Welcome Back! After a FANTASTIC art pannel, I was joined by Carrie Lao and Griselda Sastruwana, who were nice enough to give me a short interview.
Civet: “I always enjoy hanging out with anything Disney, period — but especially with Zootopia. It’s good to see both of you guys again. Now we can talk freely without having to worry about spoilers. So, talking specifically about the art side: I know we have a lot of artists that have reached out like, ‘Hey, ask them this, ask them that.’ One of the big ones we got was: we explored new districts here — were there any districts that got thrown out or weren’t used because they didn’t fit the story?”
Carrie: “I actually don’t think so. Yeah— it’s one of those things where, even Marsh Market, we determined: we’re definitely going to do it even before we know the extent of how we’re going to use it. It’s like: we know we want this, and we’ll figure out how to use it. So in this case, the environment came first, and then we molded some of the story around it.”
Gris: “No — we actually make it fit.”
Civet: “Okay, yeah — that makes sense. I feel like the reptile speakeasy was probably one of those early things where it’s like: yeah, we definitely want this and we’re going to figure it out.”
Carrie: “Yeah — I think that actually came mid-movie, because before that, the backstory of the reptiles was a little undefined. And then as we progressed, it was like: oh, we want to end with seeing Gary’s home and the reptiles and everything. So how do we pepper in information there? And the reptile speakeasy was one of those things where it’s like: oh, this is a good place to show where reptiles are hiding and stuff.”
Civet: “Yeah. Okay.”
Gris: “And I have to say, the burning mammal was the one that made me go: how in the world?”
Carrie: “It was such a good idea, and then we were like, ‘That’s fair. Yeah.'”
Civet: “No, that was an extensive shot, and I remember the first time we saw that I was like: that’s a lot of mammals. I know how much it takes to animate even smaller mammals in shots — so to have that much fur and all that? That was impressive. One question on animating Pawbert: can you tell us a little bit about trying to get that vibe — especially that one shot with his reveal?”
Carrie: “Well, I think we were trying to find the line, because originally in the reveal he was a little more mustache-twirly — more traditional villain-y. And it was always that thing of: does this feel like too much of a big change from this bumbling, slightly charming character we’ve presented before? The direction we ended up with was him kind of being like, ‘Oh my gosh, I was scared you were gonna figure it out’ — maintaining his persona, but with that reveal. That came pretty late. I feel like that was something Jared wrote in, and it wasn’t until he did it and we boarded it that it clicked: oh, okay, this fits better. It doesn’t feel like such a drastic turn for his character.”
Civet: “That makes sense.”
Gris: “For design, we were always so mindful of his fur, because when we were designing we had to make sure it doesn’t Clip.”
Civet: “A little bit about all of the Easter eggs throughout the movie: is there an Easter egg that maybe someone hasn’t caught yet — that you’re kind of sitting there waiting like, ‘Hey, I’m waiting for someone to catch this’?”
Gris: “did I a lot of puns. We all did a lot of puns in Marsh Market.”
Carrie: “The signage is all over the place.”
Civet: “Yeah. That one I’m looking forward to getting it in 4k being able to go frame-by-frame on it. Someone was asking about… where was it… the Slot Canyons, I believe it was called?”
Carrie: “Oh, the Slot Canyons? Slot Canyons, yes — in the chase in the beginning.”
Civet: “As far as expanding that world: when you build a world that’s going to be seen really quickly, how extensive do you go? Or is it more like: okay, we have this idea and maybe in a future thing we might expand more into it.”
Carrie: “I think that chase in the beginning had a slightly different function before. Originally there was a thought that maybe credits could go over it, kind of Goonies-style — you see fun cuts and you get to see a little bit of the world and re-familiarize yourself. So that’s why we did have the Slot Canyons, and there was more extensive stuff there to see more of the fun architecture. But we found the chase just balloons into something really long. And you get to a point where you’re like: okay, what do we functionally need for the story — exact shots — and what do we build to convey that? So in the early boards there was a little more to the Slot Canyons, but it’s still a fun way to incorporate the idea of new districts within the city.”
