How To Train Your Dragon 2 / 2014 - 2015 Awards Season

2014 2015 AWARDS SEASON
COMPLETED COVERAGE REPORT
DATE
TITLE
OUTLET
2/25/15
Dean DeBlois Rides the Dragon to Success
OVATION DIGITAL
2/18/15
A One-Hour Documentary About the Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2
CARTOON BREW
2/17/15
Dragons, robots, trolls run tight race for animation Oscar
REUTERS
2/16/15
How How to Train Your Dragon 2 Beat Sequelitis and Made It to the Oscars
FORBES
2/12/15
Dragon 2 Reaps Benefits of DreamWorks Animations Techie Innovation
VARIETY
2/12/15
The Oscar ballot with predictions in each category
LATIMES THE ENVELOPE
2/12/15
The Big O Oscar-Nominated Dragon 2 Producer Arnold Aims to Make DreamWorks Soar Again
INDIEWIRE WAH
2/12/15
15 Movies to See Before the Oscars: 6. How to Train Your Dragon 2
EXAMINER
2/12/15
Watch an Amazing One-Hour How to Train Your Dragon 2 Making of Documentary
/FILM
2/11/15
Oscars: Cate Blanchett Returning to Academy Awards After Encounters with Dragons,
Hobbits, Cinderella & Rooney Mara
DEADLINE
2/11/15
Kit Harington chuffed about How to Train Your Dragon 2 Oscar nod, Game of Thrones
SAG nods [Podcast]
GOLD DERBY
2/11/15
Behind the Scenes with America Ferrera
MSNBC
2/11/15
Special Animation Issue / Finally Ready for Primetime
THE WRAP
2/10/15
A Look at the Top Oscar Races in an Unpredictable Year (Animated Feature Excerpt)
VARIETY
2/10/15
Cate Blanchett on How to Train Your Dragon 3 and the Fear of Oscar Speeches
VARIETY
2/10/15
Enter the Dragon 2: How Did it Become the Oscar Frontrunner?
GOLD DERBY
2/10/15
Oscar Winner Predictions 2015: Animated Feature
SLANT MAGAZINE
2/9/15
Immersed in Movies: The Oscar-Nominated Animation Directors Tell Their Secrets
INDIEWIRE - TOH
2/7/15
How to Train Your Dragon 3 Could Have a Toy Story 3 Arc
SCREEN RANT
2/6/15
Strong Storytelling is Key for Oscar Animation Contenders
VARIETY
2/6/15
How to Train Your Dragon 3 is a Coming of Age Story
MOVIE WEB
2/6/15
HP DreamColor Display Wins Academy Award!
CINEMA WITHOUT BORDERS
2/6/15
How to Train Your Dragon 3 Directors Dean DeBlois Says Were Gonna Take the Story
Where the Books Begin
INQUISITR
2/6/15
DeBlois on Third Train Your Dragon Story
DARK HORIZONS
2/5/15
BTL Talks with Annie Winner Dean DeBlois, Director of How to Train Your Dragon 2
BTL NEWS
2/5/15
Director Dean DeBlois Talks How to Train Your Dragon 3 at VES Awards (Video)
COLLIDER
2/5/15
The Science Behind Oscars Award-Winning Trees and Tresses
INSIDE SCIENCE
2/3/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Best Animated Feature at Annie Awards
EXAMINER
2/3/15
America Ferrera Embraces Competitive Side for Dragon
ACCESS HOLLYWOOD
2/3/15
Bonnie Arnold Talks How to Train Your Dragon 2
ANIMATION WORLD NET
2/3/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Annie Awards
TOY WORLD MAGAZINE
2/2/15
How Filmmakers Breathed Fire Into How to Train Your Dragon 2 Awardsline Screening
Series (Video)
DEADLINE/AWARDSLINE
2/2/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Dominates This Years Annie Awards
A.V. CLUB
2/2/15
How to Train Your Dragon 3 Plot & Cast Unveiled
CHRISTIANITY DAILY
2/2/15
DreamWorks Soars at Annie Awards
TOYS N PLAYTHINGS
2/1/15
Annie Awards: How to Train Your Dragon 2 Director on Toothless Storyline in Next Film
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
2/1/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Grabs 6 Annie Awards
INDIEWIRE - TOH
2/1/15
In Praise of How to Train Your Dragon 2
AWARDS DAILY
2/1/15
Annie Awards: How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Six, Including Best Animated Feature
GOLD DERBY
2/1/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Best Animated Feature at 42nd Annie Awards
HITFIX
2/1/15
Annie Awards Pick How to Train Your Dragon 2
CBS NEWS
2/1/15
DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon 2 Tops Annie Awards Over Lego Movie, Big Hero 6
U.S. NEWS
2/1/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Mickey Mouse Shorts Dominate Annie Awards
CARTOON BREW
1/31/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Named Best Animated Feature at Annie Awards
1/31/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Annie Award for Animated Feature
VARIETY
1/31/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Top Prize at Annie Awards (Complete List)
THE WRAP
1/31/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Annie Awards Top Honor
DEADLINE
1/31/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Annie for Best Animated Feature
LA TIMES
1/31/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Best Animated Feature at the Annie Awards
COMING SOON
1/31/15
Dragon 2, Mickey Dominate 42nd Annie Awards
ANIMATION MAGAZINE
1/31/15
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Tops 42nd Annual Annie Awards
ANIMATION WORLD
1/28/15
America Ferrera Talks Dragon 2
EXTRA
1/15/15
How to Train Your Dragon w2 Globes Win, Oscars Nom Lift DreamWorks Animation
VARIETY
Contenders: Sound Mixing
VARIETY
Animators Roundtable at Variety Studio Full Video
VARIETY
1/5/15
12/30/14
12/30/14
Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2: How a Personal Tragedy Inspired the Story
12/30/14
Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Anatomy of a Contender)
12/28/14
Contenders: Animated Feature
VARIETY
12/23/14
Trent Reznor, Danny Ellfman and Top Composers Reveal Insecurities, Power of
Procrastination and the Real Story Behind Interstellars Controversial Sound Mix
Composers Roundtable
12/12/14
Dragon 2 A Smooth Ride
VARIETY
12/10/14
Animation Contenders 2014
VARIETY
12/10/14
Animated Features Are A Vital Addition
VARIETY
12/10/14
Artists Get Into Character
VARIETY
12/10/14
Contenders: Animation Roundtable
VARIETY
12/9/14
Behind the Scenes, Five Directors Discuss the Unique Challenge of Animation
LA TIMES THE ENVELOPE
12/9/14
Oscar Round Table Animation: Five Awards-Contending Directors Take Us Behind the Lines
LA TIMES THE ENVELOPE
11/27/14
Dragon 2 Director DeBlois Animates Whistler Fest Scene
VARIETY
11/25/14
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Producer on Casting Cate Blanchett
11/25/14
Animation Roundtable: 6 Top Filmmakers on Frozen Lessons and Why Sequels are Killing
the Industry
11/24/14
The Animation Rountable
11/20/14
Breaking: DreamWorks Animationss How to Train Your Dragon 2 Has Generated Record Sales
VARIETY
11/20/14
Oscar-Winning Sound Wiz Randy Thom Doing Double Duty on How to Train Your Dragon 2 [Video]
GOLD DERBY
11/19/14
DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon 2 Breaking Records and Misconceptions
HITFIX
Crowded Competish, Without Pixar, Feature Race is Open but Confusing
VARIETY
10/31/14
Variety Artisans: Emotional Pleasures The Music of How to Train Your Dragon 2
VARIETY
10/20/14
DreamWorks Animation Panel Carmel Film Festival
VARIETY
12/2014
11/4/14
Dean DeBlois Rides the Dragon to Success

Two-time Oscar nominee at the helm of final film in trilogy
Amid all the Oscar buzz for the animated feature How to Train Your Dragon 2,
writer and director Dean DeBlois has his sights set on the third instalment of the
trilogy. In fact, he is more than halfway through writing the final sequel in the
award-winning series. It will be the culmination of Hiccups coming of age, with
both he and Toothless as chiefs of their respective tribes, says DeBlois.
If the success of the first two is any indication both were best animated film
Oscar nominees How to Train Your Dragon 3 will be a blockbuster. The news
that Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler and Cate Blanchett from the second instalment
are slotted for the cast also bodes well for the final film.
But back when DeBlois started working on the original How to Train Your Dragon
for DreamWorks in 2008 he wasnt thinking about sequels. With a timeline of just
15 months until the films release date, DeBlois and director Chris Sanders had
their work cut out for them. We were definitely jumping in the deep end. It was
our first CGI film and we had to learn on the go, recalls DeBlois, who was tasked
with reworking the entire script based on the book series of the same name. We
could keep the character names and the title but were encouraged to deviate
from the books as much as we needed. Although the books saw the Vikings and
dragons in peaceful co-existence, DeBlois and Sanders thought there was more of
an epic story to be told if Hiccup was the first Viking who befriended a dragon and
brought an end to an age-old war.

The new story line proved a winner and DreamWorks had an Oscar-nominated hit
on their hands. Not surprisingly, the studio was interested in a sequel. Sanders
had returned to his work on The Croods, so DeBlois was writing and directing solo.
I found myself thinking of a trilogy, seeing that three connected acts could be
part of one overall story, says DeBlois.
My work on the side earned me recognition as someone who could storyboard
and write, says DeBlois.

Once How to Train Your Dragon 3 is released in June 2017 DeBlois will have spent
nine years working on the trilogy. What will be next for him? Revisiting three live
action film projects he developed for Disney and Universal years before, he says.
The projects were shelved with a change in studio leadership - a hard lesson for
DeBlois in the vagaries of the Hollywood film business.
Even before Oscar came calling in 2011 and 2015 DeBlois had amassed a winning
record in his own right. He honed his skills at Disney on projects such as Mulan
(with fellow Oscar-nominee and close friend, Chris Williams), however it was his
efforts off the clock that truly put DeBlois on the radar. I had been working on
the side with Chris (Sanders) on Lilo and Stitch and was taking screenwriting
classes. This is really what earned me recognition as someone who could write
and storyboard.

The duo soon found themselves writing their own screenplay for Lilo and Stitch.
Disney kept telling us they were going to hire a real writer, says DeBlois, but
soon the story was so fleshed out that to bring in another writer would offset the
unique voice the project had. So we became bonafide writers.

I never anticipated writing and directing films that are being recognized at this
level.
For DeBlois who grew up in Aylmer, Quebec just outside of Ottawa, his
progression sometimes feels unbelievable. As a student in Sheridans summer
animation program, I thought the dream would be to work for Disney. I never
anticipated writing and directing films that are being recognized at this level.
Along the way, DeBlois has credited his Sheridan education with profoundly
shaping his career and continuing to influence him. My instructor Zack Schwartz
always said, If it reads as a postage stamp, it will read as a billboard, meaning
that without a strong spine art becomes complicated and muddy. This is a
powerful piece of advice that I still pass it along to people.
DeBlois is now in a place where younger artists are interested in his counsel. I
remember how exciting it was to hear from industry professionals while I was at
school, he recalls. They become concrete examples of attainable dreams. At this
mid-point in my career while I still have heroes that I look up to, I realize that I
also play a mentoring role. Yet, I am still close enough to my student experience
to recognize how important it is to pass along my knowledge and inspiration.
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BY AMID AMIDI ON WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2015 6:02 AM
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documenting the entire process from pre-production through story
development and animation. If you want a permanent copy of the
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Dragons, robots, trolls run tight race

for animation Oscar
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Feb 16 (Reuters) - With the surprise snub of a front-runner and
Regulatory News
five nominees featuring dragons, trolls, robots and mythical

creatures, the Oscar for best animated film may deliver the most
STOCKS
exciting race this year.
Walt Disney Co
DIS.N
$105.37
Disney Animation's "Big Hero 6," DreamWorks Animation's
-0.52
-0.49%
22:23:00 IDT
"How to Train Your Dragon 2," Laika Studios' "The Boxtrolls,"
DreamWorks Animation
SKG Inc
Saloon's "Song of the Sea" will compete for the Academy Award
DWA.O
$20.27
Studio Ghibli's "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" and Cartoon

for animated feature.
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But the exclusion of Time Warner Inc-owned Warner Bros' "The
Time Warner Inc
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than $257 million at the U.S. box office, stunned even those in
the industry.
YouTube
"It was a big shock to me. I saw the movie and loved it," said
Dean DeBlois, co-director of "Dragon 2," about a Viking named Hiccup and his dragon,
Toothless.
With no clear favorite, the animation race is likely between big-budget spectaculars such as
"Big Hero 6" and "Dragon 2," and niche artistry of films such as "The Boxtrolls."
"Big Hero 6," an ambitious work from an animation studio often overshadowed by its more
flashy Disney sibling Pixar, fused Japanese influences into a Marvel-inspired tale of boy
genius Hiro who befriends a robot and forms a superhero ensemble.
"We're reaching a broad audience without compromising," said co-director Chris Williams.
"We're making films that audiences want to come see, but they're still products of passion."
ANIMATION ON THE FRINGES
The animated film Oscar is a relatively new category, inaugurated in 2001 and dominated
by Pixar, which has won seven Academy Awards in the category for films including "Finding
Nemo" and "Up."
With no Pixar release this year and "Lego Movie" shunned, the nominees reflect stories that
lie on the fringes of animation, rather than targeting a mainstream audience.
Japan's Studio Ghibli has earned Oscar nods for masterpieces such as Hayao Miyazaki's
"Spirited Away," which won in 2002, and is renowned for delivering mystical tales such as
"Princess Kaguya," about a moon princess who comes to Earth, by the studio's co-founder
Isao Takahata.
Cartoon Saloon's Tomm Moore, previously nominated for 2009's "The Secret of Kells,"
earned a second Oscar nod for "Song of the Sea" about the Celtic selkie, a mythical creature
that lives as a seal in water but as a human on land.
"The selkie story is not necessarily a happy story, it's about the risk of falling in love with
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Latest from
My Wire
3/3/15 9:11 AM
Dragons, robots, trolls run tight race for animation Oscar | Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/02/16/awards-oscars-animatio...
the U.S. distributor of "Song of the Sea" and "Princess Kaguya."

While animated films are aimed at a young audience, "Boxtrolls" co-director Anthony
Stacchi said they didn't shy away from making edgier content with grotesque little trolls and
repulsive villains.
"You do kids a disservice when you hide too much from them and don't let them see stories
that have a full range of darkness and emotion," he said.
Stacchi's sentiment is echoed across this year's nominees, where each film melds grown-up
themes such as losing a loved one, be it Princess Kaguya's parents facing her return to the
moon, Saoirse's decision to stay on land or in the sea in "Song," or Hiro losing his brother in
"Big Hero 6."
"We didn't veer away from some of the bolder, more emotionally resonant elements," said
DeBlois, who drew on his own experience of losing his father at a young age to write about
Hiccup's loss of his father in "Dragon 2."
"We want to feel the validation and pride of making something that feels timeless and
resonant, and not just something that appeals to pop culture." (Editing by Mary Milliken
and Eric Walsh)
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3/3/15 9:11 AM
Dragon 2 Reaps Benefits of

DreamWorks Animations Techie
Innovation
FEBRUARY 12, 2015 | 12:43PM PT
Ellen Wolff (http://variety.com/author/ellen-wolff/)

Already a Golden Globe winner, the Oscar-nominated How to Train Your Dragon
2 (http://variety.com/t/how-to-train-your-dragon-2/) displays a level of
sophistication beyond anything DreamWorks Animation (http://variety.com
/t/dreamworks-animation/) has achieved before.
SEE MORE: Awards: The Contenders (http://variety.com/e/contenders/)
To propel this saga that revolves around a boy and his fire-breathing companion,
hundreds of computer animation artists used software that DreamWorks
Animation built and employed for the first time. This system, called Apollo
(http://variety.com/t/apollo/), integrates a range of processes from modeling
1 of 4
and animation to lighting and visual effects.
3/3/15 9:22 AM
technologist Lincoln Wallen (http://variety.com/t/lincoln-wallen/). In the past, a lot

of their time was spent managing data and rifling through files. Now its more like
using your smartphone. You dont need to know where the data is; you just open
an app and manipulate it.
DreamWorks Animation engineers spent five years developing this approach,

and they collaborated with animators to make the tools artist-friendly.
Among them was Fred Nilsson (http://variety.com/t/fred-nilsson/), who previously

worked on 1998s Antz. I came from that spreadsheet animation world,
punching numbers on a keyboard, Nilsson recalls. What we wanted from the
new workflow was to be able to click on a character and change that characters
smile.
A key result of this brainstorming was a new animation tool called Premo, which
allows animators to control characters with strokes of digital pens. Now we can
hop from character to character, says Nilsson. Our animators have gotten
faster, and they enjoy it more.
The characters these artists are manipulating are also more fully realized. As
Wallen says: Animators should be able to work with a characters soft,
deformable surfaces, and create expressive performances right before their
eyes. That takes a lot of computing power.
But the artistic possibilities are evident to Bonnie Arnold, producer (http://variety411.com/us/los-angeles/producers/) of the Dragon franchise and
DreamWorks Animations new co-president. Its easier now for artists to imagine
what a scene will look like, she says. When I worked on the original Toy Story,
Buzz and Woody looked like Popsicle sticks moving across computer screens.
When artists can see real characters, they can make interesting choices with
less waiting.
The innovations behind Dragons also included a new lighting tool within Apollo
called Torch, which enabled the production team to create more realistic lighting.
Just like Premo, Torch streamlined a lot of workflows, says Nilsson. Going
2 of 4
forward, the ability to pursue ideas from consulting d.p. Roger Deakins could
3/3/15 9:22 AM
Implementing Apollo while producing Dragons 2 was a challenge that Wallen

likens to putting a new engine in a car while youre driving it. And the
development process is continuing during production of DWAs upcoming film
Home.
Our artists are giving us all sorts of ideas about how animation might be done in
the future, Wallen says. We havent fully liberated ourselves from the ways CG
animation was done before or taken full advantage of whats now possible. Its
still an exploration. Were following a road map that could take us who knows
where?
aboola_utm_c
aboola&taboola_u
ola_utm_content=hyb
&taboola_utm_conten
The Oscar ballot, with predictions in each category - LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-et-mn-en-os...
THE ENVELOPE
Hollywood's Awards and Industry Insider
The Envelope The Oscar ballot,

with predictions in each category
Glenn Whipp
LOS ANGELES TIMES
glenn.whipp@latimes.com
FEBRUARY 12, 2015, 5:45 AM
nd the Oscar goes to ... ? Here are our early predictions for
every category for the 87th Academy Awards. And do check
back online at latimes.com/oscars for any updates as the final

date approaches. The perfect Oscar pool is always a work in progress.
FULL COVERAGE: Oscars 2015 | Play-at-home ballot
ANIMATED FEATURE
"Big Hero 6"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
"Song of the Sea"
"The Tale of the Princess Kaguya"
And the winner is: "Dragon 2" has the momentum and is viewed as
more of an artistic achievement than its commercial competitors.
1 of 11
3/3/15 9:23 AM
The Big O: Oscar-Nominated Dragon 2 Producer Arnold Aim...
http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/the-big-o-osca...
The Big O: OscarNominated Dragon 2

Producer Arnold Aims to
Make DreamWorks Soar
Again
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By Susan Wloszczyna | Women and Hollywood

February 12, 2015 at 10:00AM
W&H Weekly Update
RECENT COMMENT
By Ariel
Dougherty:
First, and foremost, there must be

a commitment to hiring women
and people of color. Does that
really exist within the "studio
Guest Post: How to Hire a Woman Director
MAR 2ND, 2015 3:08P
By
Sally:
I worked at Kennedy/Marshall for a shor

time about 20 years ago, at that time she
had an African American woman in
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Producer Gale Anne Hurd: Sexism Against Women

Directors Hasn't Changed Since the 80s
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By
Tricia
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It's funny how people get real confuse

about diversity when it comes to
awesome opportunities but no one
mentions the parents of the kid
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Bonnie Arnold
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Want some coal mining stories? Start

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3/3/15 9:25 AM
The Big O: Oscar-Nominated Dragon 2 Producer Arnold Aim...
http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/the-big-o-osca...
Not only was she named co-president of

DreamWorks feature animation last month with
fellow producer Mireille Soria, but the industry
veteran with 30-plus years of experience is also the
lone woman competing in the best animated feature
category at the Oscars this year. In fact, Arnolds
contender, the Viking action-adventure
fantasy "How to Train Your Dragon 2" written
and directed by Dean DeBlois, is considered the
front-runner a!ter claiming both an Annie Award
and a Golden Globe.
While "The Lego Movie" was the highest-grossing
animated film domestically last year, "Dragon 2"
soared to the worldwide box o"ce heights with
$618.9 million in ticket sales. The success of the
sequel has been a rare bright spot these days for
Dreamworks, the cartoon factory co-founded by
Je#rey Katzenberg, whose other recent titles -"Turbo," "Rise of the Guardians," "Mr. Peabody &
Sherman" and last falls "Penguins of Madagascar" -have failed to fully capture the publics imagination.
Arnold has been to the Academy Awards ball
before, including with the original "How to Train
Your Dragon" in 2010. She was an associate
producer on 1990s best-picture champ "Dances
With Wolves" and a producer on 1995s "Toy Story."
But a win for "Dragon 2" would be especially sweet,
since it will be the first animated-feature Oscar that
2 of 4
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See also: movies, academy awards, how to train your dragon 2, jay baruchel, gerard butler,
cate blanchett
15 Movies to See Before the Oscars: 6.

