Interview

Animator

“The Wild Robot” Head of Story Heidi Jo Gilbert on Motherhood’s Many Meanings

No one is more delighted that The Wild Robot has surpassed all expectations at the box office and with critics than director Chris Sanders. Receiving almost perfect reviews upon its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film is headed towards record-breaking box office numbers for DreamWorks. Buzz has begun for The Wild Robot as a strong contender at this year’s Oscars. Only days ago, DreamWorks gave the green light for a sequel,

By Leslie Combemale  |  October 16, 2024
Best of Summer 2023: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Look of Picture Supervisor Bret St. Clair on Spider-Punk, Mumbattan & More

*It’s our annual “Best of Summer” look back at some (not all) of our favorite interviews from the past few months. This non-comprehensive look back includes the Barbenheimer phenomenon and the wonderful interviews that followed those two history-making films, chats with the talented folks behind Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, our profile of MPA Creator Award Recipient and filmmaker extraordinaire Gina Prince-Bythewood and more.

Not bad for a sequel. Following on its 2018 Oscar-winning predecessor,

By Hugh Hart  |  August 25, 2023
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Look of Picture Supervisor Bret St. Clair on Spider-Punk, Mumbattan & More

Not bad for a sequel. Following on its 2018 Oscar-winning predecessor, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ranks as the best-reviewed wide-release movie of the year, boasting a 96 percent approved rating on Rotten Tomatoes while grossing $390 million worldwide since its release earlier this month (at the time of publication). Critics have hailed the film’s ability to stitch together a dizzying array of looks informed by comic books, action painting, Brutalist architecture, and more.

By Hugh Hart  |  June 14, 2023

Interview

Animator Art Director Production Designer

“The Magician’s Elephant” Creative Team on Netflix’s Warm, Wondrous New Animated Film

If you’re looking for a wonderful, feel-good movie to cozy up to, The Magician’s Elephant on Netflix is a beautiful story whose animation springs to life an ensemble cast of characters you’d want to befriend. The film is a re-imagination of a novel by Newbery award-winning author Kate DiCamillo and follows a young boy named Peter (Noah Jupe) and his search for his long-lost sister Adele (Pixie Davies). 

As the title suggests,

By Daron James  |  March 24, 2023

Interview

Animator

Disney Legend Floyd Norman on the New Doc “Mickey: The Story of a Mouse”

As Walt Disney once famously said, “It all started with a mouse.” Steamboat Willie, which starred a mouse that became an icon, was released on November 18th, 1928. To commemorate the anniversary of that historic short, Disney+ is airing a new documentary called Mickey: The Story of a Mouse, which examines the character’s continued cultural significance in the US and around the world. 

What makes this documentary so fascinating is it not only considers the evolution of Mickey through his nearly a hundred years in existence,

By Leslie Combemale  |  November 18, 2022

Interview

Animator

Legendary Animator & Oscar-Nominee Glen Keane on his Kobe Bryant Collaboration Dear Basketball

In light of the tragic news of the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, 13 (the second oldest of Bryant’s four daughters with his wife, Vanessa), and seven other people in a helicopter crash in California, we are re-posting this interview with animator Glen Keane, who worked with Kobe on their film Dear Basketball, which ultimately earned them an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

In this second of a two-part interview with veteran Disney animator Glen Keane,

By Susan Wloszczyna  |  January 27, 2020

Interview

Animator

Legendary Animator & Oscar-Nominee Glen Keane on Teaming up With Kobe Bryant, his Disney Past & More—Part I

In light of the tragic news of the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, 13 (the second oldest of Bryant’s four daughters with his wife, Vanessa), and seven other people in a helicopter crash in California, we are re-posting this interview with animator Glen Keane, who worked with Kobe on their film Dear Basketball, which ultimately earned them an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Glen Keane is not just a living legend.

By Susan Wloszczyna  |  January 27, 2020

Interview

Animator

Frozen II Head of Special Effects Marlon West on the Sequel’s Epic Ambitions

Frozen II co-director and screenwriter Jennifer Lee says that if the Disney Oscar-winning blockbuster Frozen was about a happily ever after, then Frozen II is about the day after happily ever after. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf are back, and fans get to see this found family take on new challenges and learn more about themselves and each other. As part of this chapter in their story,

By Leslie Combemale  |  November 22, 2019

Interview

Animator Special/Visual Effects

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World‘s Creators on the Trilogy’s Epic Conclusion

Director Dean DeBlois always knew How to Train Your Dragon would be a three-part series where fans would see its main character Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) grow up and bond with a loveable dragon named Toothless. Now in its final chapter How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World illustrates how the animation has matured in complexity and detail alongside its resonating story of friendship.

“Dean had his mind set on a trilogy that would conclude with Hiccup and Toothless learning how to stand on their own feet,” says head of character animation Simon Otto.

By Daron James  |  February 25, 2019

Interview

Animator

The Lego Movie 2‘s Animation Director on World Building Brick-by-Brick

Five years ago, the first Lego Movie surprised audiences with its nimble moral-dealing in the importance of flexibility and independent thought. Also the song “Everything is Awesome.” The sequel (not counting two in between spin-offs, Lego Batman and Lego Ninjago), director Mike Mitchell’s The Second Part, is back to address sibling rivalry and the value of collaboration. Finn, the human creator of the universe in which Emmet (Chris Pratt),

By Susannah Edelbaum  |  February 15, 2019

Interview

Animator

Legendary Animator & Oscar-Nominee Glen Keane on his Kobe Bryant Collabroation Dear Basketball—Part II

In this second of a two-part interview with veteran Disney animator Glen Keane, creator of such beloved characters such as Ariel in The Little Mermaid and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, discusses what went into his latest solo project – the Annie-winning and Oscar-nominated short Dear Basketball.

Were you into basketball? I read somewhere that you would sometimes sketch your son when he played basketball. 

By  |  February 22, 2018

Interview

Animator

Legendary Animator & Oscar-Nominee Glen Keane on Teaming up With Kobe Bryant, his Disney Past & More—Part I

Glen Keane is not just a living legend. He’s a Disney Legend (yes, that is an official title). He worked for the studio that Mickey Mouse built starting in the ‘70s as a character animator on such features as The Rescuers and Pete’s Dragon and played a huge role during the second Golden Age of Disney animated features that spanned the ‘90s. But in 2012, like many a cartoon hero or heroine yearning for new adventures,

By  |  February 22, 2018