Director makes Snoopy authentic in film
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 16, 2015
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| Director Steve Martino talks to media when he attends a promotional event for "The Peanuts Movie" in Beijing on Oct. 14. [Photo / China.org.cn] |
Director Steve Martino brought clips and insights from his latest effort "The Peanuts Movie" to Beijing to explain how he wanted to make Snoopy as authentic as possible.
Martino, known for directing the films "Horton Hears a Who!" and "Ice Age: Continental Drift," said he was a big fan of Charles M. Schulz's comic strip "The Peanuts" in his youth. Hence, he closely worked with Schulz family and studied images of Snoopy and other characters in the comic strip over the years to find out how to build the models and best present them in the 3D format.
The results, as proved in six amusing clips he played at the promotional event, are that the Snoopy and its pals in the new animated film have inherited some of the 2D features of Schulz's original drawing style seen in the original comic strips. This is very unique and rare for modern animation technology. Martino said, technically, it was the most complex film he ever made.
What's more, Snoopy's voice is based on the late Bill Melendez's archival recordings to further make this film authentic for true fans, and keep the nostalgia and faithfulness for original appearance as well as spiritual and creative origins born on the drawing boards rather than the popular computer graphics seen today in animation.
The director also revealed how and why to make a film like this with insights and presentations including sketches and behind-the-scenes videos and photos.
This year marked the 65th anniversary of the original comic strip launch. The strip is one of the most popular and influential in history, with 17,897 strips published in all, making it "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being", as Syracuse University professor Robert Thompson famously described. At its peak, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of 355 million in 75 countries, and was translated into 21 languages.
This will also be the first feature film based on Charlie Brown and Snoopy in over 35 years.
"The Peanuts Movie" story follows Charlie Brown as he attempts to win the heart of a new girl in his neighborhood, with the help of his friend, Snoopy. Meanwhile, Snoopy slips into his own fantasy world, where he battles his archenemy, the Red Baron.
The film, produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox, will hit theaters on Nov. 6 simultaneously in the United States and China.
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