT COLUMN: More reasons to be thankful. We start looking over holiday specials for the next month.
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