When Lilo & Sew and Learn how to Practice Your Dragon co-director Chris Sanders dropped into DreamWorks to see what films that they had on their growth roster, he fell in love with The Wild Robotic. Initially a sequence of middle-grade books by author and illustrator Peter Brown, the story follows a robotic named Roz who results in the wilderness and varieties a deep bond with an orphaned gosling.
It was all the pieces Sanders wished: refined, emotional, and character-driven.
“Typically once I see a property like this, I really get a bit of bit anxious, as a result of I really feel like I do know what to do,” he tells Polygon. “So I need to be the one which does it. I simply really feel like, I feel I do know precisely what to do. Please let me do it, as a result of I do know the place to go. I’ve a very good path.”
Sanders, who additionally co-directed The Croods for DreamWorks, knew what he wished this film to be. And now that laptop know-how is lastly able to approaching the look of hand-drawn animation, he was in a position to push the film to look the best way he envisioned it. From the primary trailers, which revealed a lush, beautiful film not like some other, we had been wanting to know extra. So forward of the film’s late-September launch, Sanders sat down with Polygon to speak about utilizing his 40 years of expertise within the animation world to craft this deeply private story.
This interview has been edited for concision and readability.
Polygon: Is there a film you beforehand labored on in your profession that you just really feel ready you most for The Wild Robotic?
Chris Sanders: Lilo & Sew and Learn how to Practice Your Dragon. These are essentially the most private movies I’ve ever labored on. Learn how to Practice Your Dragon was tailored from a guide, but it surely ready me for this explicit movie, as a result of after we got here on to Learn how to Practice Your Dragon, we had been inheriting the movie from a former director, and so they didn’t just like the path that was going. They wished to make a change. We needed to strip the story all the way down to its framework with a view to work out what the issue was. Image a automobile coming into a store, and it’s not working, and also you surprise why, and also you simply take the entire thing aside, and you start constructing it up from scratch.
So my expertise engaged on the story for Learn how to Practice Your Dragon taught me that it’s OK to deal with these items structurally for some time. Earlier than you permit your self to get into the extra enjoyable components and the characters, it’s okay to again up and have a look at them structurally. In order that’s one thing that I actually took away from Learn how to Practice Your Dragon. It served me effectively on this explicit narrative.
How carefully did you’re employed with Peter Brown for the film?
Our very first telephone name was to Peter Brown for the venture. It was essentially the most consequential telephone name of the sequence. I’ve but to fulfill Peter in individual. Our timing on this was very troublesome, as a result of he was within the midst of shifting, after which he had his first little one, and he was additionally ending up his third guide, and he had a deadline for that. So he was by no means actually in a position to come out and go to us. We had been all the time doing issues over Zoom.
However that very first telephone name, he mentioned one thing that was extraordinarily important. He instructed us that whereas he was writing the guide, the theme that was going by his head was that kindness could be a survival talent, and we simply instantly wrote that down. I knew that I wished to memorialize that in script and display screen, and that’s precisely what we did.
The Wild Robotic grapples so much with the stresses of parenthood. How do you strike a line between a narrative that might be accessible to kids however nonetheless significant to adults?
Since I started my journey in animation, I realized that to make a very good animated film for everybody, you’re employed to not exclude. You by no means fairly goal anybody, however you do the alternative. You just remember to don’t do one thing that might, for some motive, maintain another person — anyone — from having fun with the movie. And that doesn’t imply all people has to grasp all the pieces. It’s okay to have stuff that goes over children’ heads occasionally. I bear in mind once I was a child, in TV exhibits and flicks, there have been sure issues, like, I do not know what’s occurring, however I nonetheless like this film. So we work to not exclude.
One of many facets of the story I actually gravitated towards was that there’s a robust theme of motherhood that runs all through — it’s all the time been a little bit of a gag in animation, that there are all the time lacking moms in these tales. And I’ve come to grasp why that’s. However on this case, it was core to the story.
So meaning the entire thing was actually recent and actually completely different. And I really like issues which can be each difficult and in addition issues I feel I can do issues with. I don’t thoughts that there are components which can be a little bit of a puzzle, and that is perhaps onerous to determine. As a result of when you could have a very good story crew and a very good editor, you’ll determine these items out.
Picture: DreamWorks Animation
What was one thing that introduced a little bit of a puzzle?
