Disney dreamer
Published Monday November 30th, 2009
Film: New Brunswick animator's work on 'The Princess and the Frog' fulfils life-long goal
For as long as he can remember, Mario Richard has wanted to draw cartoons for Walt Disney Animation Studios.
He wrote the word "Disney" on a small piece of paper and taped it on the wall in front of his desk in his room in Saint-Charles-De-Kent.
As he spent countless hours practising his craft at his desk, the little piece of paper served as his reminder to never lose focus on his ultimate goal.
This week, the talented 24-year-old animator will be able to give himself a pat on the back for making his dream come true when Disney releases its latest animated film, The Princess and the Frog.
Thanks to some hard work, a little moxie and a serendipitous New Brunswick connection, Richard got the chance to work as an animator on the new film, Disney's first hand-drawn animated feature since 2004's Home on the Range.
"It was an absolutely awesome experience. I loved it," said Richard this week during an interview from a payphone on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
His work on The Princess and the Frog now complete, Richard bought a one-way ticket to California two weeks ago in the hopes of landing an interview for Walt Disney Animation Studio's Talent Development Program.
With sirens wailing in the background and characters like Elmo and SpongeBob SquarePants wandering by him on the wonderful and sometimes wacky Hollywood street, Richard reflected on the journey that took him from drawing caricatures at Crystal Palace in Moncton to soon seeing his work on the big screen.
His love of drawing started early, when he was two or three years old. Family and friends often remarked at how well he could draw shapes and soon, he was drawing his favourite cartoon characters such as Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers.
"All my life, people would praise me for my drawings. People would say, 'Someday you should work for Disney,' " he said. "I kept hearing that over and over. Everyone around me was constantly encouraging me and being positive about my drawings."
That support and encouragement gave him confidence and soon, he started believing that someday he could work at Disney.
"Having someone believe in you can really make a difference. I think it really affected me," he said.
By the time he was in Grade 10, Richard started earning extra money drawing caricatures, eventually setting up his own business at Crystal Palace. He estimated he's drawn about 5,000 caricatures of people since then. He honed his skills by studying art fundamentals at the New Brunswick Community College in Miramichi for two years, followed by four years studying animation at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont.
Then last April, he got wind that Yowza Animation Inc. in Toronto was doing some work on The Princess and the Frog. As it turns out, Yowza is owned by three brothers from New Brunswick - Claude, Roger and Pierre Chiasson. Richard knew Claude and sent him an email to ask if he could work on the film.
"He called me the same day and told me to come to Toronto. I did a couple of flips on the floor of my room," he said, laughing.
Two days later, Richard was living in Toronto, where he spent the next four months working 10-hour days doing what is called "clean-up" animation on the film.
Clean-up animators take the original rough drawings from the animators at Disney and redraw them, ensuring consistency throughout the entire film while still preserving the original animator's work. Approximately 40 animators did clean-up work on the film, and Richard estimates he worked on about 25 scenes and did about 700 drawings.
"I loved it. I wished the project could have gone on for another three years," he said, adding that he learned a ton from the Disney animators about how to organize and draw scenes.
He said he and his fellow animators were thrilled to be working on this project, especially given the historic nature of the film. Set in jazz age New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog features Disney's first African-American princess and its most extensive black cast. The film also marks the return to 2D hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, the creators of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.
A modern twist on a classic tale, The Princess and the Frog tells the story of hard working Tiana, who meets a frog prince who wants to be human again. Their fateful kiss turns Tiana into a frog and leads them on a comical adventure through the bayous of Louisiana.
The movie also features a Cajun firefly named Raymond, which Richard says marks the first Acadian character in a Disney movie - another reason he is so proud to have worked on the project.
Richard's next goal is to be accepted at Disney's Talent Development Program and to eventually work on the studio's next big feature, Winnie the Pooh.
Two weeks ago, he flew to Los Angeles to attend the Creative Talent Network Animation Expo in Burbank in the hopes of landing a meeting with Disney recruiters.
He got his meeting with a Disney recruiter last Saturday. He said the recruiter was already familiar with his work, and the meeting was a positive one. He expects to hear by mid-December whether or not he is accepted into the program. Until then, he's staying at a hostel in Hollywood and keeping his fingers crossed.
Back home in New Brunswick, Richard's mother Yvette says she couldn't be more proud of her son and his work on the film.
"He was always a go-getter. I encouraged him to always go for his dreams," she said. "It touches me that Mario finally drew a cartoon for Disney. His dream came true."
Richard recently took down the "Disney" sign on his bedroom wall, replacing it with a business card from the Disney animators he met.
His mother, however, kept her son's original "Disney" card. She photocopied it and has been handing it out to young people in her community.
"I want to share the lesson that dreams do come true," she said.
And she is doing everything she can to she can to help her son take his dream one step further, including sleeping with the original card under her pillow so that she can send all her positive thoughts to him as he awaits word from Disney.
"Anything is possible. Believe," she said.
The Princess and the Frog opens in wide release on Friday.
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