How to Train Your Dragon 2
February 12, 2015
12:01 AM MST
Nominations: Animated Feature

Ever since James Camerons Avatar made off so
well at the box-office back in 2009 with its
magnificent 3D sci-fi wonderland of Pandora,
every other studio exec seems to have it set his
mind that turning a movie into 3D is a surefire
ticket to gold. But since the craze began, it is
actually quite rare to find films that are actually
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uLBmHtI5KfM
/maxresdefault.jpg
bettered by the treatment, and How to Train Your
Dragon 2 (as well as the original film) is part of that
elite group. With an animation display in perfect
keeping with the splendor of Miyazaki and the deftness of Pixar, Dragon 2 truly soars in
every sense of the word not to mention its a pretty fantastic movie in its own right too.
The film picks up five years after we last saw the scruffy heroes of Berk: the boorish Vikings
have integrated dragons into their world quite successfully and the scrawny Hiccup (Jay
Baruchel) has grown up a great deal. The young hero and his faithful reptilian companion
Toothless have taken it upon themselves to explore and chart the world outside of their
home, trying hard to avoid is father Stoick (Gerard Butler), who pressures Hiccup about his
decision to take the reigns as leader of their tribe. While Hiccup and his girlfriend Astrid
(America Ferrara) are out exploring one day, they are come across a dragon trapper named
Eret (Kit Harington) who works for the fearsome Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou). Hiccup
tells his father about Drago, whom Stoick reveals as a warmongering madman but Hiccup
1 of 2
3/3/15 9:28 AM
15 Movies to See Before the Oscars: 6. How to Train Your Drag...
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firmly believes that all out war can be averted and sets off to try and reason with Drago. But
along the way, Hiccup runs into an unlikely allyhis believed long-dead mother, Valka (Cate
Blanchett).
With a curious list of fellow nominees in the Animated Feature category relatively unheard
of Song of the Sea and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, generic kiddie fare Big Hero 6, and
another too-esoteric-for-regular-folk stop-motion flick The Boxtrolls and the total omission
of the absolute comedic genius of The LEGO Movie, Dragon 2 is all but a dead ringer.
Writer/director Dean DuBlois keeps the premise fresh and original and interesting on par
with (possibly above par) the first two Shrek installments (if DreamWorks keeps making
movies like this, they are on their way to being on the same level as Pixar). The squirrelyvoiced protagonist and his canine-esque dragon sidekick fall into the more clich of
childrens movie tropes, battling the forces of clearly defined evil with blind idealism; but
then again it is only a kids movie, nominated in a field where it is supposed to be judged on
its achievements in animation and what a show of animating prowess it is. Yes, the Laika
Studio trademark intricate imperfections in The Boxtrolls are the perfect example of
technical wizardry ripe to admired, but the full-fledged realism and beauty of How to Train
Your Dragon 2 is incomparable. If you missed it in 3D, you missed out on one hell of an
experience.
Helen Engelberth
Tallahassee Movie Examiner
2006-2014 AXS Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com
2 of 2
3/3/15 9:28 AM
Watch 1 Hour How to Train Your Dragon 2 Making Of Vid
http://www.slashfilm.com/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-making-of/
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Watch an Amazing One-Hour How to Train Your Dragon 2

Making of Documentary
Posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2015 by Germain Lussier
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Competition for the Best Animated Film Oscar this year is stiff. The big news early on was the exclusion of The Lego
Movie, but the films that were nominated are certainly worthy. In fact, there all so worthy, there isnt a clear cut favorite
between the five nominees. Disneys Big Hero 6 is the slight favorite based on recognition and box office alone but the
other films are close behind.
Around The Web
Which brings us to the reason youre reading: How to Train Your Dragon 2. The DreamWorks Animated film has a real
shot at doing what the first film didnt, and thats win the Oscar. To do so means campaigning and one new way theyve
done that is release an awesome one hour documentary on the making of the film. Watch the How to Train Your Dragon
2 making of video below.
The video is called Where No One Goes: The Making of How To Train Your Dragon 2 and, unfortunately, its not
embeddable. But click the image below (or this link) to head to the site where you can watch it.
Upcoming Movies
Star Wars: The Force Awakens & Spin-Offs
Tomorrowland
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
(Also, I know an hour is a long time, but watch the first 90 seconds and if you dont want to continue, well, youre a
better person than I.)
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Jurassic World
Mad Max Fury Road
Captain America: Civil War
Warcraft
Avatar 2
Ant-Man
The Hateful Eight
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Obviously, the rest of the movie doesnt have that editing pace of that intro but it really does a good job of taking you on
the trip of making the sequel.
Also, if you have the Blu-ray, yes, this documentary is on there, but director Dean DuBlois says its the first time its
online officially.
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her on the phone her home in

Australia, Blanchett almost brushed it
aside, wanting to talk about instead about a different category: the one she won in last
year for Woody Allens Blue Jasmine. Well, I dont know. There are also a lot of great
performances, yet again by women, and another five that didnt make it could easily
have been nominated, she said.
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Its hard to believe that it has been a year since she became a first-time Best Actress
winner after winning in 2004 for her Supporting role as Katharine Hepburn in
Martin Scorseses The Aviator. Shes not resting on her laurels, though. Its about as
big as it gets, Blanchett said. It was huge, glorious and wonderful, and you never
forget it, but you also in a strange way have to forget it and move on. And thats why
it was so wonderful to go in and do Carol and go back to the theater and think, OK,
whats next?'
Carol is one of those things that is next. She started
shooting the film opposite Rooney Mara right after the Oscars
for director Todd Haynes, who guided Blanchett to one of her
six Oscar noms as the Bob Dylan-like figure in 2007s Im Not
There. She says she met Mara for the first time when she
came to present Blanchett with her Outstanding Performer Of
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The Year award at the tribute I hosted for her at the Santa
Barbara International Film Festival last February. Shes
excited about the 1950s-set film about a department store
clerk who falls for an older, married woman, and she loved
working with Mara. She is really a good egg, she said. That was a really beautiful
experience, actually. I mean, coming back to work with Todd, having done the Dylan
film with him and then working on such a different endeavor was really fantastic. But
Rooneys great. She takes her work seriously but doesnt take herself necessarily very
seriously. Shes also got a really great non-sentimental radar. So shes not interested
in being liked, but shes interested in revealing stuff.
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Carl
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terrence
2 weeks
I'll watch anything

she's in. Her acting is
amazing, mesmerizing
and although she
3 weeks
Loved her since

Elizabeth. Looking
forward to Cinderella
because of her and
Her SAG speech last

year was so funny
when she got on them
for trying to play...
Cinderella Trailer: Disneys Live-Action Pic Stars Lily

James & A Wicked Cate Blanchett
After her Oscar appearance on February 22, Blanchett has another biggie coming out
from Disney on March 13, the live-action version of Cinderella directed by Kenneth
Branagh in which she plays the evil Lady
Tremaine.It was really fun. Incredibly
fun, she said. I mean, its always fun
playing someone wicked. Theres been a
trend of late, which has been really
interesting, to see how one can twist the
fairy tales. And I think what Ken has
done is hes delivered the fairy tale with
all its warts and dark nooks and
crannies but has sort of a grace and a
levity and a beauty and a majesty, like a
beautiful, wonderful MGM picture. Its
pretty rare these days. For my money,
its got that quality of a classic, in that
2 of 5
3/3/15 9:33 AM
its sort of moving beyond the zeitgeist.

Its reaching for something deeper and
grander. Blanchett also praised Lily
James, who plays Cinderella, and
Richard Madden as Prince Charming.
Related How Filmmakers Breathed Fire Into How To Train Your Dragon 2
Awardsline Screening Series (Video)
And though she will be attending the
Oscars this year as a presenter, not a
nominee, Blanchett has a rooting
interest in one of the movies in the Best
Animated Feature category. In How To
Train Your Dragon 2, she voices Valka,
the mother of Hiccup who returns after
20 years away to her family. She joined a
cast that was already tight thanks to
working on the 2010 original as well as
its TV series spinoff. And there was even an Oscar connection as to how she got
involved. She was at the Oscar ceremony in 2011 when she was approached by
director Dean DeBlois. I was kind of ambushed by Dean, she said. Approached,
accosted it depends how you look at
it. The first time around was so
complete, I was really curious to see
how they could possibly equal it, let
alone top it. So, then when I read the
script, I thought: This is really exciting.
This is a really unusual mother-son
relationship. So I was thrilled to be part
of it. Blanchett added that she started
gushing to DeBlois when she learned he
was one of the creators because she and her sons loved the first one so much.
Suddenly the prospect of being in the sequel was intriguing, even though it puts her
in the midst of another trilogy. She just finished co-starring in the Hobbit films for
Peter Jackson and, of course also did the Lord Of The Rings pictures. But the
character really got to her in Dragon.
Related
How To Train Your Dragon 2 Director Dean DeBlois On

How To Make A Sequel
I sort of gripped the idea of this sort of Jane Goodall-esque woman who spent many,
many years with the dragons and almost had forgotten how to co-exist with humans,
she told me. And also its rare in a conventional drama, let along an animated film,
that the notion of a mother leaving her child was sort of dealt with and reconciled in a
way that is so satisfying, complex and, I think, heartrending.She added that since
doing the film she had been stopped by people from 7 to 70; the breadth of the
audience for Dragon 2 really startled her.
Heres an exclusive featurette featuring the great Cate in How To Train Your Dragon
2:
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Kit Harington 'chuffed' about 'How to Train Your Dragon

2' Oscar nod, 'Game of Thrones' SAG nods [Podcast]
Jay Baruchel, Dean DeBlois, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Kit Harington, Stephen Dillane, Game Of Thrones, Oscars 2014 - Best Animated
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"I've been really chuffed that it's nominated for an Oscar," says actor Kit Harington, discussing his
role in "How to Train Your Dragon 2," which contends for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars (listen
to our podcast below). "Sometimes it's easy to feel a slight sense of actor-guilt about animated
movies. You feel that you're an actor in an Oscar-nominated movie and you've done very minimal
work, but I can now forevermore -- no matter what happens in my bloody career -- I can say to my
kids, 'I was once in an Oscar-nominated movie.'"
Enter the 'Dragon 2': How did it become the Oscar frontrunner?
Harington voices dragon-trapper Eret, who begins the film at odds with Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his
Viking cohorts, who have made peace with dragons. Harington started his work on the film in 2013,
and "for me it was over in the course of a year and a half, and over that time they'll grab you whenever
they can in whatever country you're in and you'll do a certain amount of sessions."
Playing a supporting role in an animated film, he felt freed from some of the pressures of a live-action
project, with more room to "experiment," and "what's really inspiring about the whole piece is you feel
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3/3/15 9:35 AM
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Can 'Big Hero 6' pull off an upset at the Oscars?

It also helped to have the support of the film's director, Dean DeBlois, who served as Harington's
scene partner for most of his recording sessions, "so you have to have a lot of trust in him. He's the
silent actor in the whole film. And I think it's essential that you have someone like Dean who can
deliver lines to you with the right kind of character sense behind that person and giving you something
back As long as you've got a director like Dean who's really putting his whole heart into it and
giving you the right notes."
This is Harington's first brush with Oscars, but he's no stranger to the
awards scene thanks to his role as Jon Snow on HBO's epic fantasy
Emmys cliffhanger: Will 'Empire'
series "Game of Thrones," for which Harington has been nominated for
and Cookie Lyon reign
three SAG Awards as a member of its ensemble cast. "I really like the
supreme?
SAG Awards," he says. "I spend all my time filming in Northern Ireland
Oscars mystery solved: How 'Big in the winter months, and we're huddled around fires and we're
Hero 6' beat 'Dragon 2' for Best
incredibly soaking wet and you can't get a hot cup of tea for love nor
Animated Feature
money. And then you all find yourselves in the same room in Hollywood,
Top 24 User Trevor Cox predicts booze on tap and free food, and it's all very glamorous, and you're two
tables away from some of my greatest icons. There's that weird sort of
Emmys: 'House of Cards' for
Best Drama Series
balance in our industry between those two worlds."
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He has spent much of his run on "Thrones" in his own "isolated

storyline," so when his story does intersect with other major characters,
as it did at the end of season four when he met Stannis Baratheon
Emmys predictions for Best
(Stephen Dillane), he has to remind himself to forget what he knows
Drama Series: 'House of Cards,'
about them. "The one thing I had to do was take away my vision of who
'Mad Men,' ...
these people were having watched the show," he explains. "I kind of
knew Stephen's work, and I have a lot of scenes with him this year and I was trying to remind
myself that Jon had no idea what this man was about Jon Snow doesn't watch 'Game of Thrones.'"
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Season four also meant the tragic end of Jon's relationship with wildling love interest Ygritte (Rose
Leslie), but even though it was "sad saying goodbye," Harington doesn't believe it's in Jon's nature to
dwell in tragedy. "I don't believe character-wise and story-wise that Jon ever hangs on to people who
died. I think this is a different world that we're in, and he doesn't hang around before he moves on and
gets on with his job."
Annie Awards: 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' wins six, including Best Animated Feature
"Thrones" returns for its fifth season in April, but "How to Train Your Dragon 2" will have its moment of
truth on February 22, when Oscars are handed out. The first "Dragon" film was nominated for Best
Animated Feature in 2010, losing to "Toy Story 3," but "Dragon 2" currently leads our racetrack
odds. Will Harington some day be able to tell his kids that he was once in an Oscar-winning movie?
Listen to our complete podcast below, then use our drag-and-drop menu to make your predictions, or
click here to enter or edit your picks in all Oscar races.
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A Look at the Top Oscar Races In

An Unpredictable Year
FEBRUARY 10, 2015 | 10:00AM PT
Jenelle Riley (http://variety.com/author/jenelle-riley/)

Deputy Awards and Features Editor
@JenelleRiley (http://twitter.com/@JenelleRiley)
Animated Feature
Though the talk of this category was mostly about who was left out (The Lego
Movie) there remain five imaginative, beautifully crafted movies. The Boxtrolls
wins points for its stop-motion style, while Song of the Sea and The Tale of the
Princess Kaguya boast an international flair. But it was Disneys Big Hero 6
and DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2 that won hearts and
box office, not to mention the Annie Award.
3/3/15 9:42 AM
http://variety.com/2015/film/news/cate-blanchett-how-to-train-y...
Cate Blanchett on How to Train

Your Dragon 3 and the Fear of
Oscar Speeches
FEBRUARY 10, 2015 | 01:13PM PT
KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES
Tim Gray (http://variety.com/author/timothy-m-gray/)

Awards Editor
@timgray_variety (http://twitter.com/@timgray_variety)
For Cate Blanchett (http://variety.com/t/cate-blanchett/), all roads these days lead
to Oscar.
SEE MORE: Awards: The Contenders (http://variety.com/e/contenders/)
Last years best actress winner (Blue Jasmine) will be a presenter on Feb. 22.
She will also be represented in the feature animation race, thanks to her voice
work in How to Train Your Dragon (http://variety.com/t/how-to-train-your-dragon/)
2.
1 of 4
3/3/15 9:53 AM
And she landed that job at an Oscar ceremony.
http://variety.com/2015/film/news/cate-blanchett-how-to-train-y...
When the 2010 Dragon was nominated, director Dean DeBlois approached her
at the ceremony about doing a role in the sequel. As she told Variety, He just
walked up to me and said, Ive written a part for you. I thought, Yeah, that is
such a line! But he had. He said she was a Jane Goodall-type of character
who had spent her life with dragons. I loved the first film and had watched it
about nine times with my boys. So my curiosity was piqued, and I thought, How
will they top that?
Shed done voiceover narration and bits and pieces in animation (e.g., two
episodes of Family Guy), but this was new to her: It turned into a three-year job.
We met every six months or so. You go in and chip away at it for three years, as
the animation evolves, and there were little shifts and changes in the story.
Shes proud of the character and the film (What an entrance! It was fabulous)
and is happy that the risks taken by DeBlois and his team have paid off creatively
and at the box office ($619 million worldwide).
Her character will appear in Dragon 3, which is scheduled for 2017. I am really
excited. I dont know what its going to be, but Dean has such an extraordinary
imagination. And he directed in such a detailed, engaged way he holds a firm
grip (http://variety411.com/us/new-york/grips/) on the universe.
Before last years win as best actress, Blanchett had won the supporting prize for
2004s The Aviator as Katharine Hepburn the first performer to win an Oscar
for playing an Oscar winner.
Daniel Day-Lewis presented the award last year, and Blanchett laughed when
asked what went through her mind as he started reading the nominees. Its like
being in a tennis court and watching the ball in the air: There is no thought going
through your head; everything is just kind of blank.
She said it was an extraordinary bunch of nominees, and I was just pleased to
be at the party.
Its not a horse race, but it becomes that, because everyone likes to talk and
2 of 4
speculate, she added.
3/3/15 9:53 AM
Alongside the honor, there is apprehension and horror of making an acceptance

speech in front of this group of people. There is no going back and doing a
second take, no looping, no finessing. Its what happens. It is like standup: It
works or it doesnt. It was scary, but I was excited by it.
She said shes too superstitious to have prepared a speech in advance; as for
nerves, I have an ability to tell myself, No ones going to see this, she laughed.
Though she gave a terrific speech, she has no recollection of it. Asked if she will
someday look at video of her speech, she gasped in mock horror, No! Never!
But she has only positive feelings about the Oscar experience. Something like
this doesnt come along every day, and its great to be caught up in excitement. It
was quite some ride.
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reign supreme?
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88

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Supporting Actor?
Just one month ago "How to Train Your Dragon 2" didn't look like it had a prayer to win the Oscar for
Best Animated Feature, but now it's the overwhelming favorite. What happened?
On Jan. 10, only one of our Experts picked "Dragon" to prevail. It was in distant third place with 4 to 1
odds behind frontrunner "The Lego Movie" (backed by 19 Experts, who gave it 3 to 2 odds) and "Big
Hero 6" (1 expert; 7 to 2 odds).
Then two dramatic things happened: "Dragon" slayed "Lego" at the Golden Globes on Jan. 11 and,
four days later, "Lego" failed to get nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.
Huh? How is that possible that "Lego" got skunked? At the outset of awards season, everything
looked awesome for the Warner Bros. release that reaped a 96 score at Rotten Tomatoes and earned
$247 million in the U.S. plus $211 million overseas. "Lego" had won the animation award from the
New York Film Critics Circle and was nominated by the Producers' Guild. Everybody seemed to adore
the film with that joyous spirit and can't-stop-humming theme song.
362

April 26
3

Everybody, that is, except Oscar most voters.

"That movie's biggest problem is that title," one voter told me. "It makes it seem like an hour-anda-half commercial for Lego toys or else the biggest product placement ever."
1 of 4
3/3/15 9:54 AM
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One day after Oscar nominations came out, "Dragon" emerged as the
clear prediction fave among the Experts at Gold Derby and has
Oscars mystery solved: How 'Big

remained out front ever since. Soon thereafter, it swept the Annie
Awards, winning Best Picture, character design, storyboarding and
Animated Feature
Meet the $1,000 winner of our
Oscars predictions contest:
Oliver Davidson
Why do Oscars hate sequels?
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predicted 20 of 24 winners

802
music. Now 20 out of our 23 experts pick it to win the Oscar, giving
it 2 to 9 odds.
Clearly "Dragon" deserves to triumph according to the appraisal of film
critics (92 score at RT) and moviegoers ($177 million in U.S. plus $441
million overseas). But, beyond all of that, it has a special appeal to
Oscar voters, who are predominantly male (76%) and, ahem, mature
(average age 63). "Dragon" tugs at their heart strings, inevitably making
them recall the thrills of their own boyhoods
What boy hasn't dreamed he could fly and believed he could do it?
What boy hasn't had a beloved pet at his side as he faced the terrors of
the real world advancing upon him as he grows up?
The genius of this film is that his pet is a fabulous monster that flies oh, if only the boy could tame
him. That happens, of course hooray -- and so much more that we can be certain that many more
future installments of the movie franchise will follow. Many of them swooping down on the Oscar
derby, too.


