'It's four or five seconds a week per animator': The maker's of Pixar's new film, Elio
Three decades ago, a new animation studio prepared to release their first-ever feature film in cinemas, a buddy movie featuring a quirky cowboy and a space superhero. The fledgling studio was called Pixar and their first release — Toy Story —broke the mould for animated storytelling and changed the course of movie history.
Almost thirty years after the world fell in love with Andy's toys and other Pixar classics, their 29th feature film comes to our big screens. Elio, the tale of a space-obsessed boy who finds himself accidentally beamed into outer space — where he's mistaken for Earth's chief ambassador — sends its protagonist on a intergalactic voyage of self discovery.
While it might not quite scale the heights of classics like Monsters, Inc, Up or Wall-E, Elio again blends the intimate with the universal in a richly detailed tale. It all comes about through years of story building and preparation, attention to detail and animators who spend dozens of hours creating just a few seconds of film footage over the course of their work at Pixar's studios in California.
'The logistics are a big part of my job,' says Elio's producer Alice Mary Drumm. 'For Elio, we probably had about 250 people at the peak of the crew, but we had over 400 people involved throughout the film. Almost everyone at Pixar touches the film in some way, and there are 1,200 of us. The average animator is animating about five, five and a half feet a week, which is basically one shot. It's four or five seconds a week per animator, maybe a little less. At our peak, we are probably going through one or two minutes of animation a week.'
It's the kind of painstaking craftwork that makes Pixar best in show in a golden era for animated filmmaking. Featuring subtle nods to sci-fi classics like Alien and Close Encounters, and a backstory involving Nasa's Voyager space probe, Elio tells the story of a recently orphaned boy who has a loving but testing relationship with his aunt. He's a space-obsessed boy with a lively imagination who has long dreamed of encountering alien life - so he's thrilled when he's accidentally beamed up into outer space.
Elio arrives at the Communiverse, an interplanetary organisation with representatives from various galaxies, and is mistaken as Planet Earth's leader. But when he's tasked with helping prevent the fearsome and powerful Lord Grigon from seizing control of the Communiverse, he needs to get savvy fast with the help of his eccentric sidekick, Glordon.
When Elio's wish to be abducted by aliens actually comes true, he meets an array of space inhabitants, including Glordon, the tender-hearted son of a fierce warlord ruler.
Taking on a sci-fi movie means creating two very different worlds within one movie, and Pixar's production team got to work, says director Domee Shi. 'Tackling a sci-fi movie, you can basically design the alien world to look like anything, the sky's the limit, and that's kind of daunting. Production designer Harley Jessup and his art team did such an amazing job with finding the look and feeling of the Communiverse. He really challenged himself and the team to design a space that we've never seen before in any of our movies at Pixar, but also in other sci fi movies from other studios.
'A good North Star for us was thinking about space as this aspirational wish fulfilment for Elio, a lonely boy on Earth who feels like an alien. The moment that he arrives in space, it has to be the opposite feeling of how he felt on Earth. If Earth was desaturated, cold, and he felt visually boxed in, then space is huge, colourful, vibrant, full of organic shapes and alien designs that are not humanoid at all, but still feel quite friendly and appealing.'
From the antics of superhero family The Incredibles to the happy/sad emotional rollercoaster that was Inside Out, as the studio approaches its 30th year, almost everyone has an opinion on the former movie they hold closest to their hearts, which tale resonated with them the most as they watched on the big screen for the first time.
They include, it emerges, the filmmakers themselves. 'I grew up watching Pixar movies, and they were some of the first times I experienced cinema that could change me,' says Madelaine Sharafin, making her feature directorial debut with Elio, who was a toddler when Toy Story debuted in cinemas. 'I hadn't realised that a person can watch a movie and come out feeling incredibly different about themselves and about the world, or even that a movie could make somebody cry.
'The one that really changed things for me was watching Monsters Inc, which I think is one of my favourite movie endings of all time (when Sully and his best friend Boo are reunited). I think it's brilliant. I would finish the movie, and then I'd immediately restart it, because I was so moved. I didn't want to leave that feeling.'
Mary Alice Drumm, Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian attend the UK gala screening of Elio. Picture: Tim P Whitby/Getty
Looking back for director Domee Shi, it was the opening moments of Up, in which a grumpy and heartbroken widower takes to the skies — not knowing he had a stowaway on board — that first resonated.
'Pixar films, they just felt different than other animated films,' says Shi. 'Because they always have such an emphasis on good story, and they really treat animation like a medium, not a genre. They never shy away from telling stories with deeper or more adult themes, and you always walk away from a Pixar film feeling a little bit changed in some way, and that's our hope with Elio too.