There have been just a few, like precisely what Roz’s trajectory is thru the movie, notably when she arrives on the island. Within the guide, she is pushed to discover a job, and he or she’s within the unsuitable place, and there aren’t any folks to offer her a job, so she is pissed off. That tends to get very monotonous. So one of many issues we had been actually attempting to do is maintain Roz attention-grabbing and compelling, and by no means let her get right into a monotonous place the place she’s merely going and asking all people, “Do you could have a job? Do you could have a job?”
So discovering her perspective as she went into the entire thing, but in addition weaving the theme of motherhood all through all the movie. It’s a really highly effective factor, and also you don’t need to draw back from it, so that you need to give it room to breathe. The timing of this film was very crucial as effectively. It implies that I took a number of the characters from the guide and I trimmed them again so different characters would have extra time to do what they should do. But additionally that we’d have a film that had the identical tempo in its completed type that I used to be feeling once I learn the guide.
You don’t need to be hurried. You don’t desire a crowded film. And also you don’t desire a film that has too many characters or an excessive amount of dialogue, the place you’re simply tripping over your self such as you’re working in entrance of a lawnmower or one thing. I’ve positively seen films that had that.
Did the voice solid for this movie convey something to their characters that ended up shaping the film’s trajectory?
It’s one of many enjoyable issues about casting a personality. You do your greatest to current a personality that’s attention-grabbing and compelling. As soon as an actor says sure to a job, the very first thing you do is, you return by all the set of dialogue and also you rewrite.
Catherine [O’Hara] is a good instance. She performs the last word mother on this film — has three households a 12 months at the least. So Pinktail the [possum] may have been a very sentimental character, very involved about her valuable kids and this and that. However with Catherine on board, we took a complete completely different angle that was recent, and, I assumed, simply a lot enjoyable. She’s over it. Her nurturing wore off many seasons in the past. So she’s a really pragmatic mother. She loves her children, she takes care of them, however there’s a second the place she’s not precisely positive what their names are, as a result of she has too many yearly, and so she’s a bit of bit behind on this and never tremendous involved. And I cherished her tackle that character.
Lupita [Nyong’o, who plays Roz] had the toughest job. We wished the recent and compelling tackle a robotic that’s rising as a personality, and we didn’t need it to be a two-dimensional factor, the place a robotic goes from being impassive to having emotion. That’s simply too easy. What Roz goes by is way extra advanced and extra dimensional. And Lupita labored very, very onerous, as a result of I insisted that Roz don’t have any facial articulation.
I’ve a variety of emotions about which sorts of robots work greatest on display screen. Lupita knew that 100% of her efficiency was on her voice. We had been going to go away these recording periods simply together with her voice, so she needed to weave each little piece of nuance and emotion into these recordings.
What we additionally had been monitoring was this variation: Roz is essentially the most distinguished character by the movie. She’s the lead. So she has extra dialogue than some other character. The sheer scale of what Lupita needed to accomplish, on high of the evolution of Roz, and actually discovering a voice to start and finish with that had been completely different.
As we went into recording periods, we needed to observe that voice as we did completely different sequences, as a result of we do these items out of order. No matter sequence is able to go, that goes into manufacturing. That is perhaps a sequence within the third act, or it is perhaps a sequence within the second act. So we’re leaping round and dropping into these sequences, and Lupita needed to alter her voice relying on the place she was throughout the recording session.
I can not say sufficient about how extremely proficient she was. However not simply proficient — she had an unimaginable work ethic. She sat on the microphone for 4 hours at a time. I’ve finished stuff like that, and it’s exhausting — it’s onerous to remain targeted and on level and recent on the finish of a session like that. She did such an excellent job.
Picture: DreamWorks Animation
There’s a protracted historical past in films of robots who develop emotions and relationships. Have been there sure characters or films you drew from for Roz’s design?
There are positively robotic characters that I discover are extra profitable than others: C-3PO, R2-D2, the robotic from Forbidden Planet. The one robotic that I’d say has facial articulation that really works, for my part, is the Iron Large. So these had been the characters I used to be most , not simply due to the shortage of facial articulation, but in addition simply because that they had such robust designs. That was a really welcome problem for us, was to create a robotic that might be iconic and memorable and would take its place — hopefully, in success‚ inside an unlimited neighborhood of very, very memorable robots.
Our design staff, specifically one in all our artists named Hyun Huh, who designed Roz… We had been all attempting out designs, myself included. However at some point, after we got here into our artwork assembly, Hyun introduced his design, which is principally the design you see on display screen. All of us simply fell in love with it and mentioned, “You probably did it. It’s a unified design. It’s easy, it’s interesting.”