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RECENT COMMENTS
Ranking Christopher Nolan's Films: From
Worst to Best
Even though the academy appears to share our distrust of The Lego Movie and all of its mixed
messages, we nonetheless light a candle in its honor, as the nominees here collectively
embody the sort of risk-averse status quo that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are devoted to
subverting in more than just their animated work. Which isn't to say that we aren't fans of some
of these films and their more traditional methods, namely Song of the Sea, a sublime, if
over-plotted, lullaby whose exquisitely geometric designs are as rich as its narrative's folkloric
sensibility. But with the academy's fringe snob faction bound to split its affections between it
and the other GKIDS import, Isao Takahata's impressionistic The Tale of The Princess Kaguya,
this category's champ will constitute yet another hooray for Hollywood.
BY CBJ
Toronto Film Review: Leviathan

BY FRANCISCO
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Worst to Best
BY WWARNICK
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BY PUTINISNOVONAZI
Having won the Golden Globe and six trophies at this year's Annie Awards, How to Train Your
Dragon 2 would appear to have this one in the bag. Yet a number of past trends suggest that
Big Hero 6 might be ahead. Every other year since 2006, the Oscars and the Annies have
been in disagreement; that includes 2010, when How to Train Your Dragon swept the Annies,
but lost the Oscar to Toy Story 3. Sentiment appears to favor How to Train Your Dragon 2,
which doesn't have to compete against a more popular, both critically and commercially, Pixar
production. But its failure to even secure a BAFTA nomination must be considered damning,
as every animated film to win the BAFTA since 2006 has gone on to win the Oscar.
But what does it mean that The Lego Movie won the BAFTA award over Big Hero 6and is
that more or less telling than How to Train Your Dragon 2 failing to make the cut over The
Boxtrolls? And if How to Train Your Dragon 2 wins in races where it competes against Big Hero
6 and The Lego Movie, where do votes for Lord and Christopher Miller film go in races where
its absent? In spite of Big Hero 6 being distributed by Disney, and in spite of the film hitting that
we-are-in-this-together thematic sweet spot that's redolent of The Incredibles, we'll play this
one safe and call it for How to Train Your Dragon 2. Because if there's any truth to The Lego
Movie's corporate origins being to blame for its lack of a nomination, maybe the academy will
also take umbrage with Big Hero 6's Baymax occupying so much real estate on toy shelves
the world over.
Will Win: How to Train Your Dragon 2
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Immersed in Movies: The Oscar-Nominated Animation Directo ...
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I played Inside the Animation Studio with Don Hall

and Chris Williams of Big Hero 6, Anthony Stacchi
and Graham Annable of The Boxtrolls, Dean
DeBlois of How to Train Your Dragon 2, Tomm
Moore of Song of the Sea, and Isao Takahata of The
Tale of the Princess Kaguya. The questions were
simple and more personal and the responses were
engaging and insightful.
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Best Picture
Contenders
Review: 'Kidnapping
Mr. Heineken' With
Anthony Hopkins,
Sam Worthington,
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
Kwanten, And More
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
Top Row: Don Hall and Chris Williams of "Big Hero 6"; Middle: Dean
DeBlois of "How to Train Your Dragon 2", Bottom Row: Anthony
Stacchi and Graham Annable of "The Boxtrolls".
Bill Desowitz: What makes your movies so

personalAbout
for you?
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Don Hall: It's the culmination of a childhood

dream
come true to work at Disney,but also
2015 Indiewire.com
to indulge my love of Marvel comics. There are
some very aspirational moments to it. The
first flight is my favorite for that sequence alone. It
connects to something deep as far as
wish fulfillment. That said, during the journey of
making this film, it uncovered a deeper,
richer emotional experience than I ever imagined at
the beginning. A minor scene: where GoGo comes
in and gives Hiro a hug a!ter the Tadashi video
because he's still feeling remorse for what
he's done. It allows him to forgive himself. It's a
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relatively subtle
point but I love that we
Contenders
kept finding more and more moments like that
amidst all the fun and the comedy.
Review: 'Kidnapping
Mr. Heineken' With
Anthony Stacchi:
My
way into the project was
Anthony
Hopkins,
Sam and
Worthington,
Alan Snow's book
so much of it is about
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
these lost boysKwanten,
and missing
and absentee father
And More
figures. And my son had just been born and

the sensibilities -- the rawness around those new
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
emotions is what appealed to me about the
book and what I never wanted to lose. Although the
film isn't thematically about that, it's always
an important tone to the whole story of these
absentee fathers and the sons they leave behind
and the sons finding their way in the world.
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GrahamPrivacy
Annable:
Forofme,
when I got the
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Service
opportunity to board The Boxtrolls for Tony, it
was developing and building that sense of family
2015 Indiewire.com
and that connection of Eggs to that family
of Boxtrolls that was always the most appealing
thing for me. And much like Tony and Travis
Knight, I've got two young boys at home, and my
oldest, James, grew up with this project with me in
a very personal way. He was a part of it every day
with me coming home and showing him
animatics on my laptop. For him, it was poppa
showing him his secret project and suddenly there
were posters and trailers and it was fun
experiencing it with him.
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Dean DeBlois:
The film was personal to me in the
Contenders
sense that I was 19 when my father passed away. So
what Hiccup is going through in the story -- not
being prepared
for the'Kidnapping
loss of someone
Review:
Mr.
Heineken'
With
so instrumental in your development
as a parent
Anthony Hopkins,
and the suddenness
that pushes him over the edge
Sam Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryan and taking on the
in leaving his childhood behind
Kwanten, And More
mantle of adulthood -- I felt the same thing in my
life. There was my mother, who was not working,
and weFOLLOW
had fourINDIEWIRE
kids in our household, and it just
forced me over the edge into becoming someone
who could provide for the family and step into the
adult role that I needed to take on at that point.
Tomm Moore: It's based on my relationship with

my sisterAbout
and is set
in 1987
when I was 10-years-old
Sitemap
Team
Advertise
so it's fullPrivacy
of nostalgia
forofIreland
SnagFilms
Terms
Service at that time. And
keeping the old folk tales alive. It was something I
thought about with my son and looking at the
2015 Indiewire.com
Ireland he was growing up in. And I realized that
the stories had to be retold in a way that was
relevant for modern audiences. That's our
responsibility as storytellers.
Isao Takahata: It is definitely a personal film for
me. First, it is because I was able to declare through
this film and its songs my basic, natural love for the
Earth and the people, plants, and animals that live
here. And second, I was able to take up the
challenge of making an antithetical statement to the
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trend in animation
films to pursue greater and
Contenders
greater reality in a virtual sense; that is, by stirring
up peoples imagination and awakening their
memories through
pictures
drawn on paper with
Review:
'Kidnapping
Mr.
Heineken'
With
lively, expressive lines and wash coloring while
Anthony Hopkins,
allowing themSam
to be
aware that these pictures are
Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
drawn on that flat surface.Ryan
Kwanten, And More
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
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2015 Indiewire.com
Left: Isao Takahata of "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya"; Right: Tomm
Moore of "Song of the Sea"
BD: Why do you think your movie resonates so

strongly with audiences?
DH: The issue of loss definitely resonates. But
what's great is that we have a thematically rich film
with other themes that people seem to be picking
up on as well. This idea of the celebration of
intelligence across the board is something that
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people keep coming

up to us and saying. And
Contenders
hearing stories of teenagers telling their parents
that they can't wait to go to college because of what
they saw in the
film is'Kidnapping
really gratifying.
Review:
Mr. Heineken' With

Anthony Hopkins,
Sam Worthington,
AS: There is something
universal about this coming
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
of age story: the
kids empowered
Kwanten,
And More against the really
dark forces is what appeals to kids. I think the

Dickensian world was also appealing because they
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
essentially see how our villain, Snatcher, is able to
maneuver in this world. And I think that kind of
credible creation of a whole world with a really
interesting, empathetic and motivated villain is
what adults like about it. And at the end of the day,
you can't imagine a better resonance between the
mediumAbout
of the film,
Sitemap
Teamstop-motion,
Advertise and the subject
matter, a Victorian
steampunk
piece with fantastic
SnagFilms
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of Service
costumes and weird machine.
2015 Indiewire.com
DD: I have heard from so many people who find

di"erent aspects of the movie emotionally
resonant. And others that I'm quite surprised by. I
think the honesty of it and our dedication to tell
a story that didn't shy away from the tough,
emotional moments seems to have been very
welcome. I feel that animation as a medium is so
powerful and yet so o!ten treated as light
entertainment. There's almost a conventional
wisdom that you can't provoke your audience, you
can't go for deep, meaningful emotion. That's been
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proven wrongContenders
time and again with many of the
Pixar films and the early Disney films that I grew
up on.
Review: 'Kidnapping
Mr. Heineken' With
TM: I think allAnthony
the family
stu" that I drew from my
Hopkins,
Sam
Worthington,
own family, the
sibling
rivalry between
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
older brothersKwanten,
and littleAnd
sisters,
Morethat seems to
resonate, and also a sense of disconnection with

the landscape and the environment, even though
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
that's on an unconscious level in the movie. And
the whole idea of not keeping your emotions bottled
up.
IT: Nothing would delight me more if this is true.

The reason, no doubt, is because audiences
can identify
withTeam
the story
and its characters. I also
Sitemap
About
Advertise
think thatPrivacy
audiences
feltof
a fresh
SnagFilms
Terms
Serviceappeal in the ease
and freedom of the drawings, as if a breeze were
blowing through the screen, which is di"erent from
2015 Indiewire.com
fantasy films that confine people inside their works
and lead the audience by the nose.
BD: What was the biggest story challenge?
DH: It was the dual stories: trying to honor the
main story about this 14-year-old super genius who
loses his brother and the brother's robot becoming a
healer and surrogate, and combining that with a
superhero origin story, which, for a while, was
frustrating. I remember having conversations with
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Chris early onContenders

before he was on the movie about
trying to weave these two things, which almost felt
like they were repelling each other. That proved
very di#cult but
it wasn't
until we hit on the idea of
Review:
'Kidnapping
Mr.
Heineken'
Baymax being the linchpinWith
for drawing the team
Anthony Hopkins,
into this as a way
dealing with Hiro's grief that I
Samof
Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryanseemingly separate
knew that we made these two
Kwanten, And More
stories into one.
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
GA: In general, it was that journey that we could all

agree upon for making a 90-minute feature. And
even without that, I'd say that one of the toughest
characters to get right was Winnie because she was
a composite of a lot of characters in Alan's book and
we refined it into this one character and who she
was and About
how that
was gonna
work was a very
Sitemap
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di#cult journey.
SnagFilms
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DD: When Toothless is ordered to blast Hiccup and

2015 Indiewire.com
Stoick dives in the way and takes the blast instead,
that moment was particularly di#cult to get right
because it was paramount to us that there wouldn't
be a single audience member young or old that
would fault Toothless a!ter the fact. So
orchestrating it in such a way that the audience
understands and sympathizes with Toothless. I
wanted it to feel as though these two have overcome
this terrible obstacle and now they're stronger than
ever.
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TM: The biggest

storytelling challenge was
Contenders
integrating the folklore into the family story we
were telling. We kind of found the family story in
the folklore, soReview:
we wound
up refining and rewriting
'Kidnapping
Mr.
Heineken'
With
some of the folklore to fit the
family story, but we
Anthony Hopkins,
also wanted toSam
be true
to all the folklore references.
Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
The mythology was gettingRyan
complicated but looking
Kwanten, And More
at all the Miyazaki stu", we realized that we didn't
have to explain everything. It could just be kind of
FOLLOW
INDIEWIRE
the flavor,
the backdrop
to all the emotional arcs of
the characters.
IT: My intent was to take up the challenge of

reviving in our time The Tale of the Bamboo
Cutter, written at the end of the 9th century, a story
familiar About
to all Japanese
from children to adults. The
Sitemap
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original has
the appeal
aspects that
SnagFilms
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Termsofofcontaining
Service
are enigmatic or amusing which are contradictory.
But the tale is impossible to comprehend and the
2015 Indiewire.com
feelings of The Princess Kaguya, the main character,
are totally unfathomable. My aspiration was to
recreate the story into one that is understandable
and to turn it into a film that allows us to identify
with The Princess Kaguyas feelings without
changing the surface plot line and episodes of the
original story.
BD: What was the biggest design challenge?
DH: The world was di#cult. I've never seen a CG
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movie as dense
as this with the amount of detail
Contenders
packed into every frame and to be able to coordinate
all of that visual information because none of it is
automatic. There
are so
many little details, like
Review:
'Kidnapping
Mr.
Heineken'
Withthe fact that you can
Hiro's room: the paint splatter,
Anthony Hopkins,
tell that Cass didn't
take the tape o" the beams
Sam Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryan
when she painted.
Kwanten, And More
AS: The biggest design challenge happened in a

FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
strange confluence. From the very beginning,
we really settled on the look of the picture and the
texture and the shape language. And then it took
forever to fit our characters into that world.
GA: In a weird way it almost painted the design

stu" intoAbout
a corner.
And Advertise
getting that corner to feel
Sitemap
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comfortable
for everyone
a huge task.
SnagFilms
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Terms ofwas
Service
DD: The overall aging up of the characters. The
2015 Indiewire.com
personalities and design had to be retained,
and there was a lot of trial and error, particularly
with Hiccup, in trying to turn him into
a 20-year-old without losing his appeal. So much of
his charm lay in how dorky and awkward
and mismatched he is to the rest of the Viking
community. There were a lot of subtle
shi!ts: elongating his jaw, giving him height but
keeping the geek frame. In the end, people still
recognize Hiccup from the first movie.
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TM: Definitely
finding a clever way to design the
Contenders
sea and keep that organic hand-drawn look in a
way that we could a"ord and have it be a character
in the film. It'sReview:
calm, sometimes
'Kidnappingit's quite violent. So
Mr.
Heineken'
With the budget. We
we had to design our way around
Anthony Hopkins,
couldn't do a Pixar
and write amazing so!tware or
Sam Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryan.
even what Ghibli did in Ponyo
Kwanten, And More
IT: I put my full trust into the wonderfully gi!ted

FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
talents of character design and directing animator
Osamu Tanabe and art director Kazuo Oga. Even so,
our e"ort to show on the screen what I intended -that is, to search out the most fitting expression for
the spiritual or psychological meaning in each
scene -- required endless trial and error by the
three of us.
For each
we considered how rough,
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Teamshot
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how strong,
and what
colors
to make the lines; how
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of Service
much to allow for blank, unfinished spaces; how
much di"erence to make in the expression between
2015 Indiewire.com
parts where the movement is fast and intense and
parts that are calm; and on and on. This meant we
couldnt use the assembly-line method that is
normal for animation film production.
BD: What was the biggest animation challenge?

Chris Williams: We have a house style here at
Disney and the artists really pride themselves
on observation and truthful acting and we have
these really complex and human models. And at
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the other end Contenders

of the spectrum, you have Baymax,
who is so simple, just these two eyes and his
acting was so limited, just being able to blink
quickly or slowly,
nod'Kidnapping
or tilt his head one way
Review:
Mr.
Heineken'
or another. But that allowedWith
the audience to impose
Anthony Hopkins,
so much emotion
Baymax. The Tadashi
Samonto
Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryan of that.
video scene is a perfect example
Kwanten, And More
AS: Technologically, the rapid prototyping of faces

FOLLOW
had a reached
aINDIEWIRE
place where they were able to make
them smaller and give them really subtle
performances and really elaborate paint textures, so
we weren't held back by the technology. We could go
as realistic as we wanted or as grotesque as we
wanted with the caricature. But early on, Snatcher
was more of an old style Disney/Zero Mostel type
Sitemap About Team Advertise
villain: hePrivacy
was big Terms
and bubbly.
He was still bad and
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of Service
doing terrible things, but he went through a lot of
permutations until Sir Ben really nailed him down
2015
in that
first Indiewire.com
recording session.
DD: I've o!ten heard [animation supervisor] Simon

Otto talk about how the human animation in How
to Train Your Dragon 2 is the best that the studio
has ever done. And a lot of it was trying to fine the
line between having it feel naturalistic without
losing a cartoony playfulness as well. It's a subtle
thing because Hiccup is very close to human
proportions and so there isn't a lot of caricature in
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him. And finding

the moments where we could be
Contenders
playful with the acting and at the same time keep
all of the physics in check and deliver performances
that are truthful
and well
observed was the toughest
Review:
'Kidnapping
Mr.
Heineken'
With
animation challenge.
Anthony Hopkins,
Sam Worthington,
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
TM: Again, the
sea. It ended
up being a real hybrid
Kwanten,
And More
between hand-drawn animation and then using the

computer to make the most out of the hand-drawn
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
animation that we could do.
IT: No matter how talented the two lead sta" are

and no matter how many pictures they drew, it
was impossible for their drawings to be the only
ones used throughout the entirety of this film
with a running
two hours. It was
Sitemap
About time
Teamof over
Advertise
essential to
divide Terms
the labor
in order to complete
SnagFilms
Privacy
of Service
the enormous number of drawings needed for the
film in a set amount of time. Despite the
2015 Indiewire.com
incredibly di#cult task of copying the non-design
style drawings of the two, the entire animation
sta" worked with dedication and total cooperation
in their e"orts to complete this film. In my
mind, this was a near miracle.
BD: What was your best day?
DH: I would say our best days are so closely linked
to our worst days. Usually a!ter a big screening,
we'll be confronted with thing that are working and
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Best Picture
things that aren't

working and you come face to face
Contenders
with them. You can't ignore them and so that can
sometimes be disheartening and challenging. But
what I'll always
see is 'Kidnapping
this energy, this spirit and
Review:
Mr.
Heineken'
this confidence in our storyWith
crew, and somebody
Anthony Hopkins,
would start the
ball
rolling and we'd have
Sam
Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryanfind that our best day
a breakthrough. So I'd always
Kwanten, And More
would fall right on the heels of our worst day.
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
AS: Our reward was going to the studio in London

to hear Dario Marianelli play that score.
GA: Yeah, sitting comfortably on the couch and

watching Dario running the show and elevating
everything with the music and the live orchestra. I
don't even
have words
it -- it was amazing.
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DD: The best day overall was hearing John Powell

play us back the first melodies for our story because
2015 Indiewire.com
I have such respect for musicians and I can't play
music myself but I love it and look forward to that
moment a!ter we've been cra!ting the story and
building up the scenes to having the composer
come in and lay a custom piece of music and deliver
a good third of the storytelling.
TM: My best day was maybe the day with the
orchestra because that day was like magic. Most of
it was finished and then hearing the orchestra play
the score and it was overlaid with the music
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we'd already recorded

by Kila.
Contenders
IT: That was the day when I felt that the sta", upon
Review:
'Kidnapping
watching the daily
rushes,
realized how good the
Mr. Heineken' With
result was andAnthony
I could Hopkins,
sense that it boosted their
Sam Worthington,
feelings of anticipation
to complete the film. They
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
were able to strengthen
their
solidarity at that
Kwanten, And
More
point. But the very best day would have to be the
day of the initial screening of the completed film for
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
the entire sta". It was when I saw the faces, faces,
faces of satisfaction for what they had accomplished
by joining together as one to work so hard.
BD: What was your worst day?

AS: The worst
was a!ter
working on it for more
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About day
Team
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than two Privacy
years, weTerms
had itofup
on reels
when ParaNorman was in mid-production and then

it all fell apart. We had a screening, we got a lot
2015 Indiewire.com
of notes and Travis just said it wasn't working. It
was strange because we had built this thing and had
all made decisions together. And the consensus
earlier had been that we just had to make this a little
bit funnier. And then it all completely collapsed.
There was much more of the book still in the story
when that first crash happened. That happens a lot
in animation before you find the right story.
DD: When I'm writing and confronting my demons
and force the story out of myself and have
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the courage not

to throw it all away.
Contenders
TM: I think one of the worst days was early on
'Kidnapping
when we onlyReview:
had 18 months
and much less money
Mr. Heineken' With
than we thought
we needed
to get it made. It came
Anthony
Hopkins,
Worthington,
together in theSam
end,
but there was definitely
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
a period thereKwanten,
where it And
looked
like it was going to be
More
impossible to really do it justice.
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
IT: My character seems to be foolishly optimistic so

that I immediately forget anything bad, so I dont
remember my worst day.
BD: What was the hardest scene to get right?

Sitemap
DH: For About
me, theTeam
hardestAdvertise
scene to get right was that
SnagFilms
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Terms
Service
goodbye moment
the of
portal.
We did a
lot iterations of that and I wouldn't say they were

wildly
di"erent
as far as concept goes because it
2015
Indiewire.com
was an intimate scene. But that one we worked and
worked and worked because it was so emotional.
There were times where maybe we were pushing a
little too hard with it. Or that we weren't pushing
enough. Ultimately, the combination of making
Hiro more agitated in the final pass with the
calmness of Baymax gave the scene the energy it
needed.
GA: It's gotta be the dance. That dance sequence was
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far more crushing

than either of us had ever
Contenders
anticipated. We told you this story before, Bill, but it
was that whole idea of making the fish out of water
story feel bigger.
It was
working and was funny but
Review:
'Kidnapping
Mr.
Heineken'
once everything else startedWith
changing and
Anthony Hopkins,
improving, soSam
it escalated
and we turned it into a
Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryan
ballroom scene and a great dance number. But
Kwanten, And More
when we presented it to the studio, everyone's
stomach just hit the floor because technically they
FOLLOW
INDIEWIRE
realized
right away
how deep the waters were
getting. It took all 18 months of our animation
schedule to get less than two minutes of footage
done.
DD: The hardest scene was the moment that Valka

and Stoick sing and dance together was tough
Sitemap About Team Advertise
because the
potential
forofitService
to become hokey was
SnagFilms
Privacy
Terms
very high, and we realized that unless we played
it with complete honesty and delivered it in a raw
Indiewire.com
way,it 2015
was going
to fall apart and suddenly feel like
our characters were suddenly breaking into song in
a musical moment. So it was very important to
convey in the acting that this was Stoick's tactic to
remind Valka of the woman she once was.
TM: I think the most challenging scene was the last
scene when the mother has to say goodbye to
the son. That had to be really subtle and took a lot of
careful animation to get that right, doing the
storyboard first, then the posing and we only had
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one animator Contenders

and she just took her time and
showed us the di"erent steps and it was delicate.
Review:
'Kidnapping
IT: The hardest
was the
scene where The Princess
Mr. Heineken' With
Kaguya and Sutemaru
fly through the sky. When
Anthony Hopkins,
Worthington,
I first thoughtSam
of this
scene, I was overly ambitious,
Jim Sturgess, Ryan
wanting themKwanten,
to fly notAnd
only
above the Earth, that
More
is above Japans wonderfully varied landscape, but
also within the landscape. At the design stage I
FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
went through a lot of trial and error to attempt to
realize this, to no avail. But that was during the
design stage. Since I am basically steeped in
frugality, as with other scenes, once a scene was
animated, I did not waste the sta$s work by
choosing to throw out any scenes. There were no
shots that
I cut a!ter
had been animated.
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About
Teamthey
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BD: What's your favorite moment?