Civet: “Yeah, for sure. Do you have a specific moment or memory from working on this — because this is years in the making — where you’re like, ‘Oh, that…’ when we did this one thing, that is a highlight for me from the last five, six, seven years? I’m sure there’s a ton.”
Gris: “There’s too many for me. This is the first time I’m in color timing, and I’ve been wanting to do this for years. And getting the chance to do it on a movie that is so fun — for me it’s like every single frame is so beautiful. And I know that sounds self-congratulatory.”
Civet: “Coming out of the theater that Tuesday — I saw opening night — I silenced my phone all day. I was like, ‘I’m not looking at my phone until it is over. I have a friend in New York — Atocha — who got to see it first before me. We agreed we would not be talking until I’m done with the movie.’ And coming out of it and opening social media and seeing her messages, it was just a flood of everyone saying the same thing: every scene, every frame is beautifully animated. So you deserve to brag about that, because it is amazing. The entire thing visually was spectacular from start to finish.”
Gris: “Well thank you! The lighting team did an incredible, incredible job. It was such a crunch time and they did so well. Being in lighting — just seeing it at final frame — it’s like cherry and sprinkles and whipped cream. And I’m just like, ‘Oh my God,’ you know? And especially because this is the first time I’m in a comedy, where the other ones — because I usually work on a more heavy titles— there’s a little more seriousness undertone to it. But this one is funny, silly, crazy with the depth. The base feeling is joyful to begin with, so I look at it with a lot of lightness, which I appreciate.”
Civet: “Yeah.”
Carrie: “Yeah, it’s hard to say because the whole process has so many ups and downs. Similar to yours — especially for story, seeing it early in the process: we see it so many times as an animatic with our drawings, which are sometimes rough or unfinished. And then getting to see it go through the process — seeing what animators and lighters and all of them turn it into — for story artists it’s always a moment of like, ‘Whoa,’ because they make it fresh again. And on the story side, there are so many, but one thing is: the idea of going back and finding Gary’s house or Gary’s grandmother’s house and going in was a relatively late concept. One of our artists, Melissa [Shane], was tasked with boarding this moment, and she knocked it out right away. I think it really cemented that this would be kind of a climax. When they took it into the edit room and our producer was sitting there, after it was cut together with music and everything, she got a little teary and was just like, ‘That really got me emotionally.’ And I think that was the moment where it was like: okay, this works so well as an emotional resolution — this is the right way to go.”
Gris: “That’s fair. And also during color timing, when we see it with Jared, we watch it in silence — so we can really just look at the color, making sure every single frame is perfect. And it’s still funny.”
Civet: “Yeah — that way you’re not influenced by what you’re hearing. Right? Okay, that makes sense.”
Gris: “Exactly. And I still giggle in certain areas just because I know what the characters are saying.”
Civet: “That’s fair. So— congratulations. Obviously it’s a huge success. You’re at $1.75 billion as of today — makes it in the top 10 highest-grossing films ever, which is awesome. I think there’s no doubt Disney is very happy about that as well. There’s no guarantees on a third movie, obviously, although Jared and Byron have been like, ‘Hey, we have ideas,’ and they tease the end of the second one with birds for the third one. If they decide to make a third one, and they were like, ‘Hey, we want you guys back’ — would you come back?”
Carrie: “Yeah, for sure. Not a question. Yeah, not a question. I’m so proud of what we made, but aside from that, it was so wonderful getting to work with Chris, and everyone on the crew — it was just a great group to work with. Even though it was tough and there was a lot to do, it was such a wonderful experience.”
Gris: “As hard and as much love is in every movie we work on, sometimes it touches people like this and it feels extra wonderful. We did our best. Yeah. But now we’re like: we did our best and people won.”
Civet: “Yeah, you guys nailed it.”
Gris: “Thank you. It is amazing. Yeah.”
Civet: “Well, thank you so much for your time. It’s an amazing film. We’re really looking forward to hopefully seeing a third one. The world is awesome — I’m a huge lover of good worldbuilding, and Zootopia is the pinnacle of that to me. I fell in love from the moment I saw the first movie. I’ve been following it ever since. And I’m so glad to see it coming back — and hopefully going back for a third one.”
Nice and natural interview style, civet!