And Peter Brown, in his guide, describes Roz each very clearly, but in addition very graphically. Which suggests a variety of the main points had been omitted, due to his graphic fashion. We knew we needed to have a humanoid robotic, not simply due to the design introduced in a guide, but in addition as a result of Peter Brown instructed us in individual throughout a kind of telephone calls what a Rozzum [robot] was: A Rozzum is a generalist. A Rozzum is made to suit into human areas and work alongside people, doing jobs with them and for them. So Roz appears to be like human, however she’s additionally adaptable. She’s a studying robotic. She’s a bit like Foolish Putty. She will imprint on issues and study issues, relying on the place she is.
The visible look of this film is so distinct and evocative. How did you develop it?
It’s one of many massive tales of this movie. DreamWorks had already made some large strides in getting away from the CG look that we had been so habituated to by design. We had been shackled to that look as a result of the know-how had limitations. So with The Dangerous Guys and with Puss in Boots: The Final Want, that they had moved right into a extra illustrated fashion, which was superb. However for Wild Robotic, we wished to go effectively past that.
Our growth art work, it’s this unfastened, sketchy stuff that’s finished in paint — digitally, however nonetheless painted. I really like the look of it. It had the impressionistic vibe, and it was very a lot the best way I used to be seeing the story as I learn the guide. So I requested [Wild Robot production designer] Raymond Zibach, may our completed movie be indiscernible from these explorations? And he mentioned, “Let’s go for it.”
One of many issues they wanted to do to attain that look… We may now not wrap geometry with textures, which is what we’ve been doing in CG from the very starting. We want the hand-painted look in every single place. Not simply within the sky, however on the bottom and within the bushes, in bushes and flowers and all the pieces. In order that’s what they did. They discovered a strategy to paint dimensionally. So there isn’t any geometry within the movie, aside from the characters. And even the characters have painted surfaces.
[DreamWorks head of look] Baptiste Van Opstal labored very, very onerous to get each single feather to be a brushstroke. And for those who get near Fink [the fox, voiced by Pedro Pascal] or Thorn the bear [voiced by Mark Hamill], they don’t have particular person hairs, which is the factor we’re additionally used to [in CG animation], proper? You get actually near a personality, it’s like, Ah! 1000’s of hairs! Computer systems need to do that type of photoreal factor, however we wished all the pieces to be painted. In order that’s the large story of this movie, is what Raymond and his staff had been in a position to obtain.
I really feel like this movie has actually introduced our journey full circle. I’d say Bambi was the start. Bambi is our touchstone so far as the greatest-looking forest I’ve ever seen in an animated movie. Subsequent door to that might even be My Neighbor Totoro by [Hayao] Miyazaki. We’ve been struggling to get again to that analog heat that you would be able to solely get from the human hand, and we lastly did it with this movie.
One of many issues I’m so thrilled by is that individuals who have a look at it, even when they don’t know precisely why it appears to be like completely different, they nonetheless see the distinction and so they react to it. This can be very compelling, and it supercharges all the pieces on display screen. I’m actually thrilled — I really feel like we’ve lastly come out of the tunnel we’ve been in for like 20 years, and now we’re open and free to maneuver visually like we was once a very long time in the past.
Picture: DreamWorks Animation
What had been some visible influences you drew from?
Actually Bambi, [and that movie’s lead production illustrator] Tyrus Wong. Within the futuristic components, we checked out Syd Mead and his design sensibility, as a result of all the pieces is smooth and exquisite. We wished the world that Roz ended up in to be the precise reverse of the place she was alleged to be. We additionally took a variety of inspiration from wildlife pictures and wildlife documentaries — the best way that you just use lengthy lenses, since you’re obligated to remain far-off out of your topics. So sure components of the movie have a vibe such as you’d get from a nature documentary, due to computing it.
Over the previous 5 years or so, we’re seeing increasingly films that push the envelope for what laptop animation can do. You’ve been within the business for many years — why do you suppose that’s taking place now?
I feel all of it does come again to know-how. That was the factor that anchored us proper in a single spot. We obtained extra chain yearly, however we had been nonetheless anchored to that CG look. We had been obligated to wrapping geometry, and we obtained higher and higher textures yearly, and many others., and many others. But it surely nonetheless had this bizarre type of photoreal vibe, though films like The Croods saved it so simple as doable, so it was nonetheless very interesting. However I do consider it was largely technology-based. And I feel that what occurred was, there’s a tipping level we lastly reached, the place we are able to lastly technologically transfer past the place we had been.
What current animated films have actually stood out to you in that vein?