2015 Indiewire.com
DH: The portal scene, the goodbye, finding that less

is more. It's a really silent scene but getting that
emotion just right took iteration a!ter iteration. We
were tinkering with that all the way to the end
because it was so important.
CW: Even when we played an early version of that
scene that was just layout, there were 30 people
sitting in a room in tears. And yet we were a long
way from finding the exact version of the scene.
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AS: For me, hearing

Winnie tell Eggs what a father
Contenders
is supposed to be. We all know that her father is not
like that and we see in some very subtle animation
Eggs' face startReview:
to light'Kidnapping
up as he hears this is what
Mr.
Heineken'
WithBoxtrolls. But wait a
fathers do and he can help the
Anthony Hopkins,
minute: it turns
out
that she's blown it way out of
Sam
Worthington,
Jim
Sturgess,
Ryan
proportion.
Kwanten, And More
GA: Yeah, Tony's favorite is the quietest moment in

FOLLOWINDIEWIRE
the film and mine is the loudest moment: the end
for Snatcher -- his demise, which we worked out
early on pretty much as an homage to
Monty Python. And getting that sequence to work
and the timing of it, I never tire of sneaking into
a theater to watch it.
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DD: I think
that the
funeral
was very special in the
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Terms
of Service
way it turned out. Craig Ferguson did a wonderful
job reading that eulogy and I think Hiccup speaks
2015 Indiewire.com
the words I wish had done with the clarity and
maturity I could've spoken at my own dad's own
funeral. It's a quiet, cathartic moment.
TM: The part with the spirit dog is my favorite
scene. It had a nice kinetic energy to it and it
was something I visualized early on as a kind of ET
flying by sequence, and it came together better than
I expected it.
IT: I am fond of all of the scenes, so I cant name just
Share this
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http://screenrant.com/how-train-your-dragon-3-finale-ending-dir...
The #1 Independent Movie & TV News Website
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How to Train Your Dragon 3 Could Have a Toy Story 3

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There were dragons when I was a boy Youll have to take my word for it. So says
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III at the very start of Cressida Cowells childrens fantasy
novel How to Train Your Dragon, which was later loosely adapted into a hugely
successful animated film by DreamWorks Pictures. Last years sequel, How to Train
TODAY'S HOT STORIES
Your Dragon 2, caught up with Hiccup at the latter end of his adolescence, when his
adventures with his loyal dragon Toothless reunited him with a long-lost family
member and elevated both Hiccup and Toothless to leader status.
Thanks to the wide critical acclaim and healthy box office gross for the first two films,
How to Train Your Dragon 3 is on the way with a release date set for summer
2018. How to Train Your Dragon 2 writer and director Dean DeBlois is returning to
both roles for the third installment of the series, which features the voice of Jay
M
Miicchhaaeell BBiieehhnn CCoonnttaacctteedd ffoorr ''AAlliieenn
55''??
Baruchel as Hiccup.
Quite a few years passed between How to Train Your Dragon and How to Train Your
Dragon 2, which raises the question of just how old Hiccup will be when he returns to
theaters three years from now. To allay concerns that it might feature a middle-aged,
grizzled version of the character rather than an enthusiastic youth, however, DeBlois
has said in an interview with Collider that the third film will be the culmination
of Hiccups coming-of-age story. What does that mean for Hiccup and Toothless,
GGuuaarrddiiaannss ooff tthhee GGaallaaxxyy 22 NNeeww

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though?
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Maann RReebboooott TTiittllee,, DDiirreeccttoorr &&
1 of 9
3/3/15 10:00 AM
http://screenrant.com/how-train-your-dragon-3-finale-ending-dir...
IIrroonn M
Maann BBaattttllee
Both he and Toothless are now chiefs of their respective tribes, and its a dueling story
where you have both characters trying to do whats right for their kind, and an eventual
outcome where Hiccup is able to stand on his own. Were gonna take the story to where
the books begin, which is Hiccup as an adult reflecting back on a time where there were
dragons, suggesting that the dragons will in some way go away. Why and could they
come back and the mystery of what all that is will be saved for the actual story.
HHuugghh JJaacckkm
maann TTaallkkss ''DDeeaaddppooooll''
CCaam
meeoo
SR EXCLUSIVES
Parting ways with a childhood friend is a fairly common trope in coming-of-age stories,
and perhaps the most poignant example of it in recent animated film history was Toy
Story 3, in which Andy is faced with the prospect of going away to college and
deciding what to do with all his toys. Released 15 years after the original film, Toy
Story 3 was perfectly timed as a tearjerker for people who had watched Toy Story
when they were young kids, and were now at a stage in life that involved moving out,
going to college, and even having kids of their own. Many tears were shed.
55 ''SSppiiddeerr--M
Maann'' SSttoorriieess W
Wee W
Waanntt TToo
SSeeee OOnn FFiillm
m
What DeBlois seems to suggest is that How to Train Your Dragon 3 could follow a
similar arc by addressing the topic of how and why the dragons begin to disappear, to
the point that they are almost all gone by the time Hiccup is an old man. Its worth
remembering at this point that DeBlois has said there wont be a How to Train
Your Dragon 4, so How to Train Your Dragon 3 could potentially end with Toothless
and the other dragons leaving for good.
M
Maarrcchh 22001155 M
Moovviiee PPrreevviieeww
DeBlois also told Collider that hes currently on page 60 in the screenplay writing
process, and that villain Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou) will return in How to Train
Your Dragon 3 and become a lot more complex as a character. Does that mean
hell be a reformed man, or will he return to his evil ways?
How to Train Your Dragon 3 will release on June 29, 2018.
AAvveennggeerrss 22 IInntteerrvviieeww:: CChhrriiss

HHeem
msswwoorrtthh
Source: Collider
Follow H. Shaw-Williams on Twitter @HSW3K
TAGS: how to train your dragon, how to train your dragon 3
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3/3/15 10:00 AM
http://variety.com/2015/film/news/strong-storytelling-is-key-for...
Strong Storytelling Is Key for

Oscar Animation Contenders
FEBRUARY 6, 2015 | 11:00AM PT
Terry Flores (http://variety.com/author/terry-flores/)

@VarietyTerry (http://twitter.com/@VarietyTerry)
There was hardly a louder outcry on Oscar nomination morning than when The
Lego Movie, arguably the most popular animated film of 2014 with $258 million
in box office receipts, did not receive an Academy Award nomination for
animated feature. The various reasons why have been debated ad infinitum, but
when looking at the films that made the cut, its clear that the competition was
fierce.
The five nominees are all high-quality films worthy of consideration. They run the
gamut from big-budget studio films to hand-crafted independent fare. They all tell
heartfelt, compelling stories with stunning visuals of varying styles, and touch on
similar themes. So, what should Academy voters look for when they mark their
ballots?
1 of 4
3/3/15 10:02 AM
(Disney)
In a word: Baymax. Disney Animations first foray into Marvels treasure vault has
all the earmarks of an action-packed heroic origins story: a troubled boy genius
(conveniently named Hiro) struggling with a tragic loss, his intelligent and
industrious friends, a fiendish and equally troubled villain, and a city in peril. Oh,
and a hugable health-care robot that looks a little like the Stay Puft Marshmallow
Man without the sailors hat. That robot, deceptively simple in design, is the
complex beating heart and soul of the film. The story, which touches on grief,
friendship and family, is supported by gorgeous production design that blends the
best parts of San Francisco and Tokyo into San Fransokyo. It couldnt hurt that
Big Hero 6 wasnt too far behind The Lego Movie at the box office, taking in
$217 million for the year.
The Boxtrolls (http://variety.com/t/the-boxtrolls/)

(Focus Features)
Laika keeps pushing the envelope with stop-motion animation, and thats evident
in The Boxtrolls. Every puppet, prop (http://variety411.com/us/los-angeles
/props-wardrobe/) and backdrop is built and manipulated by hand ,and yet,
everything moves so fluidly, its hard to believe its stop-motion. The story of a
boy adopted by a strange race of trolls that live within individual boxes is unique
and touches on themes of nontraditional families, discrimination and acceptance.
And Ben Kingsleys turn as the villain Snatcher is a tour de force thats worth the
price of admission alone. But its the artistry that really drives this film. The
Boxtrolls builds on everything Laika has done before in Coraline and
ParaNorman, which also picked up Oscar nominations. So could third time be
the charm for the Portland, Ore.-based independent animation studio?
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (http://variety.com/t/how-to-train-your-dragon-2/)

(DreamWorks Animation)
DreamWorks Animations sequel to its popular How to Train Your Dragon didnt
reach the domestic grosses of the first movie, but it did succeed in taking hero
Hiccup and his friends into young adulthood, touching on serious themes such as
anger and loss, and adding a twist that showed how Hiccup came to have his
great affinity for dragons. The risk of maturing those beloved characters paid off.
The visuals are stunning, and when Hiccup and Toothless fly together, it still feels
as if youre flying yourself.
2 of 4
The Song of the Sea (http://variety.com/t/the-song-of-the-sea/)
3/3/15 10:02 AM
One of two hand-drawn films that received nominations, Tomm Moores follow-up
to The Secret of Kells is based on an Irish folk tale. The Cartoon Saloon
production tells the story of a boy and his strange little sister who cannot speak
and who is more than she seems. While the themes are dark the boy resents
his sister because he blames her for their mothers death, and their father still
mourns the loss of his wife by drinking at the local tavern the toon is colorful
and whimsical in its look. It has a pleasing cartoony style thats easily digested by
kids and adults alike. The design is reminiscent of Mary Blairs Its a Small
World concept drawings.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

(GKids)
Venerable Japanese animator Isao Takahatas languid, watercolor painting of a
film is the second hand-drawn nominee. Where Song of the Sea is richly
colored, the palette for Princess Kaguya is subdued. Its based on a
10th-century Japanese folktale about an old bamboo cutter who finds a tiny
princess inside a glowing bamboo stalk. The Studio Ghibli production takes its
time as it follows the princess as she grows from an infant into a rebellious young
woman. In one of the most emotional stories of all the nominees, the princess,
known to her youthful friends as Little Bamboo, teaches her elderly foster parents
who she actually is and where she comes from. The themes are about
appreciating nature and the folly of trying to please others. The high level of craft
is evident in the painterly quality of the scenes, each one a watercolor
masterpiece.
YOU MAY LIKE

3 of 4
3/3/15 10:02 AM
How to Train Your Dragon 3 Is a Coming of Age Story
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How to Train Your Dragon 3 Is a Coming of Age

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Writer-director Dean DeBlois reveals that the story for How to Train Your Dragon 3 will end where Cressida
Cowells books begin.
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from Power Rangers
Bootleg Producer
How to Train Your Dragon 2 was one of the biggest animated hits of last year, taking
in $177 million domestically and over $618 million worldwide. That sequel will lead
into How to Train Your Dragon 3, which Paramount has set for release in the summer
of 2018. The How to Train Your Dragon franchise is based on the children's book
series by Cressida Cowell, although the movies took a much different approach,
following the adolescent years of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, instead of his
journey as an adult in the books. During the VES Awards earlier this week, How to
Train Your Dragon 2 director Dean DeBlois teased that How to Train Your Dragon 3
will end where the books begin, and that the sequel shows Hiccup's coming of age.
"[Dragon 3 is] the culmination of Hiccup's coming of age. Both he and
Toothless are now chiefs of their respective tribes, and it's a dueling story
Producer Adi Shankar has debuted another

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where you have both characters trying to do what's right for their kind, and an
eventual outcome where Hiccup is able to stand on his own. We're gonna take the
story to where the books begin, which is Hiccup as an adult reflecting back on a
time where there were dragons, suggesting that the dragons will in some way go
away. Why and could they come back and the mystery of what all that is will be
saved for the actual story."
The filmmaker seems to be hinting that Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) may end
up parting ways with his beloved dragon Toothless by the end of this sequel,
although it isn't known how the transition will be made from this younger Hiccup to
the adult version in the books. The writer director also added that How to Train Your
Dragon 2's villain, Drago (voiced by Djimon Hounsou), wasn't originally set to debut
in the sequel, since the filmmakers wanted to save him for How to Train Your Dragon
3. Dean DeBlois added that fans will learn much more about Drago in the upcoming
sequel.
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2 of 3
3/3/15 10:05 AM
HP DreamColor Display wins Academy Award! - Cinema Witho...
http://cinemawithoutborders.com/news-issues/3769-hp-dreamco...
HP DreamColor Display wins Academy Award!

Like 88 people like this.
By Bijan Tehrani 02/05/2015 14:54:00

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
recently announced that the HP DreamColor Display
will be honored at its annual Scientific and Technical
Awards Presentation on Sat., Feb. 7. Technical staff
from HP and DreamWorks will be recognized at the
ceremony for the development of the HP DreamColor
LP2480zx Professional Display. The DreamColor
Display is receiving the Scientific and Engineering
Award (Academy Plaque) for the impact its made in
film - providing affordable, consistent and stable
color throughout the film production process. To
learn more about this amazing achievement by HP we
interviewed HP's Greg Staten.
Greg Staten is the DreamColor Architect in HewlettPackard Displays Engineering Group and is the
product architect and designer for the HP
DreamColor color-critical display line. He works
directly with major visual effects houses, animation
studios, photographers and design studios around the
world to ensure that HP DreamColor Displays include
features and capabilities designed specifically to
enhance their workflows and simplify their
deployment and management.
Prior to joining HP, Greg was the Principal Product Designer at Avid, Inc. where he drove the design of the Symphony
and Media Composer digital video editing systems. He has consulted with major studios on post-production workflows
and has worked as both a colorist and finishing editor. Greg is a graduate of Rice University and he and his family reside
in Houston, Texas.
Bijan Tehrani: Is this the first time that HP has been given an award by the Motion Picture Academy?
Greg Staten: That is our understanding, we have been doing research and we cannot locate another instance where HP
has been awarded a scientific or technical Academy Award.
BT: I have personally witnessed all of the progress HP has made for business professionals. Please tell us a little bit about
the award and the nomination and how this nomination has come about.
GS: Every year, the Academy Scientific and Technical branch, asks various companies if there is any technology out there
that is in use and is making any significant contributions, The CTO at DreamWorks approached us and told us that they
felt HP DreamColor displays had significantly benefited the industry over a number of years and they felt it was time for
us to consider an application. We pulled together all of the required documentation and submissions forms for the
1 of 3
3/3/15 10:06 AM
Academy and then the Academy did their own investigation into how HP DreamColor displays are used and whether or
not it has made an impact in the industry. They found that it did and awarded us a Scientific and Engineering Award.
BT: Independent filmmakers claim that that the HP DreamColor display reduces budgets and saves time for filmmakers
because they don't have to re-shoot scenes. How do you think that HP DreamColor has affected the world of Independent
filmmakers?
GS: That is something that is really exciting to us; the display was originally created to solve a problem in the animation
and digital effects market they needed a display that could accurately show their content. It also had to be affordable
enough so that they could deploy it to different kinds of artist. The added bonus is that we developed a display that has
helped independent filmmakers. We have seen people use HP DreamColor on sets and on location it is very exciting
that we have developed this product that has meant so much to the film industry. We want to bring the technology into
the hands of folks who otherwise would not be able to access it. We have reduced the cost of our displays which means
that more folks are able to use them in their productions.
BT: Are these display projects ongoing?
GS: Absolutely, our latest generation the Z27x and the Z24x, expands on our commitment to professionals. One of the
things that are exciting about in the Z27x is that because of the way we develop it we are able to have customers upgrade
their displays to add additional functionality, ensuring that we are meeting all of our their workflow requirements.
BT: How many different systems are compatible with the HP DreamColor display and How many different HP
DreamColor displays are there?
GS: We have customers who connect these displays to computers running Windows, Linux, and OS X. And we have
customers using these on set or on location who directly connect their HP DreamColor displays directly to the output of
their camera, using it as either a dailies monitor or even as a large framing and focusing monitor for the DP.
2 of 3
3/3/15 10:06 AM
We have three HP DreamColor displays in release, one of them is the original HP DreamColor display, which was released
over seven and half years ago. We keep offering these displays far longer than a typical display because we know that films
have a long production cycle and our customers do not want to have to switch out displays during production. We have
the Z24x and the Z27x which are 24- and 27-inches respectively. We also have an HP DreamColor option in our mobile
workstations, a 15-inch option which has been available for the last 4 years. The Z24x sells for $599 retail and you can
find it for less online and the Z27x sells for $1,599. I have seen the first generation available online for under $1,000.
BT: How do you think the award will help gain more recognition for the work that HP is doing in the film industry?
GS: Certainly we hope the recognition will be twofold. Internally we hope it will shine a light on the importance of HP's
role in the film industry and help us better address and apply the needed attention to the customer issues and workflows,
ensuring that we keep our focus on doing the right thing for filmmakers and artists. Externally it means a lot because
having this type of recognition means that we can increase awareness of HP DreamColor technology and hopefully allow
filmmakers to produce better content for less money.
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Posted: February 6, 2015
How To Train Your Dragon 3 Director Dean DeBlois

Says Were Gonna Take The Story Where The
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Although Dreamworks Animation has had its setbacks, what with the company cutting 500
jobs and shutting down PDI Studio, but some things are continuing as planned, including
the sequel to the critically acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon 2. Despite the fact that the
Whitney Bischoff Wont Marry

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film didnt perform quite as well as most were hoping and, in fact, performed worse domestically than the first How To Train Your Dragon flick the film did perfectly well
enough to make a decent profit and warrant a third and final installment in the trilogy.
In the years before the release of an animated film, things are usually mostly quiet, but the
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folks over at Collider attended the Visual Effects Society Awards, and were able to snag a
quick interview with Dean DeBlois, director of the first two films as well as the upcoming
1 2
How to Train Your Dragon 3.
[How To Train Your Dragon 3 is] the culmination of Hiccups coming
Facebook
of age. Both he and Toothless are now chiefs of their respective tribes, and
its a dueling story where you have both characters trying to do whats
right for their kind, and an eventual outcome where Hiccup is able to stand
on his own. Were gonna take the story to where the books begin, which is
Hiccup as an adult reflecting back on a time where there were dragons,
suggesting that the dragons will in some way go away. Why and could
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they come back and the mystery of what all that is will be saved for the ac-
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Lets hope Toothless will remain safe, given the potential conclusion of the plot for How To Train Your Dragon 3.
That sounds like quite the ambitious third act. It also seems like a story that may have an
impending tragedy at its conclusion. Just how will the dragons go away without something
terrible or sad happening? How to Train Your Dragon fans will have to cross their fingers
so that Toothless will come out of the third film unscathed.
That wasnt all DeBlois had to say about the movie. The director even spoke on the ambiguous fate of Drago, the main villain in How to Train Your Dragon 2.
You have to wait until the third film to actually see where Dragos character goes. Hes a lot more complex than hes presented in this second installment.
An interesting tidbit, and it is further proof of some of the mature places these films go,
proving to kids that not all bad guys are fully bad, and that there are plenty different
shades in-between good and evil.
2 of 4
3/3/15 10:07 AM
DeBlois On Third "Train Your Dragon" Story | News | Dark Hor...
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/35729/deblois-on-third-trai...
NEWS
DeBlois On Third "Train Your Dragon" Story

By Garth Franklin
Friday February 6th 2015 04:45PM
With "The Lego Movie" out of the running, it

appears that Dreamworks Animation's "How
to Train Your Dragon 2" is likely to add a
Best Picture Oscar to its $618 million
worldwide box-office haul.
Attending the VES Awards earlier this week,
the film's director Dean DeBlois talked to
Collider about the third and likely final film
in the series which is in the works and is
currently targeting a June 2018 release.
DeBlois confirms that the third film will end where the books begin, with Hiccup potentially
parting ways with his beloved dragon Toothless and he himself growing up into a man:
"[Dragon 3 is] the culmination of Hiccup's coming of age. Both he and Toothless are
now chiefs of their respective tribes, and it's a dueling story where you have both
characters trying to do what's right for their kind, and an eventual outcome where
Hiccup is able to stand on his own. We're gonna take the story to where the books
begin, which is Hiccup as an adult reflecting back on a time where there were
dragons, suggesting that the dragons will in some way go away. Why and could they
come back and the mystery of what all that is will be saved for the actual story."
Debris also says fans will learn much more about Drago (Djimon Hounsou) in the upcoming
sequel. The filmmaker is also hard at work on the script with around sixty pages of it completed
so far:
"You have to wait until the third film to actually see where Drago's character goes.
He's a lot more complex than he's presented in this second installment. There were a
1 of 4
3/3/15 10:09 AM
DeBlois On Third "Train Your Dragon" Story | News | Dark Hor...
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/35729/deblois-on-third-trai...
few months of pitching outlines and making sure that everybody was content with
where it was headed, and now I'm deep into the script. I'm about halfway through. I
was literally working on it this afternoon before coming here. I have to hand it off
pretty soon."
Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera and Cate Blanchett are all expected to return for the next outing.
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BTL Talks with Annie Winner Dean DeBlois, Director of How ...
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BTL Talks with Annie Winner

