“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” director Joel Crawford wants more respect for the brilliant minds behind the animation. The amount of work that goes into bringing heartfelt stories to life like Crawford’s animated feature requires countless hours and teams of artists. Yet the industry is constantly ignored and undervalued by the industry, says Crawford.
Crawford recalls pitching the story “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” to British star Ray Winston, hoping to convince the veteran actor to join the spin-off sequel to “Shrek” as Papa Bear. While telling Winston how his character’s adopted daughter Goldilocks wishes for a human family, Winston gives a heartfelt reaction that made it into the movie. “It was in the moment,” says Crawford. Varietyy. Totally engrossed in the character, he just said, ‘Some people stick around until the porridge’s gone. ‘ Uh…and we put that into the script.”
In this award-winning episode diverse Awards Circuit Podcast, Crawford discusses receiving his first Academy Award nomination for “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” He also talks about how the stellar ensemble brought emotion and spontaneity to the story and how Hollywood and the Academy Awards should recognize more of the technical artists behind the camera in animation. Listen below:
Puss in Boots is back voicing Antonio Banderas. The fiery cat, originally from the “Shrek” movies and the 2011 spin-off “Puss in Boots,” returns at the DreamWorks Animation box office. The film finds the hero/outlaw learning that he is on the last of his nine lives, leading him on a mission to locate a star mystic wannabe to get his life back. The voice cast includes Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Gillen, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, John Mulaney, Wagner Mora, Shamson Kayo, and Daphne Joy Randolph.
Courtesy of DreamWorks Animation
Crawford assures listeners that being an animation director isn’t as simple as standing behind an artist and saying, “Draw.”
“It’s the same goal where you have this vision as a director,” says Crawford. “You’re basically capturing a moment, but it’s over the course of different sections.”
Each of his teams brought something different to the character that wasn’t evident when looking at the script. Oscar nominee Florence Pugh, who voices Goldilocks, knew her character needed to convey “the honesty about being a teenager.” I interpreted Goldilocks as a “pirate pirate”.
Also in this episode, Jamie Lee Curtis discusses her long and distinguished career and her reaction to receiving her first Academy Award nomination for A24’s “Everything Everywhere at Once”. The veteran actress gets candid in a video interview about her famous parents, Academy Award nominees Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, and shares her gratitude for her co-star Michelle Yeoh.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider and also co-hosted with Clayton Davis, is the only listening experience for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Every week, the Awards Circuit features interviews with top film and TV talents and creators. debates and debates about award races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you download podcasts. New episodes published weekly.
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