I feel I’d be shocked if anyone didn’t say Spider-Verse in answering that query. That movie was such a wake-up name, and it put all people on discover that issues have modified. That was a sea change. The second got here out, and was equally as incredible. However the first Spider-Verse, I feel all people was buzzing about that after they noticed it. You couldn’t cease speaking concerning the look of it, and the fashion and the texture of it. I’m so glad that it really it had an awesome field workplace and it was acknowledged at awards season.
Picture: Sony Photos
So I do know I’m citing one thing you mentioned nearly 20 years in the past, however there’s a quote from again in 2007, if you left Disney to go to DreamWorks, the place you mentioned you favored the best way DreamWorks checked out animation. Do you bear in mind what you meant by that?
I think what I used to be in all probability speaking about was… It seems like a destructive, but it surely’s really a constructive. We don’t actually have a home fashion [at DreamWorks], that means they’re not obligated to a sure look the place in the event that they abandon that, they’ll be dinged for it. And I feel this [movie] is a good instance of that power. We’re in a position to discover completely different appears to be like for various movies, relying on what’s going to be the best search for the movie.
What was it like returning to DreamWorks for The Wild Robotic? Did something change? What stayed the identical?
Studios all the time evolve. Artists come, artists go, and all of us flow into between studios. I used to be at Disney for some time, for a very long time, after which got here to DreamWorks, and I’ll go someplace else sometime! So it has developed. However the factor about DreamWorks, I feel, that has stayed constant is an obligation to the audacity of the dimensions of the movie.
That’s one thing [Disney veteran and DreamWorks co-founder] Jeffrey [Katzenberg] was all the time actually good at. We as filmmakers are inclined to get nearer and nearer and nearer to a venture till, like, you’ve obtained this monocle on, and also you’re a watchmaker these little tiny components. And Jeffrey had this good way of simply type of figuratively grabbing you by the collar and pulling you again and making you have a look at the movie as a complete. Are you doing the large, large issues that you just count on from a movie? He all the time was nice in specializing in the dimensions and the extent of audacity in these films.
What was one thing you labored on early in your profession that actually formed the best way you checked out animation and filmmaking going ahead?
There’s fairly just a few, fairly just a few issues… I ought to maintain a listing of these items! Each movie, you study one thing. Learn how to Practice Your Dragon. Magnificence and the Beast. The Croods. Mulan. You study one thing from every one in all them.
One of the vital issues I realized from Lilo & Sew from [composer] Alan Silvestri was that music is without doubt one of the only storytelling instruments you could have in your arsenal. I’ve come to actually, actually depend on that. In Learn how to Practice Your Dragon, an awesome instance could be a sequence we name “the forbidden friendship.” That was when Hiccup discovered himself alone in that cove with Toothless. We simply turned the dialogue off, and music turns into the voice of the film. It’s one of the crucial enchanting issues you are able to do, is have characters speaking occasionally. It actually makes folks listen.
We try this so much in The Wild Robotic. One of many issues I’m actually, actually pleased with on this explicit movie is the tempo we had been in a position to obtain. We had about 50% of the dialogue that these movies usually have, so we now have much more wide-open areas. Nonetheless, I nonetheless designed what I’d name “homes for music” throughout the film. We simply drop dialogue and let music take over. So there’s fairly just a few locations the place Kris Bowers, our superb, superb composer, was carrying the narrative for us.
The place do you most need to see animation go sooner or later?
I’d like to see it go in all types of instructions. We lastly escaped the gravitational pull of planet CG, and I really feel like we’re all free to maneuver. So simply myself, personally, I can not wait to discover completely different types, relying on the kind of story that we’re telling. Animation is extra alive and effectively than ever earlier than. One of many issues I’m getting such a kick out of is seeing how animated movies are actually doing effectively this 12 months within the theaters. [Ed. note: As of publication time, Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, and Kung Fu Panda 4 were all top 10 biggest box-office earners for 2024.] They’re a number of the greatest movies this 12 months, flat-out, proper?
I really like seeing animated movies get their due so far as simply good viewers participation. I feel that tackling extra severe subject material… You may inform a narrative for any viewers, any age group, so long as you’re conscious of what age group you’re chatting with. You may capitalize issues. So The Wild Robotic really tackles some fairly grown-up stuff and a few fairly heavy themes, however we do it in a approach that’s comprehensible and digestible to anybody. So I feel [American animation is] simply broadening the spectrum of the kinds of tales that we inform.
The Wild Robotic hits theaters on Sept. 27.