Dean DeBlois, Director of How To
Train Your Dragon 2
February 5, 2015 | By Scott Essman
Like
Dean DeBlois
In addition to winning the prestigious best animated feature film at the
Annies, DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2 also
scored awards for best character animation and best editing in an
animated feature. Moreover, director Dean DeBlois won the coveted
directing in an animated feature Annie award for this, his second turn as
director on a Dragon project.
For DeBlois, the Dragon journey began in pre-production of the first film,
released in 2010. Both [co-director] Chris Sanders and I were brought
on a little over 15 months out from its fixed release date, DeBlois said of
the first Dragon project. They were in trouble because they had spent
two years in a faithful adaptation of the book [by Cressida Cowell]. The
story material itself was feeling a little thin a little young. We departed
from the narrative with a fantasy/action-adventure feel to it.
How To Train Your Dragon 2

Straight from the top, DeBlois received a series of three dictums from
DreamWorks Animation founder and head, Jeffrey Katzenberg. Jeffrey
wanted a father-son story, a big David and Goliath ending and a Harry
Potter tone, DeBlois recalled. The story demanded that we start fresh.
We aged Hiccup from 11 years old to 15 years old. We decided that the
dragon he befriends needed to be something that was feared in Viking
lore. He was black in color with a fearsome attack. But he was also the
type of dragon you could crawl on the back of and fly. He was at once
fierce and a big cuddly pet. He is now what the whole series is about.
2 of 5
3/3/15 10:10 AM
How to Train Your Dragon was a surprise hit for DreamWorks, earning
almost $500 million, which is especially surprising for an original title.
It was celebrated as a hit, DeBlois explained. It was a different tone
for the studio and, for a while, the execs were unsure about that [as they
had been] successful with pop culture-driven humor. It wasnt a big
laugher. It was much more earnest in its execution and classical in its
construction. As a tonal option for the studio, they were comfortable
going that way.
Though the first Dragon

film lost in all early 2011 key awards shows to Toy Story 3, DeBlois noted
that TS3 was a fine competitor to lose to. Regardless, back in February
of 2010, when DeBlois was in postproduction on Dragon at Skywalker
Ranch, Katzenberg asked him to come up with ideas for a sequel. I
pitched back the concept that it should be the middle act of a trilogy,
DeBlois revealed of How to Train Your Dragon 2. This would be the
middle of the story Hiccups overall coming of age, a finite structure
with a third installment. Key off certain elements from the first film and
set up the third, but be satisfying in and of itself.
Going forward into the sequel, DeBlois pulled together the key creative
team from the first Dragon, but introduced new players as well. Lots of
new faces to complement the old hats, he stated. We took advantage of
many years of development of software tools. Apollo allowed scale and
complexity and thousands of characters with subtle real-time results for
the animators. It cuts out the cumbersome middle between the idea and
execution. Everybody had to get used to the new tools. We had a full
three years of production from start to finish, and I think it shows on the
screen. Theres so much more polish.
Surely, in any sequel,

especially one beloved by children, anticipation runs high, putting intense
expectations on DeBlois and his team. We were very conscious of not
wanting to disappoint or fall short of the mark of the first film, he said.
All along, I kept asking the crew if it was living up to the huge pressure
of the first film. For me, theres a lot more personal story in this one. The
rite of passage that Hiccup goes through in becoming an adult was
something I went through at that age. It took on so much more
importance for me. Having that element in the storyline and knowing that
it was a bit daring to put it in there, it would be challenging for the
audience.
Though the reported budget on the first Dragon was $165 million,
DeBlois had $145 million for the sequel, necessitating careful preparation
prior to the production of any actual animation. Theres an eagerness to
start developing the movie visually and doing early tests and amassing a
crew before the story has been figured out, he confessed. We had six
months in the writing and outlining process, so that when people came
onto the movie, they had a sense that this was the movie we were making.
We made the movie in a smarter way. We spent money wiser.
To adequately prepare for

Dragons 2, DeBlois engaged his crew in ample storyboarding moving
forward into creating full story reels. We are all trained in the same
3 of 5
3/3/15 10:10 AM
methods, putting up a working version of the movie with our storyboard

drawings, he described. We have music, dialogue and effects with still
images describing each and every shot of the movie. It becomes a
blueprint, a working model. We edit our movie first before any of the real
money has been spent. We replace the storyboards with shots.
With DeBlois and Dragons 2 having each won an Annie, both he and
DreamWorks are already headlong into creating the final film in the
trilogy. Ive pitched several outlines and am halfway through the first
draft of the script, he conveyed. We will be out in summer of 2018.
Dragons will be a decade of my life. Animation is wonderful because you
can control everything, but its really hard to be prolific. I would love at
the end of the day, being such a Star Wars kid, to feel a sense of
ownership of a trilogy that has had an impact on kids.
4 of 5
3/3/15 10:10 AM
How to Train Your Dragon 3: Dean DeBlois Reveals Story Details
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While DreamWorks Animation may be scaling back a bit in terms of the quantity of
its yearly output, the studio is still sitting on what will no doubt be a fantastic
conclusion to one of its best franchises, How to Train Your Dragon. The first film
brought something unique to the world of animation in that it was a movie that
prioritized compassion and character over jokes and kid-friendly appeal. Thats not
to say the movies arent funny, and last summers excellent follow-up How to Train
Your Dragon 2 definitely brought more humor into the mix, but director Dean
DeBlois has infused this series with a degree of empathy that is a welcome reprieve
from some of the more cynical or disposal animated films out there.
Last night, Steve attended the Visual Effects Society Awards where Dragon 2 was
up for a couple of honors. On the red carpet, he got the chance to speak with
DeBlois about the success and evolution of Dragon 2 as well as his plans for the
final installment of the trilogy, How to Train Your Dragon 3.
DeBlois reiterated what he
told me in an earlier interview
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last November, saying Dragon

3 is planned as the final step
in Hiccups coming of age.
However, he also revealed that
More
the film series will end where

Cressida Cowells book
series began:
[Dragon 3 is] the culmination of Hiccups coming of age. Both he and

Toothless are nowdjbooth
chiefs of their respective tribes, and its a dueling story
Russ - Willy Wonka ft. paulina & Jaf
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EDITOR'S PICK
3/3/15 10:11 AM
How to Train Your Dragon 3: Dean DeBlois Reveals Story Details
NEWS
TRAILERS
http://collider.com/how-to-train-your-dragon-3-plot-dean-deblois/
TV
the story to where the books begin, which is Hiccup as an adult reflecting back
on a time where there were dragons, suggesting that the dragons will in some
way go away. Why and could they come back and the mystery of what all that
is will be saved for the actual story.
The filmmaker told me

previously that Hiccups
mother, Valka, was initially
intended to be the primary
sympathetic villain of Dragon 2
before they altered the story in
the midst of production,
moving up the introduction of
Djimon Hounsous Drago, a character that was meant to take center stage in
Dragon 3. Speaking with Steve, DeBlois said Drago will be further fleshed out in the
third film:
You have to wait until the third film to actually see where Dragos character
goes. Hes a lot more complex than hes presented in this second installment.
As for the actual status of

How to Train Your Dragon 3,
DeBlois said hes currently on
Page 60 of writing the
screenplay, and discussed the
long outline process that took
place before he dove into the
script:
There were a few months of pitching outlines and making sure that everybody
was content with where it was headed, and now Im deep into the script. Im
about halfway through. I was literally working on it this afternoon before
coming here. I have to hand it off pretty soon.
Watch the full interview with DeBlois and his team below, which includes their
thoughts on the success of How to Train Your Dragon 2 and how the story evolved.
How to Train Your Dragon 3 is slated for release on June 29, 2018.
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DreamWorks Animation Foliage System "trees" in "How To Train
The Best Approach for Avoiding
Your Dragon."
Image credit:
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Zombies
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This year's Sci-Tech awards include

improvements in appearances of trees and
hairstyles for movies.
And Fiction
Originally published:
In Films, Viewers Often Miss The
By:
Feb 5 2015 - 11:00am
Emilie Lorditch, Editor
(Inside Science) From a tree's exquisitely textured trunk, up to

its diverging branches and finally, fluttering leaves, it can be easy
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to see the complex work that lies ahead for the movie artists and
Measuring The Earth With A
computer programmers tasked with recreating the intricacy and

beauty of nature. This Saturday, scientists, engineers and artists
Wire
will celebrate the recent advances in technology that create

realistic worlds on screen from imaginary visions.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hold its
annual Scientific and Technical Achievement awards ceremony on
2014 Inside Science

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February 7, at the Beverly Hills Hotel, in California. This year, the
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ceremony will be co-hosted by Margot Robbie, who recently
With Interstellar's Science?
appeared in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and Miles Teller, who

starred in "Whiplash." The two will recognize 58 recipients for 21
scientific and technical achievements that have become standards
in the film industry. Members of the awards committee and some
of the award winners spoke to Inside Science.
"People are passionate about making new art and the advances in
science and technology for making films is moving at a breakneck
speed," said Doug Robel, co-chair of the Academy's Sci-Tech
Awards Digital Imaging Technology Subcommittee and the head
of software research and development at Digital Domain a visual
effects and digital production company in Playa Vista, California.
"The Academy really recognizes innovation because there are lots
of people doing really cool and clever things."
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"The creativity in this community is as important as the best

actors and directors," said Richard Edlund, chair of the Scientific
and Technical Awards Committee and an Academy award-winning
visual effects artist for films such as "Star Wars" and "Raiders of
the Lost Ark." "Our honorees exemplify the phenomenal creativity
of professionals in the scientific and technical community, and the
invaluable contributions they make to what is arguably the most
creative industry in the world."
In animated films the artists and designers dont have the luxury
of working with things that are already in a scene, such as a palm
tree; they must create everything that the audience sees. At the
time, we were working on the 2001 film Shrek and there were no
tools to create plants specifically, said Scott Peterson, head of
effects at DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, California. We
created the DreamWorks Animation Foliage System which is a
collection of tools that artists use to create trees.
2 of 7
3/3/15 10:12 AM
This is what artists see while working with the DreamWorks

Animation Foliage System.
Credit: Courtesy of DreamWorks Animations
Peterson collaborated with Jeff Budsberg, effects lead; Jonathan

Gibbs, head of effects; Kolja Erman, effects technical director and
Landon Gray, effects artist, to design the system.
While making all the broad-leaf tropical plants in "Madagascar" in
2005, we were inspired to put artists in the drivers seat," said
Peterson. "So that they could create trees found in nature and
artistically driven stylized trees with thousands of branches."
Peterson explained that the computer-based system sees each
individual tree as a network of curves. Gibbs converted that
network of curves into a skeleton that computer rendering
software recognizes and displays as a tree. Artists would then be
able to wrap branches around the tree to create the vision they
had in mind.
"You have to be observant of nature; there is an insane amount of
complexity in nature and it is daunting to try to represent that in
our movies," said Peterson. Sometimes Peterson goes straight to
the source for his inspirations. While on a walk with his wife in the
redwood forest one day, she noticed a glazed look in his eyes and
asked him if he was working. "I was," he said.
While over at Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. based in
Lexington, South Carolina, they developed their own system
3 of 7
3/3/15 10:12 AM
called SpeedTree Cinema, which is a computer software program

that lets artists create faster and more precise modeling of trees
and plants. The team of computer engineers includes Michael
Sechrest, co-founder; Chris King, co-founder and Greg Croft,
senior software architect.
SpeedTree Cinema "trees" in "Maleficent"

Credit: Courtesy of Interactive Data Visualization, Inc.
According to IDV, in 2009, they were tasked with designing and

rendering virtual vegetation for Avatar. Richard Bluff, Industrial
Light and Magic digital matte department supervisor, was
responsible for matching "Avatar" director James Camerons
detailed vision of the film's setting, a planet called Pandora.
When Bluff showed Cameron a 23-second-long flyover of Pandora
created using SpeedTree Cinema, Cameron's first question was
about how they simulated the trees. According to Bluff, Cameron
was shocked at how closely the trees matched his imagination.
Compared to crafting the twisted branches of a tree, creating a
perfectly coiffed hairstyle involves another set of specialized tools.
A group of scientists and engineers at Weta Digital in Wellington,
New Zealand developed the Barbershop hair grooming system.
"The system creates a digital representation of hair for a
character or creature," said Marco Revelant, a model supervisor.
"We made it very user-friendly so the artists can focus on how
they want the hair to look."
The system designed by Revelant, Shane Cooper, a senior
4 of 7
3/3/15 10:12 AM
software developer and Alasdair Coull, head of research and

development allows artists work with digital hair on a computer
much like a hairdresser would cut and style hair on a live model.
The artist is able to work with individual strands of hair and every
point along that strand. Another aspect of the system that is
unique is the "cloning" feature that allows an artist to replicate a
specific feature such a braid on hundreds of digital doubles like in
the dwarves in the "Hobbit" films.
Artists used the "comb" in the Barbershop Hair Grooming System to

style mustaches and beards in "The Hobbit" trilogy.
Credit: Courtesy of Weta Digital Ltd. 2014 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Pictures Inc. And Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved
From fur to fir trees, these technologies have forever changed the
way movies are made and the expectations of the audiences that
watch them.
"I was 14 years old when the original 'Star Wars' movie came out,
you have no idea how radical and startling that movie was," said
Robel. "In 'Noah,' there is a shot illustrating evolution and it is so
unbelievably complicated and so pretty, I've never seen anything
like it."
Emilie Lorditch is an editor and writer for Inside Science TV; she
tweets @EmilieLorditch.
5 of 7
3/3/15 10:12 AM
'How To Train Your Dragon 2' Wins Best Animated Feature At...
http://www.examiner.com/article/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-w...
TECH / GADGETS & TECH / TECH GEAR

See also: tech news, annie awards, animation, how to train your dragon 2, gravity falls
'How To Train Your Dragon 2' Wins Best

Animated Feature At Annie Awards
February 3, 2015
3:52 PM MST
The Annie Awards for excellence in animation were given out over the weekend Saturday,
January 31 at UCLA's Royce Hall. In somewhat of a surprise, DreamWorks Animation's 'How
to Train Your Dragon 2' took Best Animated Feature top honors at the 42nd Annual Annie
Awards held over 'Big Hero 6.' The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to
'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' (Voyager Pictures LLC); Best Animated Short Subject
'Feast' (Walt Disney Animation Studios); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial 'Flight of
the Stories' (Aardman Animations); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast
Production for Preschool Children 'Tumble Leaf' (Amazon Studios); Best Animated
TV/Broadcast Production for Children's Audience favorite 'Gravity Falls' (Disney Television
Animation); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production 'The Simpsons'
(Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television); Best Animated Video Game
'Valiant Hearts: The Great War' (Ubisoft); and Best Student Film 'My Big Brother' (Savannah
College of Art and Design, Jason Rayner).
The Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of
36 categories from best feature, production design, character animation, and effects
animation to storyboarding, writing, music, editing and voice acting, and have often been a
predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The ceremony was
live-streamed again this year at www.annieawards.org/watch-it-live where animation
enthusiasts and those who were unable to attend the event, could watch the show. A
complete list of winners can be viewed at www.annieawards.org and highlights of the
ceremony will be uploaded to the Annies website in the next few weeks.
Presenting the coveted Annie trophies this year were the comedy-folk duo Garfunkel &
Oates - actress-songwriters Riki Lindhome and Kate Mucucci; Veteran voice talent and
1 of 2
3/3/15 10:13 AM
'How To Train Your Dragon 2' Wins Best Animated Feature At...
http://www.examiner.com/article/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-w...
industry legend June Foray; Songwriter and music director Richard Sherman, Filmmaker
and artist Tomm Moore; Industry professionals Leslie Iwerks, John Musker, Ron Clements
and ASIFA-Hollywood president Jerry Beck and Executive Director, Frank Gladstone.
This year's Juried Award recipients included Winsor McCay lifetime achievement award
producers Didier Brunner and Lee Mendelson, and legendary animator Don Lusk; June
Foray benevolent service award author and critic Charles Solomon; Ub Iwerks technical
achievement award DreamWorks Animation's Apollo Software; and the Annie Special
Achievement award The Walt Disney Family Museum.
For more information on the Annie Awards, visit www.annieawards.org. For information
about ASIFA-Hollywood, visit www.asifa-hollywood.org.
Joann Bisson
Baltimore Girl Geeks Examiner
2006-2014 AXS Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com
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Bonnie Arnold Talks How to Train Your Dragon 2

The new DreamWorks feature animation co-president talks about her role as producer on
the studios Oscar-nominated hit.
By Dan Sarto | Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 12:52pm
In CG, Films, People | ANIMATIONWorld | Special Events: Academy Awards, Annecy, Annie Awards |
Geographic Region: All
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The critical and box office success of DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2, which
has led to numerous awards including the top prize at the Annies and a nod from the Academy,
has been overshadowed of late by last months studio restructuring and massive layoffs. The film
was the sole bright spot in an otherwise rough 2014 for the studio, which culminated in the major
downsizing, closing of Northern Californias PDI/DreamWorks studio and slim-down of the
upcoming slate of feature films. Part of that reorg involved chief creative officer Bill Damaschke
stepping down and the appointment of new feature film co-presidents Bonnie Arnold and Mireille
Soria.
Alessandro Carloni to Co-Direct Kung Fu
Arnold, a veteran producer known for her work on the first How to Train Your Dragon film as well
as Over the Hedge, Tarzan and Toy Story, was part of the production team tasked with the first of
at least two planned Dragon sequels. I had a chance to speak with Arnold this past June at the
Annecy Animation Festival, fresh from the films completion and quite some time before the
recent studio moves. She talked about her role as a producer and the constant challenges she
faced balancing the needs of the film as well as the needs of the studio.
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Dan Sarto: As a producer, in essence youre running the company of a film production as well as
managing the relationship with Jeffrey [Katzenberg, DreamWorks CEO] and Bill [Damaschke,
1 of 5
3/3/15 10:15 AM
former DreamWorks chief creative officer]. What are your main responsibilities on the film?
Bonnie Arnold: Those are my secrets! [laughs]. Im really the first person on the film. Dean
[DeBlois, the films director] is the second. Part of my job is doing everything I can to help Dean get
his version of the movie onto the screen, but at the same time, doing it with someone elses
money, quite frankly. There is no one in this world more supportive of Dean and his vision than
Jeffrey Katzenberg. Ive worked with Bill and Jeffrey for a long time and they trusted us with this
film. But, there are checks and balances and you have to let them know this is what youre doing
and this is how youre spending their money.
There isnt always a list to what I do. Part of it comes from instinct, having done this for a long
time. Its important to keep the studio heads informed. Thats not to say I tell them everything.
Theres always a balance. Its important for Dean to understand and trust me, to let me manage
the executives. For example, Ill see something and will say to Dean, I like this decision, but the
studio needs to be on board. It might have a creative ramification. It might have a financial
ramification. For me, its always about maintaining that balance.
For example, I dont sit in dailies every single day. I love to sit in dailies. I especially love watching
the animation dailies. Dean and Simon [Otto, the films head of character animation] are in there
going over every single frame, every day. Someone needs to have a different perspective. Im the
first one theyll call down if something goes awry. From the beginning, when we had discussions
about the film they wanted to make, they entrusted me to keep my eye on that goal from a bit of a
distance. Because early on in the production, POV [Pierre-Olivier Vincent, the films production
designer], Dean, Simon, theyre completely in the micro. So I have to provide the macro.
Sometimes, even Im too close and I need to ask Bill and Jeffrey to come in and look at something.
Jeffrey is amazing at that. Ive worked for Jeffrey for 20 years now. Hes a great audience member.
He will come in and look at something and say, Theres a problem kind of right in here. He picks
it up immediately. The great thing is he is so trusting. He leaves it up to us to solve those
problems.
I manage the creative and financial balance and think about that balance every day. I try to make
the studio feel Im protecting both areas. That can be tricky, like when Dean wants more time on
something.
We can make the best movie ever. But if no one comes to see itWe need Bill and Jeffrey to be
invested in the film because theyre the ones who put the people in the seats. So maintaining that
balance is probably the trickiest role of the producer.
But, with all that said, my number one priority is the movie. Im always for the movie. Its got to be
the movie first. Someone asked me today about the beach towels, and fast food toys and those
are all crucial, and Im involved with all of those. But sometimes, I have to say, Were not dealing
with that today. Today is about the movie. Its so easy to get distracted, especially on a big
tent-pole film like this.
DS: Was there more pressure on this film than on other films at the studio? This is one of your
prime franchises. This is one of your babies.
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BA: This is my first sequel. First off, there was excitement this could become a franchise. More
than any film Ive been a part of, people continued to talk about the first film [long after it was
released]. Theyd see it again, they got the DVD, they talked about it on social media. The studio
got excited about that, the audience had expectations and Dean himself said, I want to make
something [a sequel] as good as The Empire Strikes Back. No pressure there [laughs].
That moment when we saw the first test of our new, older Hiccup, which also included the first
test of our new animation software and what it could do with our characters, it was a huge
milestone for us as well as the studio. That first time we saw the result of everyone on the film
working together Gil Zimmerman in layout, Dave Walvoord in visual effects, Simon Otto in
animation, Fabio Lignini, a key supervising animatorthat was the moment when everyone saw
how this movie was coming together. It was a pretty seminal moment.
But I have to tell you, there was amazing communication between departments on this film, unlike
other films Ive done, and Ive done a few of them now. We got clear direction from Dean, on the
production and well as creative sides. We had a special relationship among the creative team.
There was a lot of crossover and communication between the departments. That impacted
tremendously how all the pieces of this huge puzzle came together so well, so seamlessly.
Unusually so. But we put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else put on us with this film.
is this for real or not

