While Pixar's feature films have suffered the occasional lapse in quality, their shorts have been nothing less than impeccable. Even more impressive is how much ground the studio covers: Presto is nothing like Day & Night which bears no resemblance to One Man Band.
Enrico Casarosa's La Luna - which will precede Brave into theatres on June 22, 2012 - is another departure for the studio. A sweet tale of a peasant boy becoming a part of his family's business, it brings a European flavour to Disney that hasn't been seen since 1940's Pinocchio.
In this exclusive interview, Suite 101 chatted with Casarosa about making the film, and his favourite quote.
S101: What were some of the little things you’re proud of in La Luna?
Enrico Casarosa: “Small things, like when the boat anchor gets handed to the little boy and the boy tries to throw it overboard because that’s what you do. And then Grampa would tell him, ‘Oh no, no, no.’ These things were right there so this film was really about sculpting moments to support the overall story.
“But it was funny, because we came from features where we changed stories so much, but this was really a smooth ride. There was this great feeling of making something that was already there stronger.”
S101: What influenced the look of La Luna?
Casarosa: “I loved the image in Antoine de St. Exupéry's The Little Prince of this boy living on a tiny planet, so the scene where the little boy stands on the Moon is a nod to that. (Italian author) Italo Calvino and Hayao Miyazaki are two big influences as well. I’ve watched Miyazaki's films so much that they’ve become a part of my DNA.
“Certainly with a lot of the water effects, we emulated what the animators were doing at Studio Ghibli, especially in Ponyo. We really tried to bring those textures into CG because I thought it could support the fable-like, kids’ book-like story, looking like something that was a little more like an illustration."
S101: What was the toughest sequence for you to get right?
Casarosa: “There was one shot that was troublesome and satisfying: the moment where the little boy floats up to the Moon. It was particularly challenging on different levels. Even in layout, it’s a difficult camera move because the character is traveling a lot and then landing on the Moon, and then the camera rotates so that down becomes up. You need to find the proper framing and then zoom out to show how the two separate worlds meet. It was a complicated camera move right from the beginning.
“On top of that, the light situation changes. You have a very different lighting when you’re on the Moon than when you’re floating in the sea. We had to be really inventive with the lighting switches because this was such an important moment, when the boy falls through the rabbit hole, so to speak. (laughs) That was one of the last sequences we did, and it’s one of my favourite pieces of animation.
“It also has a tiny homage to Miyazaki: when the boy starts floating towards the Moon, he tries swimming in air. Miyazaki has done a lot of these gravity-defying moments in his movies and TV shows, and I was adamant about getting that moment in La Luna.”
S101: Which Miyazaki movie is that from?
Casarosa: “He puts it in nearly all his movies, but the ones I was thinking of was a scene he animated in Animal Treasure Island, and another was in the TV series Sherlock Hound. There’s a pilot who jumps off a plane and he’s swimming in air before landing on a car. It’s crazy but that’s what makes many of Miyazaki’s aerial stunts so much fun.”
S101: What was the crucial thought, the big ‘Eureka moment’ in La Luna’s development?
Casarosa: “In the middle of production, or thematically speaking?”
S101: Yes!
Casarosa: “(laughs) From the beginning it was the story of a boy trying to find his way. I think there’s something about childhood that allows us to see things more clearly. Dad and Grampa are a little too close to their job, and that was how we designed them. But the boy is curious, he has joy and some form of intuition. So this was the message I wanted to give to kids: trust your instincts. At the time I came up with La Luna, I was reading a book about Frederico Fellini, and Fellini loved this quote from Billy Wilder – I’m paraphrasing from the best of my memory - ‘Trust your instincts and the mistakes you make will be yours.’
“I was in the middle of production, and I thought, ‘That’s really moving’ and it’s a really good suggestion to a first-time director making a movie! (laughs)”
(In Part #2 of this exclusive interview, Enrico Casarosa discussed the dialogue in La Luna, and how removing someone's teeth helped their performance.)
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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