'The film that impacted me the most was probably Up just because I bawled my eyes out when I watched the first 10 minutes of it. There were no words spoken, but you got the sense of an entire relationship, marriage, a life. It was just amazing to see, like pure visual storytelling on the big screen.'
For producer Alice Mary Drumm, it was the studio's imagination in bringing audiences a movie where the central character was a rat that resonated.
'There are so many great movies,' she says. 'Ratatouille, for me, was one — it's just incredible that any studio would make a movie about rats in a kitchen. It's such a crazy idea, and I think that encapsulates Pixar for me, that there's such creative freedom and such belief, while also holding the bar. It's about story and character, whether it's a rat, whether it's aliens, as long as we're focusing on that, and then we use animation, because we can do anything in animation. Those are the things that I think help us keep our compass at Pixar.'
Elio is in cinemas from Friday, June 20
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'It's four or five seconds a week per animator': The maker's of Pixar's new film, Elio
Three decades ago, a new animation studio prepared to release their first-ever feature film in cinemas, a buddy movie featuring a quirky cowboy and a space superhero. The fledgling studio was called Pixar and their first release — Toy Story —broke the mould for animated storytelling and changed the course of movie history. Almost thirty years after the world fell in love with Andy's toys and other Pixar classics, their 29th feature film comes to our big screens. Elio, the tale of a space-obsessed boy who finds himself accidentally beamed into outer space — where he's mistaken for Earth's chief ambassador — sends its protagonist on a intergalactic voyage of self discovery. While it might not quite scale the heights of classics like Monsters, Inc, Up or Wall-E, Elio again blends the intimate with the universal in a richly detailed tale. It all comes about through years of story building and preparation, attention to detail and animators who spend dozens of hours creating just a few seconds of film footage over the course of their work at Pixar's studios in California. 'The logistics are a big part of my job,' says Elio's producer Alice Mary Drumm. 'For Elio, we probably had about 250 people at the peak of the crew, but we had over 400 people involved throughout the film. Almost everyone at Pixar touches the film in some way, and there are 1,200 of us. The average animator is animating about five, five and a half feet a week, which is basically one shot. It's four or five seconds a week per animator, maybe a little less. At our peak, we are probably going through one or two minutes of animation a week.' It's the kind of painstaking craftwork that makes Pixar best in show in a golden era for animated filmmaking. Featuring subtle nods to sci-fi classics like Alien and Close Encounters, and a backstory involving Nasa's Voyager space probe, Elio tells the story of a recently orphaned boy who has a loving but testing relationship with his aunt. He's a space-obsessed boy with a lively imagination who has long dreamed of encountering alien life - so he's thrilled when he's accidentally beamed up into outer space. Elio arrives at the Communiverse, an interplanetary organisation with representatives from various galaxies, and is mistaken as Planet Earth's leader. But when he's tasked with helping prevent the fearsome and powerful Lord Grigon from seizing control of the Communiverse, he needs to get savvy fast with the help of his eccentric sidekick, Glordon. When Elio's wish to be abducted by aliens actually comes true, he meets an array of space inhabitants, including Glordon, the tender-hearted son of a fierce warlord ruler. Taking on a sci-fi movie means creating two very different worlds within one movie, and Pixar's production team got to work, says director Domee Shi. 'Tackling a sci-fi movie, you can basically design the alien world to look like anything, the sky's the limit, and that's kind of daunting. Production designer Harley Jessup and his art team did such an amazing job with finding the look and feeling of the Communiverse. He really challenged himself and the team to design a space that we've never seen before in any of our movies at Pixar, but also in other sci fi movies from other studios. 'A good North Star for us was thinking about space as this aspirational wish fulfilment for Elio, a lonely boy on Earth who feels like an alien. The moment that he arrives in space, it has to be the opposite feeling of how he felt on Earth. If Earth was desaturated, cold, and he felt visually boxed in, then space is huge, colourful, vibrant, full of organic shapes and alien designs that are not humanoid at all, but still feel quite friendly and appealing.' From the antics of superhero family The Incredibles to the happy/sad emotional rollercoaster that was Inside Out, as the studio approaches its 30th year, almost everyone has an opinion on the former movie they hold closest to their hearts, which tale resonated with them the most as they watched on the big screen for the first time. They include, it emerges, the filmmakers themselves. 'I grew up watching Pixar movies, and they were some of the first times I experienced cinema that could change me,' says Madelaine Sharafin, making her feature directorial debut with Elio, who was a toddler when Toy Story debuted in cinemas. 'I hadn't realised that a person can watch a movie and come out feeling incredibly different about themselves and about the world, or even that a movie could make somebody cry. 'The one that really changed things for me was watching Monsters Inc, which I think is one of my favourite movie endings of all time (when Sully and his best friend Boo are reunited). I think it's brilliant. I would finish the movie, and then I'd immediately restart it, because I was so moved. I didn't want to leave that feeling.' Mary Alice Drumm, Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian attend the UK gala screening of Elio. Picture: Tim P Whitby/Getty Looking back for director Domee Shi, it was the opening moments of Up, in which a grumpy and heartbroken widower takes to the skies — not knowing he had a stowaway on board — that first resonated. 