By: Sandro Mairata
“I want you to help me with your megaphones so that people can go see 'My robot friend' throughout the Southern Cone, that is, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, which premiere almost, I believe, at the same time.” The candid comment comes from Pablo Berger (Bilbao, 1963), director of this animated film that represents Spain for Best Animated Film at the Oscar awards this weekend. He competes hand in hand with other major titles such as 'The Boy and the Heron' by Hayao Miyasake and 'Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse', but Berger is optimistic and, above all, he is proud of what he has achieved so far. the moment.
'My Robot Friend' has been recognized in several competitions and festivals around the world. It is a formally Franco-Spanish production. The story adapts the comic of the same name by Sara Varon to tell us the story of a dog called Dog ('dog' simply in English), who lives in a Manhattan of the 80s (apparently, 1982) inhabited by anthropomorphic animals and who a One day he will buy a robot to keep him company. An event will occur that could change the fate of the friendship between the two, but let's not spoil it.
On the other side of the video call is Berger, who after three feature films (two of them with Maribel Verdú) made the leap to animation with 'My Robot Friend', which in English is known as 'Robot Dreams'.
— The first thing I wanted to ask you is how you have felt about the reception of this film, it has won several awards.
— Well, the film was baptized or started, it premiered at the Cannes Festival in the Official Selection and that was like a very good omen. And since then it has been growing like a snowball. Then we went to the Annecy Festival, which is in the field of animation; We won an award in Sitges, 'the Cannes' of fantasy cinema, there we won the Audience Award. We won Best Film at the European Film Awards, at the Goya, at the Annie and now the Oscar nomination. You couldn't ask for more. This is no longer the robot's dream, it is Pablo's dream, that his film has so much recognition. But it is not a question of ego, what is achieved is that the film reaches the largest audience, that it becomes global, and that is the greatest reward for me as a director, that 'My Robot Friend' is seen by many people in Peru and all over the world.
— The animation style is particular; It is a question that is half fluid, half that seems hand-painted. What techniques did they use?
— The animation technique is old school, these are completely hand-drawn. Obviously, we no longer draw on paper with a pencil, just as you no longer write with paper and pencil. Tablets and styluses are used. But therein lies the great difficulty and the challenge because now there are very few cartoonists, very few animators and illustrators. Now the majority of the technique that is used is 3D technology. I think that 2D animation is much more loving, it embraces you, it is much easier to connect.
— In addition, it has been a year in which we have great animated films like 'The Boy and the Heron' and also 'Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse'. How would you define what you propose from your side, from Spain?
— Well, you realize that I am a live-action director. What I do? My first animated film. This is my fourth film. The only reason for this movie is this graphic novel (shows the original graphic novel). I fell in love with the story and I wanted to tell this story and if I wanted to tell this story I had to do the animation. Without a doubt, what we are offering is a great story. As I told you before, with great performances. And something very new, that the film has no dialogues. The film is a musical, the film is also a Russian doll of genres, it is a comedy, it is a drama, it is an action film and it is also a musical, and I think that makes it attractive. It is a film that is unlike anything, like none of the Oscar competitors. And I think that is the great attraction, our asset. And it is a film in which the heart speaks.
— What was the main challenge of translating what was printed into moving image?
— Look, I'm going to tell you the great challenge of making this film, well, there were two first. A personal one, that I did not know the medium of animation. So I was very afraid, but a fear that did not block me, but rather was an incentive for me, it was a journey into the unknown and for me, as a director—each film is very different from the previous one—it attracted me. But the challenge was do it more than anything else. This film was going to be made by the Cartoon Saloon animation studio from Ireland, one of the big animation studios. And at the last minute, due to COVID and the pandemic, we couldn't make it with Cartoon Saloon and we found ourselves with the film financed, with time to make it and without an animation studio. So we had to create, especially for this film, two animation studios in Spain.
The story is about a dog in Manhattan who buys a robot companion. Photo: diffusion
— Did you create two studios just for this project?
—We had to rent offices, buy computers, create two studios, yes, create a pipeline, find entertainers all over Europe. That was the challenge then. Fortunately, we had a great team with great team leaders. A fundamental one was the animation director, who came from Belgium to spend two years with us in Spain to look for animators and create the workflow for the film; and I had a left hand who is José Luis Ágreda, an art director with a lot of experience. So with two great team leaders and a producer who had already made three of my films, we managed to get the film up and running. That was the challenge because once we started working, I assure you it wasn't that different. My job was to lead and have a vision to tell the story in the best way possible.
— Especially because you went from directing two films with Maribel Verdú, no less, and you moved on to animation. Was it an outstanding debt to you, were you looking for an excuse to cheer up? How did this transit occur?
– No not at all. I had never thought about making an animated film. I read the graphic novel, I fell in love with it. The story moved me in such a way that when I reached the end, I cried and I said to myself “if I want to tell this story, either I do the animation or I don't.” That's the only reason, the story. I am a storyteller. Before being a director, I am a screenwriter. Fortunately, I was given carte blanche by the author to make the script, and once I made the script, I made it mine. That is the reason for doing this story. One of the first people I told that I was not going to make a live-action film was Maribel Verdú. And she said “I want to do the vocals.” And I told him, “oops, there is no dialogue.” So poor Maribel hasn't had any role, but she has supported me a lot, on social networks, at the premiere. Maribel is my muse and one of my great friends, and she tells me that she loves 'Robot Dreams' or 'My robot friend', as she is known in Peru.
— The film has been described as an animated tragicomedy.
-Total. I think that, well, it is difficult sometimes to define films, to put labels on them. But it is a film where the viewer is going to laugh and cry. They are two e
motions, possibly two of the most basic emotions. Without a doubt, tragicomedy is the genre that best reflects reality, drama. And when I was making this film, my great reference was Chaplin. And a film in particular, 'City Lights', a film that I recommend, if there are readers who have not seen it, because it somehow mixes drama and comedy.
I think you laugh a lot at 'City Lights' and if you don't cry at the end, you're dead. So, with all my respect and with all my admiration for the master, I am only an apprentice. I would like the Peruvian viewers who come to see 'My Robot Friend' to laugh and cry, and while they watch the film they travel back in time to New York in the 80s, which is also very nice for me that a film serves as a machine weather.
The animation was done by hand; Two studies had to be created to finish the project. Photo: diffusion
— What will the next life of 'My Robot Friend' be like? Will it be streaming soon?
— The film was financed in the Cannes market, with pre-sales to different distributors, it was not made with financing from the platforms. So the platforms are going to come later. Viewers who want to see the film have to go to the cinema and within a few months. As is normal when the cinema window has ended, go to the platforms.
But that's the beautiful thing, in these times of metaverses, of Zooms, of smartphones, of digital loneliness, this film calls for people to go to the movies, to call a friend they haven't seen in a while, for grandfather to take his grandchildren to the movies or for a group of friends to go see it. So, what you are looking for is connection, hug and great cinema ceremony.
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