Great discuss on Chinese Animation industry. I

have to mark this page, mostly for the
comments down here.
Wolf Smoke Studio and the State of Chinese Animation
DS: As a producer, youre the one everyone looks to as the voice of reason when theyre running
2 of 5
3/3/15 10:15 AM
around with their hair on fire. What keeps you up at night on a production like this?
BA: I try not to run around with my hair on fire [laughs]. Ive been fortunate enough to have done
this a number of times. In pre-production, before we start animating, if you have some experience
and know what youre doing, thats when you try to solve all those problems you know are going
to happen. Thats really important. You know from having done it before. What really throws you
are the problems you dont anticipate. You try at least to plan for the ones you know are going to
happen. Then, the ones that hit you when you have 400 people working, although they can throw
you, if you have a good team, you can recover. In terms of what keeps me up at night, on this film
I was lucky to have a great co-production team. They were fantastic. I worried about the finances,
but knew they were managing it well.
But honestly, sometimes what kept me up at nights was there were times when I felt we had some
issues with the story and I wasnt sure how they were going to get resolved. Sometimes I agreed
with Dean, sometimes I disagreed. Sometimes the studio disagreed. Sometimes we were
previewing the movie and we had a bump and were trying to figure out how to solve a problem.
How can we solve that in a good way? It might not be as good as I wanted it to be, but what is the
best way? Is that to my taste? But no matter what, you go with your instinct. And from there, you
negotiate. But usually the things that really worried me were all things involving making the best
story we could. Making decisions about the best story. When something bothered me, Id have to
ask myself, Should I say something to Dean, or should I just sit on this for a moment?
Production-wise, I really didnt worry too much. I knew we were going to solve any problems that
came up. But with story, it was just an issue of getting it right. We did make some adjustments.
When you start seeing more of the movie, and doing test screenings, you start looking at the notes
you get. You get a note from the audience and you ask yourself, Is that a valid note? We want to
make a movie were happy with, but we also have the challenge of pleasing the audience. Dealing
with that balance was probably the most stressful part of the production for me.
But then, going back to our core team, wed sit in our little room in editorial with Dean, me and
Simon and wed talk about these issues. How valid is that note? Is there an adjustment that can be
made to accommodate it and still keep this Deans movie?
DS: What part of your job do you enjoy the most? What gives you the most personal sense of
satisfaction?
BA: I was at the Seattle Film Festival where we screened the movie. I did a little Q&A. We came out
of the theatre and were greeting people. There were a few little kids -- one little kid was in an
Astrid costume, one had a Toothless hoodie her mother had made. But the audience was primarily
kids 17-21. They followed me out of the screening and wanted to take my picture. It wasnt that
they were taking pictures of Bonnie. They just wanted to take a picture of someone associated
with this film. They wanted me to sign their tickets. To me, I get a great sense of personal
satisfaction when I see the affect a movie youve made has on a member of the audience.
Especially with children. I love to watch little kids watching the movie. Theyre on the edge of their
seats. But with the teenagers, I think they identify with Hiccup and his bond with Toothless and it
affects them. This one kid told me seeing this movie and meeting you made my life. I remember
how movies can affect you. I remember watching Cinderella when I was a little kid. Its very
rewarding seeing the effect our movies have on our audiences. That gives me a great sense of
satisfaction.
Caitlyn
Where did you find that out and where can you
find the exact date if the premiere of winx club
season 7 sooooo excited
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Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 tops 42nd Annual Annie Awards

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February 27, 2015
LICENSING NEWS
How to Train Your Dragon 2 wins Annie Awards

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Its the year of the dragon, as DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2 took home the top prize at the
42nd annual Annie Awards, honouring the best in lm and TV/broadcast animation for 2014.
As well as Best Feature, How to Train Your Dragon 2 also
picked up awards for: Best Directing, Best Editorial, Best
Storyboarding, Best Music and Best Character Animation.
DreamWorks Animations Apollo Software also won the Ub
Iwerks Technical Achievement award.
The win for How to Train Your Dragon 2 gives the lm
some momentum going into the Academy Awards on
Sunday 22nd February, where it will compete with Big Hero
6, The Boxtrolls, Song of the Sea and The Tale of the
Princess Kaguya.
It has already won the Golden Globe, so the Annie win is the second major result for How to Train Your Dragon 2 during
awards season.
If you would like to receive our daily newsash email, click here; you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook and request
a print subscription here.
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How Filmmakers Breathed Fire Into

'How To Train Your Dragon 2
Awardsline Screening Series (Video)
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Awardsline recently held a special screening of the Golden
Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated animated feature How

Email
(mailto:?subject=How
To Train Your Dragon 2 (http://deadline.com/tag/howFilmmakers Breathed
Fire Into How To Train
to-train-your-dragon-2/) which drew a large crowd at the
Your Dragon 2
Landmark
Awardsline Screening
Series (Video)&body=Check+out+this+article+f
Theatre in Los
%3A%0A%0Ahttp
%3A%2F
Angeles. And now
%2Fdeadline.com%2F2015%2F02%2Fhowto-train-your-dragonover this weekend
2-interviewit further
jay-baruchel-americaferrara-bonnie-arnoldestablished
credentials
in
vying
for
frontrunner
status in the
1201363156%2F)
Animated Feature race by virtually sweeping the Annie
Awards Saturday night, winning not only the top prize but also
ve other trophies in the Animated Feature categories.
RELATED (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/2014/11/HOW-TO-TRAINYOUR-DRAGON-2-CREATORS-ON-A-BOY-AND-HIS-BEASTTHE-CONTENDERS-1201282888/)
'How To Train Your Dragon 2' Creators On A Boy
And His Beast: The Contenders
(http://deadline.com/2014/11/how-to-trainyour-dragon-2-creators-on-a-boy-and-his-
The Following Ratings Return Down,

The Bachelor & The Voice Steady As
NBC Wins Night (http://deadline.com
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MORE (http://deadline.com)
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With Multi-Year Deal At Pop
(http://deadline.com/2015/03/daytimeemmy-awards-return-tv-multiyear-deal-pop-1201384383/)
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Birdman, Still Alice & More Shine
/birdman-still-alice-imitationgame-oscar-winners-box-oce1201383968/)
SAG Awards 2016 Shi#s To A Saturday
/sag-awards-2016-new-date-saturday1201381233/)
beast-the-contenders-1201282888/)
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Director Dean DeBlois (http://deadline.com/tag/deandeblois/), producer Bonnie Arnold (http://deadline.com

/tag/bonnie-arnold/) and voice cast stars Jay Baruchel,
http://deadline.com/2015/02/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-interv...
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The Box Oce:
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Alice' & More Shine
America Ferrara and Djimon Hounsou participated in a lively

panel that I
moderated. The
Oscar
winners Birdman, Whiplash and
Theory of Everything are
available on
lm, the sequel to

the Oscarnominated 2010
original and said
to now be the
second in
a Dragon trilogy,
has been making impressive strides in the race despite tough
competition , particularly from Disneys Big Hero 6 and Focus
Features and Laikas The Boxtrolls which both picked up a
single Annie Saturday night. When arch rival The Lego
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/2015/03/birdman-stillalice-imitation-game-oscarwinners-box-oce1201383968/)
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Oh, the rending of

garments
concerning Birdman's Oscar
win over American
this Dragon. If the idea that being a sequel could be a

hindrance, consider the fact that the original Dragon actually
lost to Toy Story 3. so there is precedent for a No. 2 to ride to
victory, although its rare.
Dragon has been praised for its lush visuals and strong
emotional punch , and the lmmakers and cast told me the
whole behind-the-scenes story of how they turned this lm
into magic for DreamWorks Animation (http://deadline.com
/tag/dreamworks-animation/) , which although it won the
/2015/02/when-oscarmet-tony-art-versuscommerce-collidesat-awards-shows-media1201380443/)
rst Animated Feature Oscar for Shrek, hasnt returned to the

winners circle since 2005 when Wallace & Gromit: The Curse
Of The Were-Rabbit ( the Aardman lm that was not a

home-grown DWA project) took the top prize.
Check out the video to see my interview.
AWARDS NEWSLETTER (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/AWARDSNEWSLETTER/), BONNIE ARNOLD (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/BONNIEARNOLD/), DEAN DEBLOIS (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/DEANDEBLOIS/), DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM
/TAG/DREAMWORKS-ANIMATION/), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
(HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/HOW-TO-TRAIN-YOUR-DRAGON-2/),
OSCARS (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/OSCAR/)
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(HTTP://DEADLINE.COM
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3/3/15 10:18 AM
How To Train Your Dragon 2 dominates this years Annie Award...
http://www.avclub.com/article/how-train-your-dragon-2-domina...
NEWSWIRE
How To Train Your Dragon 2 dominates this

years Annie Awards
By Gwen Ihnat @gwenemarie
Feb 2, 2015 1:46 PM
79 Comments
The How To Train Your Dragon sequel paid off big for DreamWorks over the weekend
at the 42nd annual Annie Awards, which were held Saturday at UCLAs Royce Hall.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, How To Train Your Dragon 2 won six awards,
including best animated feature and best director for writer-director Dean DeBlois,
as well as recognition for character animation, editing, music, and storyboarding.
1 of 4
3/3/15 10:22 AM
How To Train Your Dragon 2 dominates this years Annie Award...
http://www.avclub.com/article/how-train-your-dragon-2-domina...
Also in features, Focus and Laikas The Boxtrolls won awards for production design
and voice acting, as Ben Kingsley was awarded for his role as Archibald Snatcher.
The Book Of Life won an award for character design. For animated effects, Disneys
Big Hero 6 won for an animated feature and Edge Of Tomorrow for a live-action
production. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes won for character animation in a
live-action production.
And although Warner Bros. The LEGO Movie received the award for Outstanding
Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures at the Producers Guild Awards the
previous week, it won just one Annie, a writing award for writers-directors Phil Lord
and Christopher Miller.
In TV animation, Disneys Gravity Falls was named Best Animated TV/Broadcast
Production For A Childrens Audience, while The Simpsons won for Best General
Audience. Amazons new Tumble Leaf series won for Best Animated TV/Broadcast
Production For Preschool Children.
Disney Mickey Mouse won five awards, including writing, directing, and voicework.
The Legend Of Korra won a storyboarding award, and Disneys Wander Over Yonder
won for character design and animation. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was named
best animated special production.
Ubisofts Valiant Hearts: The Great War was named best video game, while the
companys Assassins Creed Unity won for character animation.
FILED UNDER: Film, The Legend Of Korra, Gravity Falls, The Lego Movie, The Boxtrolls, How To Train
Your Dragon 2, Wander Over Yonder
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DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a big winner at the 42nd annual Annie
Awards as it dominated the event with six victories, including awards for best director for Dean DeBlois
and best animated feature.
Now, Deblois has opened up about his future plans for his fire-breathing character in the upcoming film to
complete the trilogy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, DeBlois has shared that he has competed half of the script for the
third How to Train Your Dragon film.
It continues to track Hiccups coming of age, but its also equally shared now that Hiccup and Toothless
are chiefs of their clans, DeBlois explained. The story also follows Toothless storyline, and I think
audiences will like that because they seem to respond well to Toothless antics and what seems to be going
on in his head.
Interestingly, the 44-year-old director also shared that the third film will not necessarily follow the story
where the second one left off. Rather, it will jump back and forth in different time settings, showing the
story of Hiccup within different periods in his life.
DeBlois also mentioned that the upcoming third film will be his last one to direct. Putting forward the
trilogy emphasizes Hiccups coming of age and how his story ends.
If the How to Train Your Dragon world leads to more sequels, I think it will be in a creatively different
direction, the Canadian director said. Its a possibility but not something that Im currently developing.
Aside from being recognized as the best animated feature and having directing honors, How to Train Your
Dragon 2 also nabbed awards for feature character design, music and storyboarding.
A huge win gives Dragon 2 a bigger push for the Academy Awards as it will compete with other feature
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films such as Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, Song of the Sea and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Aside
from winning at the Annie Awards, How to Train Your Dragon 2 also bagged huge awards at the recently
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3/3/15 10:23 AM
DreamWorks soars at Annie Awards | Toys 'n' Playthings
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How to Train Your Dragon 2 named Best

Animated Feature at the specialist animation
awards
The year of the Dragon continues, as DreamWorks
Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2 took home the top
prize at the 42nd annual Annie Awards, honouring the best in
film and TV broadcast animation for 2014.
As well as the prestigious Best Animation Feature award, How
to Train Your Dragon 2 also picked up Best Directing, Best
Editorial, Best Storyboarding, Best Music, and Best Character
Animation
DreamWorks Animations Apollo Software won the Ub Iwerks
technical achievement award.
The win for How to Train Your Dragon 2 gives the film some momentum going into the Academy Awards on 22 Feb, where
it will compete with Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, Song of the Sea and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya for the Best Animated
Feature Oscar.
The animation has already won a Golden Globe, so the Annie win is the second major result for Dragon 2 during awards
season.
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Annie Awards: 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Director on Tooth...
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1
4 WKS
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/annie-awards...
Annie Awards: 'How to Train Your Dragon 2'

Director on Toothless' Storyline in Next Film
2:39 PM PST 2/1/2015 by Carolyn Giardina
137
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Email (#)
Print (/print/768932)
Comments
"I'm halfway through the script," said writer-director Dean DeBlois,

as 'Dragon 2' won six Annies, including best animated feature and best director.
(http://j.mp
/162dbro#comments)
Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation LLC
At Saturday's Annie Awards, Dean DeBlois the writer-director of Dreamworks

Animation's How to Train Your Dragon 2 discussed his plans to give Toothless a bigger
role in the third film of the trilogy.
During the ceremony, held at UCLA's Royce Hall,
Recommended
Dragon 2 dominated the competition with six

awards, including best animated feature and best
director for DeBlois.
Read more 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Named
1.
Zendaya
Best Animated Feature at Annie Awards
Responds to Giuliana
(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/how-trainRancic's Apology 5
your-dragon-2-768827)
days ago
hollywoodreporter.com
Catching up with The Hollywood Reporter, DeBlois
Read More
TheHollywoodReporter.comsaid of the third film: "I'm halfway through the script.
Hilary Lewis Hilary
It continues to track Hiccup's coming of age, but it's
Lewis Giuliana
also equally shared now that Hiccup and Toothless
Rancic Style
are chiefs of their clans. The story also follows
Toothless' storyline, and I think audiences will like

that because they seem to respond well to Toothless' antics and what seems to be going on
in his head."
Academy Award-nominated Dragon 2 picks up five years after the story in the Oscar-
1 of 3
3/3/15 10:24 AM
Annie Awards: 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Director on Tooth...
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/annie-awards...
nominated 2010 film. DeBlois said the third installment would "continue to play with the
timeline, but the story itself doesn't jump years ahead; it actually plays back in time and
forward. So there's an element of meeting Hiccup at different period of his life.
Read more
"This is the last one that I'll be directing," he confirmed. "This [trilogy] tracks the
completion of Hiccup's coming of age and ends this specific story. If the How to Train Your
Dragon world leads to more sequels, I think it will be in a creatively different direction. It's
a possibility but not something that I'm currently developing."
E-mail: Carolyn.Giardina@THR.com (mailto:Carolyn.Giardina@THR.com)
Twitter: @CGinLA (https://twitter.com/cginla)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (HTTP://WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM/CATEGORY/TOPICS-PROJECTS/MOVIES/TRAINDRAGON)
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (HTTP://WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM/CATEGORY/TOPICS-ENTITIES/STUDIOS

/DREAMWORKS-ANIMATION)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (HTTP://WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM/CATEGORY/PROJECTS/MOVIES/HOW-TRAINYOUR-DRAGON-2-0)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3 (HTTP://WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM/CATEGORY/PROJECTS/MOVIES/HOW-TRAINYOUR-DRAGON-3)
137
10
Email (#)
Comments
(http://j.mp
THR's
/162dbro#comments)
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2 of 3
3/3/15 10:24 AM
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Grabs 6 Annie Awards | Thompso...
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/how-to-train...
'How to Train Your Dragon

2' Grabs 6 Annie Awards
By Bill Desowitz | Thompson on Hollywood
February 1, 2015 at 1:01AM
E-MAIL
TOH! Today
TOH! Alerts
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'How to Train Your Dragon 2' gains more

momentum, but the all-important BAFTAs
could change the dynamic again in this
very tight Oscar animation race.
TOH
Nicole Kidman Talks Sensual Thriller

'Strangerland'
1 of 12
3/3/15 10:27 AM
"How to Train Your Dragon 2" followed up its

Golden Globe win with ASIFA Hollywood's top
prize at the 42nd annual Annie Awards Saturday
night at UCLA's Royce Hall. The Oscar contender
from beleaguered DreamWorks Animation won six
Annies (also for director Dean DeBlois,
character animation, editing, storyboarding and
music by John Powell and Jonsi).
What this means exactly for the Oscar race is still
unclear because the BAFTA winner has historically
gone on to win the Oscar for best animated feature
and "Dragon 2" isn't even nominated. So unless "The
Lego Movie" plays spoiler again, helping "Dragon 2,"
a win for either "Big Hero 6" or "The Boxtrolls"
would shi!t momentum once again.
DeBlois explained the personal importance of "Dragon
2" to me backstage: "This film is personal to me in the
sense that I was 19 when my father passed away as
well, so what Hiccup goes through in
the story as far as not being prepared for losing
someone as instrumental in your development as a
parent and having to rely on the lessons learned
forces him to push childhood behind, as I had to."
BAFTA Rising Star Jack O'Connell on 3

Breakout Flicks
NYU Prof Spike Lee Backs New Models

and Filmmakers
How Wenders and the Salgados found

'Salt of the Earth'
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that this girl has something
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best is
Career Watch: For Jennifer Lawrence, If It Ain't Broke
2 of 12
3/3/15 10:27 AM
Laika's stop-motion Oscar contender, "The

Boxtrolls." earned two Annies (voice actor
Ben Kingsley as the charming and diabolical
Snatcher and production design); Disney's "Big
Hero 6" won the Annie for best animated e"ects;
and "The Lego Movie" took the writing honors for
Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Meanwhile, Disney's
"Feast" won for best short, making Patrick
Osborne's adorable and hilarious dog-centric work
the favorite for the Oscar. And Weta Digital took
the live-action character animation award for
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," giving it an
extra boost in its VFX Oscar bid. And Sony Pictures
Imageworks took animated VFX honors for
the spidery aliens in "Edge of Tomorrow."
This year's Winsor McCay lifetime achievement
award went to producers Didier Brunner ("The
Triplets of Belleville:) and Lee Mendelson ("Charlie
Brown"), and legendary animator Don Lusk ("The
Smurfs"); the June Foray benevolent service award
By
Fanfareth:
The second series was not as

impacting and perfect as the rst
one, because it had a di"erent kind
of story. But it still had that magic
Broadchurch Returns, a Disappointing Shell of Its

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Athena:
Agreed. Jennifer Lawrence is an

incredible talent who continues to
make smart choices..."an ambitious
character actress" with talen

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FESTIVALS ON
technical achievement award went to DreamWorks

Animation's new Apollo So!tware; and the Annie
Special Achievement award was given to the Walt
Disney Family Museum.
Watch: SXSW Trailer for 'Uncle John'
Ratchets Up Small Town Tensions
(Exclusive)
3 of 12
3/3/15 10:27 AM
In Praise of How to Train Your Dragon 2 | Awards Daily
http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/02/in-praise-of-how-to-t...
In Praise of How to Train Your Dragon 2
I cant really get behind the anger over the Lego Movie snub. I know that it was extremely
popular and that it had a clever screenplay and it made a point about American consumerist
culture. The problem I have with it? At the end of the day, its still a toy brand. In effect, the
Lego Movie, like Transformers, is really just a kicked-up version of a feature-length
commercial for a brand. Sure, one could argue that all of tent-pole cinema now is branded
that the sequels themselves are brands, that any comic book film is a brand. Any films that
sell toys and merch are branded. To me, its NOT quite the same thing as a movie selling
Legos.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 won big at the Annies, which seemed to cause some grumbling
among Lego fans. But to me, they picked the right movie to honor.
Today the Superbowl will launch the best in advertising. The football game will come almost
second to the excitement over the commercials. Selling shit is really what America is all
about. Movies are made to make money, certainly. The formula is the formula. As an old
5 of 7
3/3/15 10:32 AM
timer in the days before branding became so all-consuming I still lean towards celebrating
originality in art. Its a gray area to be sure and arguments can be made in both directions.
At the end of the day, for me, I just cant see The Lego Movie as anything but an ad.
However great the Burger King commercial will be today, or the Go Daddy commercial or
the Budweiser commercial or the McDonalds commercial however good they are they are
still ads. Artistry can be brought to them and they should be rewarded in the advertising
field for great and innovative advertising but can films still be films? And ads still be ads?
Ive watched this sink into full blown commercialism starting back when Pirates of the
Caribbean became a movie. Really? A movie about an amusement park ride? Thats what
the world was coming to and thats what the world became. That is what our world is. We
embrace consumerist culture in every aspect because Hollywood makes its maximum
profits from pre-awareness. What kid didnt play with Legos? Who hasnt been to
Disneyland?
The first How to Train Your Dragon was so good it should have won Best Animated Feature
that year. It didnt because you cant get in the way of the Pixar train. This year, both Dragon
2 and Big Hero 6 are innovative, original, brilliantly executed stories that take animation to
new heights. Dragon 2 is as good, if not better, than the first one. Breathtaking animation
that should be rewarded.
The Lego Movie fits into some category, just not really in the animation category. Whatever
it is it marks, to me, the day everything really changed to where it doesnt matter anymore
whether youre watching a full length advertisement or not as long as its entertaining.
Though I give the Academy a lot of shit for how they continually and systematically shut out
women, I have to applaud their efforts in this category, despite what the popular opinion is.
The animators in the Academy are traditionalists, thus, they reward animation as art, not as
pop culture.
Dreamworks animation is one of the few studios that really does support women in all
aspects of their company. Both How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2 are both about preserving
the natural world, and loving our animal friends. Theyre spectacular while also being good
6 of 7
3/3/15 10:32 AM
for humanity overall. Not to sound like an Academy voter but really, its hard not to admire
these films.
POSTED IN:
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ANIMATED FEATURE
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
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Sasha Stone has been around the Oscar scene since 1999. Almost everything
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reign supreme?
2

92

Oscars?
62

Supporting Actor?
"How to Train Your Dragon 2" solidified its lead for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars by
dominating the Annie Awards on Saturday. This DreamWorks Animation blockbuster won six of its 10
bids at the 42nd annual edition of these kudos, including the top prize as well as Director, Character
Animation, Editing, Music and Storyboarding.
Among those it edged out here for Best Animated Feature were all of its Oscar rivals:
"The Boxtrolls," which led with 13 nominations, won just two (Production Design and Voice Acting by
Oscar winner Ben Kingsley).
363

April 26
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"Big Hero 6" prevailed in just one of its seven races: Animated Effects
"Song of the Sea" was shut out despite seven nominations as was "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya"
in three categories.
And what of Oscar-snubbed "The Lego Movie"? It won one of its five bids: Writing.

