(Toronto) If this is the first film that Fawn Veerasunthorn directs, Wish joins the two Frozen, Surf’s Up and Tarzan in the list of feature films of her co-director Chris Buck. In a way, their pairing reflects one of the goals of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new creation: marrying 100 years of rich stories and traditional techniques with a contemporary narrative driven by the latest technologies. Thus, Wish combines watercolor and computer animation to bring the kingdom of Rosas to life.
The challenge was significant, because each plan had to be reworked by hand. “Our goal was that if you freeze the frame, it would be as beautiful as a painting,” says Fawn Veerasunthorn.
The man who also produced Frozen and The Princess and the Frog remembers that when he arrived at Disney in 1995, simply walking around the building was enough to make him aware of past accomplishments. Wish is also full of references to studio classics. Some obvious ones: Asha’s seven friends are a lot like Snow White’s. Others, more subtle: the unusual aspect ratio (2.55:1) is the same as Sleeping Beauty.
Peter Del Vecho believes he has “a responsibility to pass on knowledge and passion to the next generation.” The producer uses the same term to talk about the creation of a work which marks the centenary of his employer. “We felt the weight of that responsibility, but we didn’t let that pressure come into the design office [story room] in order to stay creative. »
Another aspect of real life echoed in Wish is the journey of Fawn Veerasunthorn. Born in Thailand, she was influenced at a very young age by the films Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo. While she was studying medicine, a friend who worked for Walt Disney Animation Studios convinced her to come to the United States to pursue her dream.
Star is the little star that descends from the sky after Asha (Ariana DeBose) wished – in song, signed Julia Michaels – that the citizens of Rosas could hope for more than the life offered by King Magnifico (Chris Pine). The young woman discovered that the sovereign holds the wishes of his people hostage in order to control them, then makes it his mission to dethrone him. “Star is there in support of Asha. Our message is that it is important to have dreams, but it is essential to follow them,” says Peter Del Vecho.
Fawn Veerasunthorn, who began her career at Disney in 2011 as part of the Frozen storyboard team, considers herself “really lucky to have learned so much while sharing [her] vision.” “I remember, as a child, when I reproduced the drawings of Glen Keane [an animator who worked on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas, among others]. The magic of animation is to make an exaggeration of reality believable. For Wish, I was inspired by films of the past, but above all by the emotions they gave me. »
