From an interview with Didier Brunner, the producer of the new cartoon "Hero of Himself" (2019), we learned a lot of interesting things: about the multiverse of the fairy-tale world of SamSam, about the offscreen team and more.
In detail
- To what extent does Hero SamSam comply with the policy of your company Folivari?
- This is the first time we have worked with such a popular universe, which was glorified by the books of Serge Bloch and the subsequent television series. Serge is an amazing writer with a great imagination. We could not help but be moved by the kind and colorful world he created. The film is set before the events described in the series. Himself is experiencing a crisis of self-esteem: he wants to quickly gain superpower and, finally, become a real hero. Damien Brunner and I decided that it was a very interesting idea - to invite young viewers to imagine what it is like to have such powers, because we acquire all human abilities and skills in the process of growing up through training and development.
In addition, Folivari has always wanted to try working on a fully 3D project. For us, this is undeveloped territory, despite the fact that the technology is very popular. In Europe, viewers still love 2D cartoons, realizing that this is a unique form of creative expression. However, we cannot ignore the American 3D animation market and the gaming industry with an army of computer game fans who, in turn, are driven by the interests of the audience. Taking into account modern special effects, 3D technology allows you to make even the cartoon world extremely realistic. We wanted to be part of the adventure that SamSam was going to. Not to mention, the movie could serve as a good start for the third season of the series.
- How did the Folivari team participate in Tanguy de Kermelu's work on the adaptation of the TV series about SamSama for cinema?
- From a visual point of view, everything had to be clearer and more detailed than in the series. But first, it was necessary to come up with a story for 80 minutes, since in both the book and the series SamSama's adventures are very short. It was necessary to create more space for a more detailed story and come up with tests that could carry away not only children, but also their parents, into the world of SamSamself. The plot had to be captivating and keep the audience's attention throughout the film. We invited the scriptwriters Jean Regnault and Valerie Mazhy to create a plot, in which both Serge Bloch and Targi took the most active part. It took us a lot of time for the script, because it was supposed to be of high quality and interesting for the whole family. The adventures were planned in such a way that parents who brought their children to the cinema could also enjoy the spectacle, so that for them the picture would also be fun and interesting. Moreover, the picture should have caused a desire to advise other children and parents to see it.
- How was the offscreen team that worked with Tanguy selected?
- We offered Julien Halle the position of director of the film crew, since he has been working with Tanguy for a long time and will be able to recruit a team that is ideally suited to solving creative problems. We were able to appreciate Julien's exceptional intelligence while working on the first season of Ernest and Celestine and the film The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, directed by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert. As director of the film crew, he was able to talk with the producers about finances, adhere to deadlines with the team, discuss animation, scenes and production with the director and find ways to shorten the script, since the first was designed for 95 minutes, but it was required to meet 80 minutes. create a story that is not too long, but also not too dynamic. The dynamics interest children, but they quickly lose interest in the picture. We struggled with this problem for a long time and, in the end, created the ideal tempo - we diluted the dynamics of the action with calm, emotionally rich scenes and dialogues. Julien also assisted the director and editor, allowing them to calmly make adjustments to the script while supervising the animation himself, as this is the most important stage in the production of the film.
It is worth adding that Damien Brunner and Thibault Ruby, I, and I wanted to make Tanguy's work easier and concentrate all production in one place. Therefore, we assembled most of the animation and composer team in a studio in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Another Mac Guff team worked in Brussels. Considering that Tanguy lives in Lille, he could easily reach both Paris and Brussels in just an hour.
- And finally, what can you say about the finished film?
- I think we managed to shoot a picture, the technical and artistic quality of which is competitive in the international market. The film's stylish design is combined with futuristic, space themes. The viewer involuntarily plunges into this world and begins to empathize with its inhabitants, because they are cute and funny. Moreover, most of these characters could already be seen in comics about SamSama and in the first two seasons of the series. I hope we managed to come up with an interesting adventure for SamSam, raising important questions in parallel. We teach children how to make friends with their dreams, their friends, their parents, and how to deal with their fears. In a word, we are very proud that we took part in the work on such a film!
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Film company VOLGA (VOLGAFILM)