Interview with the director of "Snoopy": Everyone can see themselves in the film
1905 Movie Network Special Article Even people who have not seen "Peanuts Comics" will not be unfamiliar with Snoopy, because its cute image has long been spread all over the world. In fact, Snoopy is a puppy raised by Charlie Brown, the protagonist of Peanut Comics, defined by the author Charles Schultz as "a dog related to major historical events such as World War I, World War II, and space exploration", and this puppy has 350 million fans around the world. On November 6, "Snoopy: The Peanuts Movie" (hereinafter referred to as "Snoopy"), based on the Peanut Comics, was about to be released in the mainland, and director Steve Martino shared the story of the film's creation in a conversation with the 1905 Film Network.
Animation directors all seem to have a little innocence, and Steve Martino is no exception. Although it was his job to talk about Snoopy and the film, the enthusiasm in his eyes was instantly discernible. On the day of the interview, Steve, in his fifties, wore a super cute Snoopy T-shirt and called himself an admirer of Charles Schultz, making the film to give him a better understanding of what was deep in the comics. In his opinion, "Snoopy" is by no means a childish children's film, whether it is a child or an adult, you can see yourself in the film.
Snoopy isn't just for kids, and everybody can see themselves in the film
Steve Martino grew up watching Peanuts Comics, and as an adult, his passion for the world of Peanuts has not diminished, and in his opinion, the magic of this story is that both adults and children can see themselves in the film. Steve saw himself in Charlie Brown, and as a child he thought the cartoon images in the comics were like himself and his friends, and steve grew up thinking, "The things they talk about, the problems they need to solve, are exactly the same as the problems I faced as an adult." ”
In the film, Snoopy can listen to the owner's heart and give the master ideas to share his worries. For many people, they also have their own "Snoopy" to accompany them. Steve revealed that he has two dogs in his life, one of which looks very similar to Snoopy, "but he's not as smart as Snoopy, haha." ”
1905 Movie Network: This year marks the 65th anniversary of Snoopy's birth, what do you think the film means to fans?
Steve Martino: The great and funny Peanuts comics have been all the rage for years, but no one has tried a big 3D movie like this. This 2015 feature film, which uses all the techniques that Blue Sky Studios' animation team can bring, will allow fans to reconnect with their loved ones again, and they will see these long-lost characters on the big screen.
1905 Movie Network: As the director of this film, what memories did the film's production experience leave you with?
STEVE MARTINO: What impressed me the most was getting to know more and more about the deeper things charles showed in the comics. I'm not just a fan of him, I can say the same as an artist, I'm an admirer of him. Fifty years of perseverance is admirable, as he used to sit at the drawing table every day, with or without inspiration. He worked very hard to bring this comic strip to life, and these characters have been alive and cute for fifty years, and now we've seen this great work for sixty-five years.
1905 Movie Network: How did you translate Snoopy's traditional classic hand-drawn comic book image into 3D? What is the biggest difficulty in making 3D films?
Steve Martino: 3D production is really one of our biggest challenges. After these characters are made into three-dimensional images, except for the angles in Charles Schultz's pen, the other angles look completely wrong, so there are many difficulties in making dynamics, so we try to model each angle individually, which is not a technique we used in the past, but our animators are willing to push themselves. We kept the effect of the hand-drawn comic as much as possible, but made it into a 3D effect when it was dynamic.
1905 Movie Network: You mentioned that Snoopy isn't just for kids, do you think everyone can find resonance in the film?
Steve Martino: That's the best thing about Charlie Brown and the other characters, and every one of us sees a little bit of ourselves in them, whether you're an adult or a kid. For example, when I was a kid, when I saw Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Linus, I felt like myself and my friends, and they were about the same size, and although my head was not that big, and I had more hair than Charlie Brown, I looked at him as if I were seeing myself. As I grew older, I found that the things they talked about, the problems they needed to solve, were exactly the same as the problems I faced as an adult. That's the magic of these characters, the things they deal with, the things they talk about are very adult, just coming out of the mouth of a kid, which is funny.
1905 Movie Network: Do You Have Dogs in Your Life? Do you also have the same feelings as Snoopy and Charlie Brown?
Steve Martino: Yeah, I have two dogs. One of them is just a white body with black ears, but it's not a Beagle (Snoopy is a Beagle), and I think it's pretty silly, not as smart as Snoopy, haha.
Steve praised the future of "The Return of the Great Sage" or the incorporation of Chinese elements into his works
In the movie "Snoopy", Charlie Brown, who always makes a bunch of jokes, has a crush on the red-haired little girl this time, and Snoopy also upgrades his fantasy ability to become an ace pilot. When it comes to the setting of the plot, Steve said that he doesn't want to make a traditional cartoon routine - there is always a bad guy who wants to destroy the world, "What we have is Charlie Brown's daily life, but these are closely related to everyone." 」 ”
Steve admits that he has been busy with the production of "Snoopy" for several years, and he has basically not seen other movies. However, when it comes to Chinese animated films, Steve revealed that he has seen the trailer for "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage", and although he has not seen the full film, he still thinks it is a great movie. He also said that it is possible to incorporate Chinese elements into his works in the future.
1905 Movie Network: There will be a villain in many animated movies, and there seems to be no villain in Snoopy.
STEVE MARTINO: Yeah, that's a very interesting question. What we have is Charlie Brown and Snoopy, no villains. However, our films have great emotional resonance, and the emotions and emotions expressed by Charlie Brown are all we have, but we rarely talk about them out loud or share some of our feelings with other people, such as I am valued? Will I be a big man? And those passionate and imaginative ideas. One of the reasons I love this story is also that it's not the traditional animated movie routine, there's always a bad guy going to destroy the world or something, here's Charlie Brown's daily life, but it's very closely related to us.
1905 Movie Network: This is your first time in China, what are your expectations for the box office of Snoopy in China?
STEVE MARTINO: When I look at the box office, I actually look at how many people see the story that we created. I hope that many people will see this movie, and we will work very hard and hard to make this animated film, and I hope that the whole world can see it, so what I care about is not the box office numbers, but how many people actually see our story and laugh, or be deeply moved, or maybe evoke the feelings of the fans.
1905 Movie Network: You've directed a lot of films, do you have any common themes in your work?
Steve Martino: I think the common theme may be to dig out something that everyone can empathize with, sometimes from the interaction between families, sometimes from their own questions, such as how to become a big person, how to succeed, which is reflected in this movie. So the only similar theme in my work is to look for ideas that are pervasive in those people, that transcend cultural boundaries or are part of their own experience.
1905 Movie Network: Have you ever seen a Chinese movie?
STEVE MARTINO: I haven't seen it, I've only seen some trailers, some of the works this summer. Frankly, I've been busy with Snoopy and stayed up all night in the editing room, and I haven't watched much of a movie this year, but I've seen some trailers, and "The Return of the Great Sage" looks so great, and this time I came here to see Chinese movies.
1905 Movie Network: Do you consider incorporating Chinese elements in your future works?
STEVE MARTINO: The future knows, maybe in the next movie. One of the reasons I love making movies is that I get the opportunity to travel to different countries, talk to all kinds of people, see what they're interested in, and that subtly affects me.