Toshiya Miyata of the popular group "Kis-My-Ft2," who voices Loaf, a laid-back beaver who often gets eaten, in the Japanese version of Disney & Pixar's latest animated film "Hoppers" (directed by Daniel Chong, currently showing), has had his visit to Pixar Animation Studios in California released.
On-site, they had some invaluable experiences, such as conducting direct interviews with the creators involved in the production of this film, and receiving a lecture on how to draw Loaf's illustrations from the character art director who was in charge of Loaf's character design.
"When I Become a Beaver" tells the story of Mabel, an animal-loving college student who learns that her beloved forest is going to be destroyed by a highway project. To protect her precious place, she uses top-secret technology to transform into a beaver and devises a plan to save the forest and the animals. In the Japanese version, in addition to Miyata, the role of the protagonist Mabel is played by actress Kyoko Yoshine, King George the beaver is played by Shinya Kote, and Mayor Jerry, a human who threatens the beaver forest, is voiced by Atsuro Watabe.
In its second week of release, from March 20th to 22nd, the film grossed 381.72 million yen and attracted 283,943 viewers. This represents a 107% increase compared to the previous week. Released on March 13th, the film has already surpassed 962.35 million yen in box office revenue and 710,000 viewers in just 10 days.
◇Was the scene where the Animal Council appears inspired by "Sailor Moon"?
Upon arriving in San Francisco, Miyata visited Pixar Animation Studios. The vast grounds offered a variety of facilities, including offices where creators work, studios equipped with the latest equipment, a swimming pool, basketball courts, a soccer field, and restaurants for employees to relax. Miyata was so excited that she exclaimed, "There's a swimming pool and a soccer field too?! With everything here, it's more like a city than a studio!"
We explored the studio and conducted impromptu interviews with the creators involved in this project. The first person we spoke to was Max Gilbert, who was in charge of visual effects. When Miyata asked, "What kind of work did you do on 'Watabiba'?", Gilbert explained, "This film features a lot of nature, such as water, trees, fire, and scenes of cute animals moving around. I created various visual effects to make those nature-filled scenes look more realistic and beautiful."
While demonstrating the process of creating visual effects to represent the movement of water, Gilbert explained his meticulous approach, saying, "The movement of water is very complex, so we layer many layers to represent it. By gradually adding waves and splashes, it starts to look realistic." Witnessing this detailed work, Miyata couldn't hide his surprise, saying, "You can feel the attention to detail in every single drop! It's such meticulous work!" He continued, "It looks so realistic, yet it has a sense of presence that is unique to animation and different from live-action footage. The balance between realism and animation is amazing." Gilbert replied, "That's right. The effects team's goal is to make the footage look as realistic as possible. But at the same time, we have to adjust it to fit the world of animation. It's difficult to strike that balance, but it's a very interesting job."
Next, we visited art director Hassan. Hassan explained his job, saying, "My role is to find the right colors and tones for this film. Before the animation is made, I read the script and create a 'color script,' which is the blueprint for the overall color scheme of the film. I decide on the overall color scheme and atmosphere first, and then the animators create the animation based on that." When Miyata asked, "Was there a scene that you struggled with the most when you first read the script?", Hassan cited King George's appearance, saying, "It's an important scene where the audience meets George for the first time, so I was very particular about it. I tried various tones, such as orange tones illuminated by the setting sun and slightly bluish tones. In the end, I made him appear as a silhouette against the light to make the audience think, 'Is he a scary king?', but then when they zoom in, they can see his comical and friendly expression." He revealed some behind-the-scenes details of the production.
Furthermore, he revealed an unexpected influence from a Japanese work, saying, "Actually, in the scene where the kings appear at the Animal Grand Council, we referenced the transformation scenes in 'Sailor Moon,' where different colored lights shine on each character, and made sure that different colored lights shone on each of the kings when they appeared."
◇"People think I'm bad at drawing, so I want to show everyone my work as soon as possible."
Next, Miyata went to see Anna Scott, the character art director. Scott, who was in charge of Loaf's character design, gave him a special lesson on how to draw Loaf. When a pen and paper were prepared, Miyata looked worried, saying, "I'm not good at drawing, so I wonder if I can draw it well." However, Scott encouraged him, saying, "It's okay, you can definitely draw it well, so don't worry," and Miyata took on the challenge of drawing despite his weakness. Looking at Scott's example, he made a rough sketch with a pencil and then added details with a marker pen, and gradually Loaf's figure took shape. When Scott saw the finished illustration, she praised it highly, saying, "It's very good! It's perfect! You might be better than me!" Miyata smiled broadly and said, "Everyone thinks I'm bad at drawing, so I want to show it to everyone as soon as possible! When I go back to Japan, I'll go around telling everyone, 'I learned how to draw illustrations at Pixar!' It was fun to know that even someone like me who's not good at drawing can draw if they're properly taught!"
Miyata visited Pixar Animation Studios and experienced the charm of the film and the appeal of Pixar works. "Every single step of the process was truly professional... It made me realize once again that this film wouldn't have been completed without every single person involved. When you watch the film, hundreds of names appear in the end credits, right? I was reminded once again that each and every one of those people put so much skill and love into creating this work," she said thoughtfully.
◇The idea that animals have two different appearances was influenced by Studio Ghibli works.
In addition, a clip from the film was released showing Mabel, Loaf, and Tom the lizard getting into Mayor Jerry's car and trying to communicate with him using the voice-reading function of a smartphone, in order to help Mayor Jerry, who has incurred the wrath of the Animal Council over the construction of a highway and is being targeted by the animals.
In that scene, Mabel and the others work together brilliantly to snatch Mayor Jerry's smartphone, and as Mayor Jerry is frightened by the animals that suddenly appear, Mabel calls out to him, "We are your friends (red heart)" and "Your life is in danger. Do as we say," but...
Since its release, the film has been a hot topic on social media for its depiction of how the animals' expressions change depending on whether you're viewing it from a "human perspective" or an "animal perspective." From a human's point of view, where communication with animals is impossible, the animals' faces appear expressionless with round eyes, but from an animal's perspective, their eyes suddenly become larger, their expressions become more expressive, and the animals appear more "human-like."
It seems that Studio Ghibli's masterpiece "Pom Poko" (1994) had a big influence on this direction, and Director Chung revealed, "One of the inspirations for the idea that the animals have two different appearances was Studio Ghibli's 'Pom Poko.' In that film, the animals' eyes are depicted as either dots or cartoonish depending on the situation, and I was greatly influenced by that technique. In the scene where they try to communicate with Mayor Jerry using a smartphone, we made sure that the animals' faces constantly switched between dot-like eyes and cartoonish eyes depending on whose perspective it was. This was very difficult, but it was a really fun challenge to adjust the switching smoothly."
Pay attention to the differences in the animals' expressions, and enjoy the ingenuity and attention to detail on the big screen that makes it immediately clear you've entered "the world of animals."
