"When I started humming 'Don't Talk About Bruno', I realized the film would be a huge hit"
Disney Plus is coming up in Israel, and with it comes "Ancanto" which will be available for streaming.
Kira Latomki, who was the Head of Animation of the film, tells when she realized that it was going to become a cultural phenomenon, and how to make a musical with dances when you do not know how to dance
Avner Shavit
13/06/2022
Monday, 13 June 2022, 00:10
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Trailer for the movie "Ancanto" (Film Forum)
When Kira to Tomkey started humming "No Talk About Bruno" after work, she realized "Ancanto" was going to be a huge hit.
"Even after the first time my partners and I heard this song, we could not stop singing it," she says in an interview with Walla!
Culture Whoever worked as Head of Animation in the musical animated film.
"When you find yourself doing it, you tell yourself that maybe the whole world will think it's a catchy song."
The interview with Latomki takes place on the occasion of the rise of Disney Plus in Israel.
"Ancanto" will of course be available in its catalog and will probably become one of the major attractions of the service.
Later, a series based on the film "Zotropolis" will also appear in it, in which Tomkey also served in a similar role.
In the past she also had a similar role in "Ralph Breaks the Internet", and her resume also includes involvement as an animator in two "Break the Ice" films and in a variety of long and short films, all of which will be available for streaming.
Like many and many others, Tomki also adored Disney from her childhood and dreamed of working for the dream makers, but her track was exceptional, she said.
"I went to college just when computer animation became the dominant type of doing," she says in a zoom conversation.
"I was given advice that I should master computers, and I took it very literally - I did a degree in computer science, not animation. The field was under almost complete male control, but I never felt like being a woman was an obstacle. Neither in the computer world nor in the animation world. You can dream big, and you can be anything you want. "
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Tomki began working as a junior intern at Disney, and over time rose through the ranks and was integrated into more and more senior roles.
"I still pinch myself every time I walk into an office, but this animation is not a work for the faint of heart," she says.
"It's hard work. In fact, you work all the time. I have a colleague who used to walk down the hall and say, 'Do not think I'm quitting. Even when I'm just walking, I actually think and think about work.' I think all the time, too. "I think animators and animators are a kind of observer. I like to look at strangers and say things to myself like 'interesting. His nose moves and his lips don't'. I hope I don't do it in a creepy way!"
As a fan, you grew up on hand-made animated films.
To what extent does this animation continue to affect films made today in computer animation?
"That's a good question, I think handiwork is a major influence. A lot of the animators and directors who work today are wizards in such animation. We use a lot of drawings as part of the work process, and computer animation has scents from the Disney classic era. Manual animation is deeply ingrained in us."
Animator Kira to Tomki (Photo: Disney)
And back to "Ancanto": If anyone happened to be buried under a rock on another planet in the past year, and did not watch the film or do not know what it is, we will mention: the film's music is responsible for Lynn-Manuel Miranda, the first Disney animated film about a Latin family.
Through this particular fictional family, it celebrates the complex and magical heritage and history of the Latin American community.
"My background is not Latin myself, and it was important to me to bring this culture to the canvas in the most credible and authentic way," she says.
"Another challenge is that there are a lot of characters in the film, and almost one of them is not really a sub-character. Almost all of them are main characters for everything. We tried to design these characters as evocatively as possible, and I think the more specific the character, the more universal it becomes. ".
From the movie "Ancanto" (Photo: Film Forum)
How did you make music and animation work so well together?
"That's a good question. We, the animators and animators, are not that good at dancing. Luckily, we had great help, for example from the film's choreographer Jamal Sims. Collaborate with us to make sure all the steps are in place. In general, I must say that the work on "Ancanto" was great fun, but also not a simple challenge. "
At least it paid off.
"Every once in a while it amazes me to see how movies become part of popular culture, and everyday life. I see kids walking around with backpacks of characters from our movies. It amazes me because these projects start as ideas on the desktop, and you see where they end up. It's "It also excites me, because when I look at these children and their admiration for Disney, I see myself. I, too, used to be this girl."
Sometimes it seems that we have already exhausted all the possible technological developments.
"Walt Disney's vision has always been to look at how to take something impossible, and make it possible. We will continue on that line."
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