On March 4th, Toei Animation producer Washio Ten, who worked on the animated short film "Candy" (directed by Nishio Daisuke), which was also nominated for the Best Animated Short Film category at the 97th Academy Awards, held a press conference at TIAT SKY HALL in Haneda Airport's Terminal 3 (Ota Ward, Tokyo). This is the first time that a Toei Animation work has been nominated for an Academy Award. The Best Animated Short Film category at the 97th Academy Awards was awarded to Iran's "In the Shadow of the Cypresses," and "Candy" missed out on the award. Producer Washio, who participated in the awards ceremony held in Los Angeles on March 2nd (local time) and returned to Japan, shared his thoughts.
Producer Washio said, "Toei Animation has not yet become well known around the world. I decided to participate in the festival because I thought that by being featured in the festival, we could reach the world and lead to new work." He added, "I was inspired by participating. I would like to consider further developments that are more globally conscious."
With an eye on further global expansion, he said, "I've been asked a lot locally, "What are you going to do next?" and "I've also been asked if we could do something together next. I want to do new things that will lead to business. Toei Animation's network and works are well-known and are highly regarded worldwide. The important thing is how we take on challenges based on that. I want to take on new challenges."
"Toei Animation has many works that have been running for a relatively long time. I think nurturing the next generation is also an important job. Getting them to take over the habit of watching anime. The challenge is to continue creating works that people think are new. We are still feeling our way around. I see this as a touchstone. It is important to move on to the next step. We have to make sure we keep building on it," he said, looking ahead.
Regarding the original work, he said, "I was shocked. It's a picture book, but it's close to stop-animation techniques. The story is simple, and yet powerful. I had the feeling that I was the main character. I tried to visualize it without destroying the world view. It's CG, but I was conscious of using expressions close to stop-motion. How much of the simple movements and texture could we capture? The staff put a lot of effort into this." He also revealed his reason for hiring Director Nishio, saying, "You may have an image of Nishio as an action actor, but he's really good at acting in everyday situations. It's because he can do that that the action comes to life. I thought Nishio was the best."
"Candy" is based on the picture books "Candy" and "I'm a Dog" by Korean picture book author Baek Heena. This short animated film is a full CG production by Toei Animation, and is also a hot topic as it is the first collaboration in about 20 years between Director Nishio, known for "Dragon Ball Z," "The Kindaichi Case Files," and "Futari wa Pretty Cure Pretty Cure," and Producer Washio Ten, also known as the creator of the Pretty Cure series. The production team from Dandelion Animation Studio, the creator of "THE FIRST SLAM DUNK," has gathered together.
It has been the talk of the town, winning the Jury Prize and Audience Award in the Short Animation Competition at the 25th New York International Children's Film Festival, and the Jury Prize in the Children's Short Film category at the 64th Zlín International Children's and Young People's Film Festival. As a nominee for an Academy Award, it is being screened for two weeks only from February 28th at Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku, Tokyo) and other cinemas.