'Pixar films, they just felt different than other animated films,' says Shi. 'Because they always have such an emphasis on good story, and they really treat animation like a medium, not a genre. They never shy away from telling stories with deeper or more adult themes, and you always walk away from a Pixar film feeling a little bit changed in some way, and that's our hope with Elio too. 'The film that impacted me the most was probably Up just because I bawled my eyes out when I watched the first 10 minutes of it. There were no words spoken, but you got the sense of an entire relationship, marriage, a life. It was just amazing to see, like pure visual storytelling on the big screen.' For producer Alice Mary Drumm, it was the studio's imagination in bringing audiences a movie where the central character was a rat that resonated. 'There are so many great movies,' she says. 'Ratatouille, for me, was one — it's just incredible that any studio would make a movie about rats in a kitchen. It's such a crazy idea, and I think that encapsulates Pixar for me, that there's such creative freedom and such belief, while also holding the bar. It's about story and character, whether it's a rat, whether it's aliens, as long as we're focusing on that, and then we use animation, because we can do anything in animation. Those are the things that I think help us keep our compass at Pixar.' Elio is in cinemas from Friday, June 20
Irish Independent
14 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Elio review: Charming extraterrestrial animation doesn't boldly go far enough for adults to love
When events at the nearby airforce base where aunt and guardian Olga (Zoe Saldana) works bring that dream to reality, Elio is zapped to the Communiverse, a peaceful space society of various alien races. But he's mistaken for an official emissary from Earth rather than just a lonely boy reaching out to see who's listening. When Elio befriends the offspring of a galactic warlord, he causes a diplomatic incident. This is all very 'nice', with the character expressions and elasticated action sequences bound to strike a chord with little people. But Pixar's name was built upon the grown-up wit it smuggled beneath the kid-acting, somewhere Elio declines to boldly go. As for the title character and the story's child-alien bromance, co-directors Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina seem to be banking on their target market not having seen a certain Spielberg sci-fi classic just yet.
Extra.ie
14 hours ago
- Extra.ie
28 Years Later star opens up on working with Cillian Murphy
28 Years Later star Aaron Taylor Johnson has shared his experience working with Irish icon Cillian Murphy. The new flick, which is a story set in the world created by 28 Days Later, hits cinemas this week, with Academy Award winner Danny Boyle bringing original cast member Cillian back as an executive producer. Now, Aaron, who plays Jamie in the highly anticipated film, has opened up about working with the Cork native. Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie and Alfie Williams as Spike in 28 Years Later. Pic: 2024 CTMG, Inc. Speaking to the Strawberry Alarm clock on FM104, Aaron said: 'He's the sweetest. He is a wonderful man…we are so grateful to be part of this franchise. 'As an audience who enjoys these movies, I think we are all excited to see Cillian Murphy make an appearance at some point.' Set almost three decades after the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, the new installment in the franchise follows a group of survivors who inhabit a small island connected to the mainland by a single causeway. The new flick, which is a story set in the world created by 28 Days Later, hits cinemas this week, with Academy Award winner Danny Boyle bringing original cast member Cillian back as an executive producer. Pic: Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock A synopsis for the film reads: 'When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors.' The film also stars Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and Alfie Williams. Director Danny Boyle has also set the record straight and confirmed that Cillian will be in the 28 Years trilogy… in the second and third films. Now, Aaron, who plays Jamie in the highly anticipated film, has opened up about working with the Cork native. Pic: Peter Mountain/Dna/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock 'Well, it's three films, a trilogy of films which have connecting characters,' Danny told IGN, explaining that 12-year-old Spike will be the main character of the new story. 'He will run right way through the films. We've shot the first two back-to-back, and that was for logistical reasons, actor availability reasons, and for story reasons as well. They're literally continuous.' 28 Years Later will be three films, with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple slated for a release next January, with Danny confirming that Cillian will be in the second film, and will be standing by for the third should they get funding. 'There's a coda… it's not a coda, it's the epilogue or an end theme at the end of the first film [28 Years Later] that gives you a handover to the second film,' Danny explained. 'Although each story completes itself, there's a handover section to the next film as well. So it's very ambitious. 'We haven't got the money for the third one yet. It will depend on how the first one does, I guess. But hopefully, if we do ok, they'll give us the go-ahead for the money and for the third one. Everybody's standing by for that, really. Including Cillian. '[Cillian] is in the second one… I shouldn't give away too much, I'll get killed!'