Last year, "Frozen" won five of its 10 Annies bids, including Best
Animated Feature, which it also took at the Oscars. One of its Oscar
Oscars mystery solved: How 'Big
rivals, "The Croods," picked up three prizes and another, "The Wind
Rises," won the writing award. One of the other two Oscar contenders -Related Articles
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3/3/15 10:34 AM
Why do Oscars hate sequels?
"Despicable Me 2" -- prevailed with just one of its nine bids while the
other -- "Ernest and Celestine" -- was shut out entirely. Aside from the
top trophy, "Frozen" also claimed Direction, Music, Production Design
and Voice Acting (Josh Gad as the snowman). "The Croods" took
Animated Effects, Character Animation and Character Design.
"Monsters University" won Storyboarding and Editorial. And Animated
Short went to "Get a Horse," which famously lost the Oscar to "Mr
Hublot."
Oscars: Gold Derby odds

predicted 20 of 24 winners
Since the Oscars introduced Best Animated Feature in 2001, the Annies
have previewed the winner in nine out of 13 years; the exceptions were:
Animated Feature
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804

2006: "Cars" (Annie), "Happy Feet" (Oscar);

2008: "Kung Fu Panda" (Annie), "WALL-E" (Oscar);
2010: "How to Train Your Dragon" (Annie), "Toy Story 3" (Oscar); and
2012: "Wreck-It Ralph" (Annie), "Brave" (Oscar).
Disney, which led all studios with 28 nominations, also won here with "Feast," which leads our odds
for Best Animated Short at the Oscars. And on the TV side, "Mickey Mouse" walked away with five
awards.

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"How to Train Your Dragon 2," DreamWorks Animation
Directing in an Animated Feature

Dean DeBlois, "How to Train Your Dragon 2"; DreamWorks Animation
Writing in an Animated Feature
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, "The LEGO Movie"; Warner Bros. Pictures
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature
Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher, "The Boxtrolls"; Focus Features/Laika
Animated Effects in an Animated Feature
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik, "Big Hero 6"; Walt
Disney Animation Studios
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Character Animation in an Animated Feature

Fabio Lignini, "How to Train Your Dragon 2"; DreamWorks Animation
Production Design in an Animated Feature
Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure, August Hall, "The Boxtrolls"; Focus Features/Laika
Animated Effects in a Live Action Feature
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist, "Edge of
Tomorrow"; Sony Pictures Imageworks
Character Animation in a Live Action Feature
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic, "Dawn of the Planet
of the Apes"; Weta Digital
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'How To Train Your Dragon 2' wins Best Animated

Feature at 42nd Annie Awards
The 42nd Annual Annie Awards were handed out on a busy Saturday night in the awards world
and "How To Train Your Dragon 2" was the big winner.
The DreamWorks Animation blockbuster (it's true) took home six Annies including Best
Animated Feature and Directing (Dean DeBlois). While the entire Academy votes on the Best
Animated Feature category, this endorsement from the animation community can't hurt in a
very competitive year.
Other big winners included "The Simpsons," Amazon's "Tumble Leaf" and Oscar frontrunner
"Feast" for the Best Animated Short Subject honor. "The Boxtrolls'" Sir Ben Kingsley took
home the award for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production and Phil Lord and
Christoper Miller won for Writing in an Animated Feature for "The LEGO Movie."
A complete list of this year's honorees is as follows:
"How to Train Your Dragon 2," DreamWorks Animation
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Dean DeBlois, "How to Train Your Dragon 2"; DreamWorks Animation
Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Aaron Springer, "Disney Mickey Mouse"; Disney Television Animation
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
"The Simpsons," Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For a Childrens Audience
"Gravity Falls," Disney Television Animation
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
"Tumble Leaf," Amazon Studios
Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, "The LEGO Movie"; Warner Bros. Pictures
Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Darrick Bachman, "Disney Mickey Mouse"; Disney Television Animation
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher, "The Boxtrolls"; Focus Features/Laika
Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy and Grandma, "Disney Mickey Mouse"; Disney Television
Animation
"Flight of the Stories," Aardman Animations

"Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey," Voyager Pictures LLC
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure, August Hall, "The Boxtrolls"; Focus Features/Laika
Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Narina Sokolova, "Mickey Shorts"; Disney
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
Fabio Lignini, "How to Train Your Dragon 2"; DreamWorks Animation
Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Justin Nichols, "Wander Over Yonder"; Disney Television Animation
Mike Mennillo, "Assassin's Creed Unity"; Ubisoft
Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic, "Dawn of the
Planet of the Apes"; Weta Digital
"Feast," Walt Disney Animation Studios
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist, "Edge
of Tomorrow"; Sony Pictures Imageworks
Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik, "Big Hero 6";
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-wins-bestanimated-feature-at-42nd-annie-awards#MZ5fRPB2K5sZIcYz.99
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NEW YORK - The DreamWorks sequel "How to Train Your Dragon 2" topped
the 42nd Annie Awards, taking Best Animated Feature at the annual honors for
animation.
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In the Saturday night ceremony hosted at the Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in
Los Angeles, "How to Train Your Dragon 2" won five awards in all. It also took
Best Director for Dean DeBlois, as well as prizes for feature character design,
storyboarding and music.
05
"Dragon" bested Disney's top contender, the superhero tale "Big Hero 6." But the
Disney short film that preceded "Hero" in theaters, "Feast," won Best Short
Subject.
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Warner Bros.' acclaimed but Oscar-snubbed "The Lego Movie" won the Annie for
best feature writing.
"How to Train Your Dragon 2" will head to the Feb. 22 Oscars as the
best-animation favorite.
In television categories, "The Simpsons" won for best general audience
production. Amazon's "Tumble Leaf" picked up the award for preschool children's
television, while Disney's "Gravity Falls" won for children's audience.
Ubisoft's "Valiant hearts: The Great War" won for Best Animated Video Game.
Jason Rayner, who produced the animated short "My Big Brother" while attending
Savannah College of Art and Design, won the Annie for Best Student Film. (You
can watch it by clicking on the video embed below.)
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DreamWorks' 'How to Train Your

Dragon 2' tops Annie Awards over
'Lego Movie,' 'Big Hero 6'
FILE - This file image released by DreamWorks Animation shows a scene from "How To Train Your
Dragon 2." The DreamWorks sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2 topped the 42nd Annie Awards, taking
best feature at the annual honors for animation, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, on the UCLA campus in Los
Angeles. How to Train Your Dragon won five awards in all. It also took best director for Dean DeBlois,
as well as prizes for feature character design, storyboarding and music. (AP Photo/DreamWorks
Animation, File)
Associated Press
1 of 3
Feb. 1, 2015 | 12:31 p.m. EST
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3/3/15 10:42 AM
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' tops Annie Awards - US News
http://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2015/02/0...
NEW YORK (AP) The DreamWorks sequel "How to Train Your Dragon 2" topped the 42nd Annie
Awards, taking best feature at the annual honors for animation.
In the Saturday night ceremony hosted at the Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, "How to
Train Your Dragon" won five awards in all. It also took best director for Dean DeBlois, as well as prizes for
feature character design, storyboarding and music.
"Dragon" bested Disney's top contender, the superhero tale "Big Hero 6." But the film that preceded
"Hero" in theaters, "Feast," won best short film.
Warner Bros.' acclaimed but Oscar-snubbed "The Lego Movie" won for the Annie best feature writing.
"How to Train Your Dragon 2" will head to the Feb. 22 Oscars as the best-animation favorite.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Tops Annie Awards

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Mickey

Mouse Shorts Dominate Annie Awards
BY AMID AMIDI ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2015 12:58 AM
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After a difficult week for DreamWorks in which they announced the largest
layoff ever, the studio dominated the Annie Awards tonight. Their film How
to Train Your Dragon 2 won the Annie Award for best feature film, which
now sets it up as the favorite to win the Oscar.
FOLLOW US
Dragon 2 also picked up five other honors, including directing (Dean

DeBlois), character animation (Fabio Lignini) and music (John Powell and
Jnsi).
SIGN UP FOR CARTOON BREW
A number of other features took home one or two awards apiece. The LEGO
Movie won best writing (Phil Lord and Chris Miller), The Book of Life won
SUBMIT
character design (Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez), Big

Hero 6 won animated effects (Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David
Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik), and The Boxtrolls won production
design (Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure, August Hall), and voice acting (Sir Ben
TOP COMMENTS
Kingsley).
LAST TWO WEEKS OF POSTS
On the TV side, Disneys Mickey Mouse shorts dominated the voting

categories with a surprising six wins. Also, The Simpsons won best general
audience TV program, Gravity Falls won TV program for children, Tumble
a TV prize at the Annies.
TOP TWITTER
COMMENTS
Proof That Oscar

Voters Are Clueless
188
Animation Is Not A
Genre: Oscar Edition
130
Disney Sweeps!
Big Hero
97
One Corporation Cannot

Own the Animated
78
Cartoon Network Plays

It Safe with Their
68
Leaf won TV program for preschool. The latter series, which was produced
for Amazon, marks the first time that an Internet streaming series has won
TOP FACEBOOK
Disneys latest short Feast, directed by Patrick Osborne, won the short
1 of 8
3/3/15 10:47 AM
subject category, while Jason Rayners My Big Brother, a film from
VIDEOS
Savannah College of Art and Design, won the best student film. My Big
Brother premiered online last year as one of the winners of Cartoon Brews
Student Animation Festival.
The thing that perhaps stood out most to me as I watched the ceremony via
SPECTATORS BY
LIFE CLASS BY
LE GOUFFRE BY
ROSS HOGG
CHRIS SHEPHERD
LIGHTNING BOY STUDIO
MONSTRO! BY
BORDER BY PLAN78
SO LONG, YUPI BY
livestream was the near complete absence of women from the stage. More
women actually presented awards than accepted them as winners. Among
the forty-four winners of awards in the individual achievement and juried
categories, 41 of them were men (93%).
CHRIS ROMANO
ANA RAMIREZ
Yes, a greater percentage of men work in animation, but the divide is not
nearly so great as suggested by the imbalance at tonights awards. To put it
another way, the Annie Award voters felt that just three women made
exemplary contributions to animation throughout all of 2014. Theres
simply no defense for this kind of patriarchy in our industry.
But its not just the lack of women that caused a raised eyebrow. Only two of
the 44 individual/juried winners appeared to be Hispanic (and those two
were a husband-and-wife team winning the same award) and zero winners
were African-American. This isnt about political correctness; its about the
basic expectation that all the work created in the industry will be
considered and that the finest work will be rewarded, regardless of its
FEATURED GALLERY
creators ethnicity or gender. The animation industry that I know is far

more diverse and vibrant than the select group of people who were
recognized tonight.
The point about the industrys diversity was made most poignantly by Lee
Mendelson, one of the Winsor McCay award honorees. Mendelson, who
produced all of the classic Charlie Brown TV specials, made a plea for
POPEYE REMIXED BY
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS
immigration reform during his speech, pointing out that the Peanuts
specials would have never happened without Bill Melendez, the
Mexican-born director of Peanuts animation. Mendelson also gave a
shout-out to veteran animator Phil Roman, the Mexican-American animator
whose studio, Film Roman, produced The Simpsons for many years.
FULL AWARDS SEASON COVERAGE

Animation Is Not
A Genre: Oscar
Edition
A complete list of winners is below:
PRODUCTION CATEGORIES
Disney Sweeps!
Big Hero
6 and
Feast Win
Oscars
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation

Proof That Oscar

Voters Are
Clueless About
Animation
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Voyager Pictures LLC

2 of 8
3/3/15 10:47 AM
Feast- Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial
Flight of the Stories Aardman Animations
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For
Preschool Children
A One-Hour
Documentary
About
The Making of
How To
Train Your Dragon
2
VIDEO: Patrick
Osborne Talks
Disneys
Feast
Tumble Leaf- Amazon Studios

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Childrens Audience
Gravity Falls Disney Television Animation
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production
The Simpsons The Simpsons
Best Animated Video Game
Valiant Hearts: The Great War Ubisoft
Oscar Ballot
Guide: Big
Hero 6
Acting and
Performance
Analysis
Oscar Ballot
Guide: Song
of the Sea Acting
and Performance
Analysis
Oscar Ballot
Guide: The
Boxtrolls Acting
and Performance
Analysis
Best Student Film

My Big Brother - Jason Rayner
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
LEGO
Movie Directors
Mock Oscars After
They Win BAFTA
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated

Production
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John
Kosnik Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action
Production
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner,
Viktor Lundqvist Edge of Tomorrow Sony Pictures Imageworks
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in an Animated
Television/Broadcast Production
Justin Nichols Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Feature
Production
Oscar Ballot
Guide: How
To Train Your
Dragon 2
Acting and
Performance
Big Hero
6 Sweeps at
the 13th Annual
VES Awards
Watch 27 Best
Animated Film
Oscar
Presentations
Oscar Ballot
Guide: The
Tale of The
Princess Kaguya
Acting and
Performance
Fabio Lignini How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action
Production
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3/3/15 10:47 AM
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan

Momcilovic Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Weta Digital
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Video Game
Mike Mennillo Assassins Creed Unity Ubisoft
Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated
How to
Train Your Dragon
2 and
Mickey Mouse
Shorts Dominate
Annie Awards
Watch the Annie
Awards Live on
Cartoon Brew
Tonight
TV/Broadcast Production
Benjamin Balistreri Wander Over Yonder - Disney Television
Animation
Identifying Great
Visual Effects
Work: A Short
Video Primer
Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated Feature

Production
Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez The Book of Life
Reel FX
Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast
Production
Aaron Springer Disney Mickey Mouse - Disney Television Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature
Production
Dean DeBlois How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast
Production
Christopher Willis Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television
Animation
Csar
Nominations:
Minuscule,
Jack and
the Cuckoo-Clock
Heart,
Guardians
of the Galaxy
Will Win Visual
Effects Oscar,
According to VFX
Predictinator
Oscar-Nominated
Shorts Get
Theatrical Release
Date
The LEGO
Movie Wins Best
Animated Film At
Critics Choice
Awards [Video]
Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production

John Powell, Jnsi How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks
Animation
Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated
Narina Sokolova Mickey Shorts- Disney
Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated Feature
Production
Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure & August Hall The Boxtrolls Focus
Features/Laika
Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast
4 of 8
3/3/15 10:47 AM
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Named Best Animated Feature at...
JAN
31
1 month
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/how-train-yo...
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Named Best

Animated Feature at Annie Awards
9:38 PM PST 1/31/2015 by Carolyn Giardina
781
818
10
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Comments
In all, 'Dragon' wins six trophies; 'Boxtrolls' wins two. 'Lego Movie'
wins one award, best writing for writer/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
(http://j.mp
/1AdHCYT#comments)
DreamWorks Animations How To Train Your Dragon 2 won big at the 42nd annual Annie
Awards, collecting six awards including best animated feature and best director for its
writer-director Dean DeBlois.
RECOMMENDED
(/news/sundance-2015-winnerslist-768840)
(/news/sundance2015-winnerslist-768840)
Sundance Awards: The
Warner Bros.' The LEGO Movie which earned the

PGA Award last weekend but was snubbed when the
Oscar nominations were announced won one
Annie, which was awarded to its writers-directors
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller for writing.
In addition to best animated feature and director,
How To Train Your Dragon 2 was honored for
character animation, editing, music and
storyboarding.
Accepting the directing award, DeBlois said a
director is only as good as the team, as he thanked
the 400 artists who worked on the film.
Referring to DWA's recent announcement of a
planned restructuring that would include 500 layoffs,
he added, We had a tough week but moments like
this we get to celebrate the work.
Added DeBlois: Animation is speaking to a broader
1 of 5
3/3/15 10:48 AM
Winners List
(/
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and broader audience and Im happy to be a part of

that progress.
Also in the feature categories, Focus and Laika's The
Boxtrolls won a pair of awards, for production design
and voice acting. The later went to Ben Kingsley for
his role as Archibald Snatcher.
Read more Sundance Awards: The Winners List
(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sundance2015-winners-list-768840)
Disney's Big Hero 6 won a trophy for animated

effects, and Fox's The Book of Life received an award
for character design.
How To Train Your Dragon 2, The Boxtrolls and Big
Hero 6 are nominated for the Oscar for best animated
feature, along with Annie nominees Song of the Sea
from Ireland's Cartoon Saloon and The Tale of The
Princess Kaguya, from Japan's Studio Ghibli, both of
which were distributed by GKIDS.
Also at the Annies, held Saturday evening at UCLA's
Royce Hall, best animated short subject was awarded
to Disneys Oscar nominee Feast. Another Oscar
nominee, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, won an
Annie for character animation in a live action feature.
(/news/making-lego-movie7-years-762327)
(/news/makinglego-movie-7-years762327)
Making of 'Lego Movie': 7

Years, a Trip to Denmark and a
Race Against the Disney-
Lucasfilm Deal Clock
(/
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In television categories, Disney Mickey Mouse earned

five trophies including for best direction. The
Simpsons was named best animated TV production.
During the ceremony, Winsor McCay lifetime
achievement awards were presented to producers
Didier Brunner and Lee Mendelson, and
animator Don Lusk; the June Foray benevolent
service award was given to author and critic Charles
Solomon; the Ub Iwerks technical achievement
award recognized DWA's Apollo software and a
Special Achievement Award honored the Walt Disney
Family Museum.
A complete list of winners follows.
Best Student Film
Jason Rayner My Big Brother Savannah College
of Art and Design
Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast
Production
Joaquim Dos Santos Legend of Korra, Venom of
the Red Lotus Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature
Production
Truong Tron Son Mai How to Train Your
Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation
Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast
Production
Illya Owens Disney Mickey Mouse Disney
Television Animation
2 of 5
3/3/15 10:48 AM
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

John K. Carr How to Train Your Dragon 2
Best Video Game
Character Design in an Animated
Benjamin Balistreri Wander Over Yonder
Disney Television Animation
Character Design in an Animated Feature
Production
Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez
The Book of Life Reel FX
Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast
Production
Christopher Willis Disney Mickey Mouse Disney
Music in an Animated Feature Production
John Powell, Jnsi How to Train Your Dragon 2
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins,
Henrik Falt, John Kosnik Big Hero 6 Walt
Disney Animation Studios
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist
Edge of Tomorrow Sony Pictures Imageworks
Feast Walt Disney Animation Studios
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic Dawn
of the Planet of the Apes Weta Digital
Character Animation in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Fabio Lignini How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation
Narina Sokolova Mickey Shorts Disney
Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure, August Hall The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika
3 of 5
3/3/15 10:48 AM

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial
Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy and Grandma Disney Mickey Mouse Disney
Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika
Darrick Bachman Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller The Lego Movie Warner Bros. Pictures
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children
Tumble Leaf Amazon Studios
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for a Childrens Audience
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production
The Simpsons Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Aaron Springer Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation
781
818
10
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(http://j.mp
THR's
/1AdHCYT#comments)
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http://variety.com/2015/film/news/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-...
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins

Annie Award for Animated
Feature
JANUARY 31, 2015 | 09:38PM PT
Terry Flores (http://variety.com/author/terry-flores/)

@VarietyTerry (http://twitter.com/@VarietyTerry)
Its the Year of the dragon, as DreamWorks Animations
took home the top
prize at the at the 42nd annual Annie Awards (http://variety.com/t/annie-awards/)
honoring the best in film and TV/broadcast animation for 2014. Dragon helmer
Dean DeBlois nabbed directing honors at Saturdays kudos, presented by
ASIFA-Hollywood at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 also picked up awards for feature character design
(Fabio Lignini), storyboarding (Truong Tron Son Mai) and music (John Power,
Jonsi).
1 of 4
3/3/15 10:51 AM
with the most awards, nine for Disney Television Animation (http://variety.com
/t/disney-television-animation/) alone and 11 overall. Disney Television
Animations Gravity Falls (http://variety.com/t/gravity-falls/) picked up the nod for
television/broadcast production for a childrens audience. Disney Mickey Mouse
(http://variety.com/t/disney-mickey-mouse/) picked up the most individual Annies
including directing in a TV/broadcast production (Aaron Springer), writing
(Darrick Bachman), editorial (Illya Owens), music (Christopher Willis) and voice
acting (Bill Farmer.) Wander Over Yonder added to the haul with awards in
character animation (Justin Nichols) and character design (Benjamin Balistreri).
And Narina Skolova added a win for her production design work on Mickey
Shorts.
Big Hero 6 added an award to the Disneys total for animated effects in an
animated production that went to Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David
Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik. And Feast, the animated short that
precedes Big Hero 6 on the bigscreen, won the prize for short film.
Ben Kingsleys turn as the villain Snatcher in Focus Features/Laikas The

Boxtrolls won him the Annie for voice acting in a feature production. The
Boxtrolls also picked up an award for feature production design for Paul
Lasaine, Tom McClure and August Hall.
The digital realm was heard from with Amazon Studios kids show Tumble Leaf
winning the prize for TV/broadcast production for a preschool children.
Warner Bros. popular The Lego Movie didnt go home empty-handed.

Filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller picked up an Annie for feature
writing.
The win for Dragon gives the film some momentum going into the Academy
Awards on Feb. 22, where it will compete with Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, and
GKids Song of the Sea and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. It has already
won the Golden Globe, so the Annie win is the second major kudo its picked up
during awards season.
The Annies have had a history of matching the Academy Award winners every
2 of 4
other year since 2006. Before that, the Annies matched all the Oscar winners
3/3/15 10:51 AM
winner Cars for the Acads trophy. Last years winner, Disneys Frozen, went
on to win the Oscar.
Other winners include The Simpsons for general audience animated

TV/broadcast production; Aardman Animations Flight of the Stories for
commercial; Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey for special production; Mike
Mennillo for character animation in a videogame for Assassins Creed Unity;
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for character animation in a live-action
production (Weta Digitals Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Terna, Alessandro
Bonora and Dejan Morncilovic); The Edge of Tomorrow for animated effects in
a live-action production (Sony Pictures Imageworks Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi
Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner and Victor Lundqvist); Reel FXs The
Book of Life for character design in an animated feature (Paul Sullivan, Sandra
Equihua and Jorge R. Guiterrez); Ubisofts Valiant Hearts: The Great War for
best videogame; Nickelodeons Legend of Korra, Venom of the Red Lotus for
TV/broadcast production storyboarding (Joaquim Dos Santos); and Jayson
Rayners My Big Brother for best student film.
Also honored at this years Annies ceremony were producers (http://variety411.com/us/los-angeles/producers/) Didier Brunner and Lee Mendelson, and
animator Don Lusk with the Winsor McCay lifetime achievement award; author
and critic Charles Solomon with the June Foray benevolent service award;
DreamWorks Animations Apollo Software with the Ub Iwerks techinical
achievement award; and the Walt Disney Family Museum with the Annie Special
Achievement award.
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'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Wins Top Prize at Annie Awards...
http://www.thewrap.com/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-wins-top-...
PARTNERS
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Top Prize at Annie Awards

(Complete List)
AWARDS | By Steve Pond on January 31, 2015 @ 10:03 pm
Follow @stevepond
Dreamworks Animation movie snags award for Best Animated Feature at Saturday
nights ceremony in Los Angeles
How to Train Your Dragon 2 was the dominant feature at Saturday nights Annie Awards, the main
awards show for animated films and television shows.
At awards given out by the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, the
DreamWorks Animation film beat Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls and The Lego Movie to be named
1 of 9
3/3/15 10:52 AM
the years best animated film. It also won awards for its directing, storyboarding, music, character
animation and editorial.
The six wins for Dragon were far more than its chief competitors. The Boxtrolls won for production
design and for Ben Kingsleys voice work, while Big Hero 6 won a single award, for animated
effects, and The Lego Movie won one, for writing.
Also read: The SpongeBob Movie Review: Swims in Silliness, Even on Dry Land
Dragon director Dean DeBlois sequel followed in the footsteps of his original 2010 movie, which
won 10 Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature. That win was controversial, because Disney
and Pixar which released the Oscar winner Toy Story 3 had withdrawn support of ASIFAHollywood, in a move that led to changes in the way the Annies were selected.
Under the new rules, Annies voters have typically spread the wealth among a number of films,
making the sweeping victory for Dragon more unexpected. With The Lego Movie failing to land
an Oscar nomination, DreamWorks Animation has an edge over Disneys Big Hero 6 for the
animated-feature Oscar.
See video: Sing Along With the First Trailer for George Lucas Animated Musical Strange
Magic (Video)
Disneys Oscar-nominated short Feast won the award for best animated short subject.
In the television categories, Disney Mickey Mouse won five awards, while Wander Over Yonder
won two. Other TV winners included Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, Tumble Leaf, Gravity Falls
and The Simpsons.
The winners:
Best Animated Feature: How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation
Best Animated Special Production: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Voyager Pictures LLC
Best Animated Short Subject: Feast Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial: Flight of the Stories Aardman Animations
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children: Tumble Leaf Amazon
Studios
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For a Childrens Audience: Gravity Falls
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production: The Simpsons Gracie
Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Best Video Game: Valiant Hearts: The Great War Ubisoft
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Best Student Film: Jason Rayner My Big Brother Savannah College of Art and Design
Animated Effects in an Animated Production: Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins,
Henrik Falt, John Kosnik Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production: Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola,
Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist Edge of Tomorrow- Sony Pictures Imageworks
Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Justin Nichols Wander
Over Yonder Disney Television Animation
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production: Fabio Lignini How to Train Your
Character Animation in a Live Action Production: Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema,
Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Weta Digital
Character Animation in a Video Game: Mike Mennillo Assassins Creed Unity Ubisoft
Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Benjamin Balistreri Wander Over
Yonder Disney Television Animation
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production: Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R.
Gutierrez The Book of Life Reel FX
Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Aaron Springer Disney Mickey Mouse
Directing in an Animated Feature Production: Dean DeBlois How to Train Your Dragon 2
Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Christopher Willis Disney Mickey Mouse
Music in an Animated Feature Production: John Powell, Jnsi How to Train Your Dragon 2
Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Narina Sokolova Mickey Shorts
Disney
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production: Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure, August Hall
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika
Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Joaquim Dos Santos Legend of
Korra, Venom of the Red Lotus Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production: Truong Tron Son Mai How to Train Your
Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy and
Grandma Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald
Snatcher The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika
Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Darrick Bachman Disney Mickey Mouse
3 of 9
3/3/15 10:52 AM

Writing in an Animated Feature Production: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller The LEGO Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Illya Owens Disney Mickey Mouse
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production: John K. Carr How to Train Your Dragon 2
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How To Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Annie Awards Best Anima...
http://deadline.com/2015/01/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-annie...
'How To Train Your Dragon 2

Wins Annie Awards' Top Honor
By Erik Pedersen
/author/epedersen/)
Managing Editor
THIS JUST IN:
January 31, 2015

Share
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(mailto:?subject=How
To Train Your Dragon 2
Wins Annie Awards
Top Honor&body=Check+out+this+article+from
%3A%0A%0Ahttp
%3A%2F
%2Fdeadline.com%2F2015%2F01%2FhowWe have an animated Oscar front-runner, ladies and
to-train-your-dragon2-annie-awardsgentlemen. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (http://deadline.com
winner-best-animatedfeature/tag/how-to-train-your-dragon-2/) dominated the 42nd
1201363894%2F)
annual Annie Awards (http://deadline.com/tag/annieawards/) tonight. The DreamWorks Animation
(http://deadline.com/tag/dreamworks-animation/) sequel
won Best Animated Feature, Best Director for Dean DeBlois
NBC Nightly News Wins February

Sweep In All Metrics, Despite Brian
Williams Suspension
/nbc-nightly-news-february-sweepwin-brian-williams-1201385139/)
Marc Grabo Joins Discovery As
President, Global Business & Legal
Aairs, Production and Studio
(http://deadline.com/2015/03/marcgrabo-joins-discovery-presidentbusiness-legal-aairs-productionstudio-1201385178/)
Sharknado 3 Hit By Strike
/sharknado-3-strike-iatse-crew-healthpension-agreement-1201385181/)
MORE (http://deadline.com)
THIS JUST IN:
Daytime Emmy Awards Return To TV

With Multi-Year Deal At Pop
(http://deadline.com/2015/03/daytimeemmy-awards-return-tv-multiyear-deal-pop-1201384383/)
(http://deadline.com/tag/dean-deblois/) and four other

trophies during the ceremony at UCLAs Royce Hall. Its two
studio rivals were way behind: Awards-season favorite but
Oscar-snubbed The Lego Movie won only one award, for Phil
Lord and Christopher Millers writing, and Disneys Big Hero 6
won only for animated eects.
RELATED (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/2015/01/ANNIE-AWARDS-
Oscars Halo At The Box Oce:

Birdman, Still Alice & More Shine
/birdman-still-alice-imitationgame-oscar-winners-box-oce1201383968/)
SAG Awards 2016 Shi$s To A Saturday
/sag-awards-2016-new-date-saturday1201381233/)
LIVE-BLOG-2015-ANIMATION-ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD-FILM-SOCIETY1201363750/)
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

AWARDS
1 of 7
3/3/15 10:53 AM
How Filmmakers
Breathed Fire Into
'How To Train Your
Dragon 2
Awardsline
42nd Annual Annie Awards Live Blog

(http://deadline.com/2015/01/annie-awardslive-blog-2015-animation-asifa-hollywoodlm-society-1201363750/)
Awardsline recently held

a special screening of
the Golden Globewinning
Since the Best Animated Feature Oscar category was

introduced, nine of the 13 winners also took the top prize at
the Annies. One of the years they didnt agree was in 2010,
when the Annies tapped How To Train Your Dragon over the
eventual Academy Award winner and Best Picture nominee
Toy Story 3. This years toon Oscar race had been
considered wide open in the wake of the snub for presumed
front-runner The Lego Movie. Rival studios were stunned by
the lack of a nom for the Warner Bros pic and immediately
started to ramp up their promo machines.
/2015/02/how-to-trainyour-dragon-2-interviewjay-baruchel-americaferrara-bonnie-arnold1201363156/)
AWARDS
42nd Annual Annie

Awards
Complete Winners
List
RELATED (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/2015/01/LEGO-MOVIE-OSCARSNUB-BEST-ANIMATED-FEATURE-NOMINEES-1201350843/)
Oscar Toon War? Lego Movie Bricks
DreamWorks
Animation's highying
sequel How To Train
Your Dragon 2 sailed
Nomination, Rivals Spring Into Action

(http://deadline.com/2015/01/lego-movieoscar-snub-best-animated-feature-nominees1201350843/)
Its a welcome dose of good news for DreamWorks Animation,

which has endured a string of underperforming lm that led
/2015/01/annie-awardwinners-2015-awardswinner-list-1201363829/)
to write-downs and eventual layos. Dragon 2, which had its

world premiere at the Cannes (http://deadline.com/2014/05
/cannes-dreamworks-animation-celebrates-20-as-a-dragonbreathes-re-on-to-the-festival-731998/), grossed only $177
million during its domestic run that began June 13. But
international audiences went along for the ride, and Dragon
2s overseas success made it the No. 1 animated movie

released in 2014 with $618 million worldwide.
RELATED (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/2015/01/HOW-TO-TRAINYOUR-DRAGON-2-DEAN-DEBLOIS-INTERVIEW-SEQUELSDREAMWORKS-ANIMATION-1201341336/)
How To Train Your Dragon 2 Director Dean
AWARDS
42nd Annual Annie

Awards Live Blog
There's a lot on the line
tonight for the Best
Animated Feature
nominees
/2015/01/annie-awardslive-blog-2015-animationasifa-hollywoodlm-society-1201363750/)
DeBlois On How To Make A Sequel

(http://deadline.com/2015/01/how-to-trainyour-dragon-2-dean-deblois-interview-sequelsdreamworks-animation-1201341336/)
The voice cast includes Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard

Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, Djimon
2 of 7
3/3/15 10:53 AM
Hounsou and Kit Harington.

Here is the complete list of winners for the 42nd annual Annie
Awards:
How to Train Your Dragon 2, DreamWorks Animation

Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon 2; DreamWorks
Animation
Aaron Springer, Disney Mickey Mouse; Disney Television
Animation
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast
Production
The Simpsons, Gracie Films in association with 20th Century

Fox Television
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For a
Childrens Audience
Gravity Falls, Disney Television Animation

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool
Children
Tumble Leaf, Amazon Studios

Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie; Warner Bros.
Pictures
Darrick Bachman, Disney Mickey Mouse; Disney Television
Animation
Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher, The
Boxtrolls; Focus Features/Laika

Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy and Grandma, Disney Mickey
Mouse; Disney Television Animation

Flight of the Stories, Aardman Animations

Best Animated Special Production|
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, Voyager Pictures LLC

Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure, August Hall, The Boxtrolls; Focus
Features/Laika
Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast
3 of 7
3/3/15 10:53 AM
Production
Narina Sokolova, Mickey Shorts; Disney
Character Animation in an Animated Feature
Production
Fabio Lignini, How to Train Your Dragon 2; DreamWorks
Animation
Character Animation in an Animated
Television/Broadcast Production
Justin Nichols, Wander Over Yonder; Disney Television
Animation
Mike Mennillo, Assassins Creed Unity; Ubiso$
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora,
Dejan Momcilovic, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; Weta
Digital
Feast, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Animated Eects in a Live Action Production
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul
Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist, Edge of Tomorrow; Sony Pictures
Imageworks
Animated Eects in an Animated Production
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt,
John Kosnik, Big Hero 6; Walt Disney Animation Studios
John Powell, Jnsi, How to Train Your Dragon 2; DreamWorks
Animation
Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Christopher Willis, Disney Mickey Mouse; Disney Television
Animation
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez, The Book of
Life; Reel FX
Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast
Production
Benjamin Balistreri, Wander Over Yonder; Disney Television
Animation
Best Video Game
Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Ubiso$

Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
John K. Carr, How to Train Your Dragon 2; DreamWorks
4 of 7
3/3/15 10:53 AM
Animation
Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Illya Owens, Disney Mickey Mouse; Disney Television
Animation
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Truong Tron Son Mai, How to Train Your Dragon 2;
Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast
Production
Joaquim Dos Santos, Legend of Korra, Venom of the Red
Lotus; Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Best Student Film
Jason Rayner, My Big Brother; Savannah College of Art and
Design
Winsor McCay Award
Didier Brunner
Lee Mendelson
Don Lusk
June Foray Award
Charles Solomon
Ub Iwerks Award
DreamWorks Animations Apollo So$ware
Special Achievement Award
The Walt Disney Family Museum
ANNIE AWARDS (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/ANNIE-AWARDS/), DEAN
DEBLOIS (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/DEAN-DEBLOIS/), DREAMWORKS
ANIMATION (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/DREAMWORKS-ANIMATION/),
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (HTTP://DEADLINE.COM/TAG/HOWTO-TRAIN-YOUR-DRAGON-2/)
DEADLINE.COM
AWARDS
42ND ANNUAL ANNIE
(HTTP://DEADLINE.COM
(HTTP://DEADLINE.COM) /2015/01/ANNIEAWARD-WINNERS- FLASH MOB
2015-AWARDS-
2015 Oscar Nominees Pictures: A Timeline Of Academy Awards Momentum
(http://deadline.com/gallery/2015-oscar-nominees-pictures/)
5 of 7
3/3/15 10:53 AM
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' wins Annie Award for best anima...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-e...
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' wins

Annie for best animated feature
By SUSAN KING
JANUARY 31, 2015, 10:30 PM
reamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon 2" was

named best animated film of 2014 at the 42nd Annie Awards
on Saturday evening at UCLA's Royce Hall.
The sequel to the 2010 hit about a young Viking teenager and his pet
dragon won a total of six awards. Besides best film, Dean DeBlois won for
director, Fabio Lignini for character animation, Truong "Tron" Son Mai
for storyboarding, John Powell and Jonsi for music, and John K. Carr for
editorial.
"How to Train Your Dragon 2" won the Golden Globe and is nominated
for an Academy Award for animated feature.
Focus Features/Laika's "The Boxtrolls" won for production design and in
the voice acting category for Ben Kingsley as Archibald Snatcher, Phil
Lord and Christopher Miller won for writing for Warner Bros.' "The Lego
Movie," Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Big Hero 6" earned an Annie for
animated effects, and Reel FX Animation Studios/Twentieth Century
Fox's "The Book of Life" received the honor for character design.
Disney's "Feast" won for animated short.
On the television side, winners included "The Simpsons" for general
audience animated television/broadcast production, "Cosmos: A
Spacetime Odyssey" for animated special production, "Gravity Falls" for
animated television/broadcast production for a children's audience, and
Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy and Grandma on "Disney's Mickey
Mouse."
Producers Didier Brunner and Lee Mendelson and veteran animator Don
Lusk won the Winsor McCay Award; author and critic Charles Solomon,
1 of 3
3/3/15 10:54 AM
'How to Train Your Dragon 2' wins Annie Award for best anima...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-e...
whose reviews films for the L.A. Times, received the June Foray Award, a
service honor; DreamWorks Animation's Apollo Software was the
recipient of the Ub Iwerks Award for technical achievement; and The Walt
Disney Family Museum earned the Annie Special Achievement Award.
The Annie Awards are presented by the The International Animated Film
Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, which promotes the art and craft of
animation.
See the complete list of winners and nominees here.
Twitter: @mymackie
Copyright 2015, Los Angeles Times
2 of 3
3/3/15 10:54 AM
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Best Animated Feature at th...
http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/405373-how-to-train...
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Best Animated

Feature at the Annie Awards
Following its win at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, DreamWorks

Animations How to Train You Dragon 2 took Best Animated
Feature top honors at ASIFA-Hollywoods 42nd Annual Annie
Awards held Saturday, January 31 at UCLAs Royce Hall.
The full list of nominees for the 42nd Annual Annie Awards
The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to Cosmos: A
Spacetime Odyssey (Voyager Pictures LLC); Best Animated Short
Subject to Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios); Best Animated
TV/Broadcast Commercial to Flight of the Stories (Aardman
Animations); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast
Production for Preschool Children to Tumble Leaf (Amazon
Studios); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Childrens
Audience to Gravity Falls (Disney Television Animation); Best
General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production to The
Simpsons (Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox
Television); Best Animated Video Game to Valiant Hearts: The
Great War (Ubisoft); and Best Student Film to My Big Brother
(Savannah College of Art and Design, Jason Rayner).
The Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual
achievement in a total of 36 categories from best feature,
production design, character animation, and effects animation to
storyboarding, writing, music, editing and voice acting, and have
often been a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best
Animated Feature. A complete list of winners can be viewed at
AnnieAwards.org.
2 of 3
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How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Best Animated Feature at th...
http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/405373-how-to-train...
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Dragon 2, Mickey Dominate 42nd Annie Awards
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Dragon 2, Mickey Dominate 42nd Annie

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Print
The big night has come and gone and it was a good one for
DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Disney TV
Animations Mickey Mouse.
Recent Posts
Dragon 2 dominated the feature categories with six awards, including best
Nick Premieres 'Harvey Beaks'
animated feature, character animation in a feature film, directing in an
March 29
animated feature, music in animated feature, storyboarding in an animated
March 2, 2015
feature and editorial in an animated feature.

NFB-Produced 'Me and My
Disneys Mickey Mouse also won six awards for the night in the animated TV or broadcast categories:
Moulton' Takes CSA Animated
directing, music, production design, voice acting, writing and editorial.
Short Award
March 2, 2015
Meanwhile, The Boxtrolls won two statues, while LEGO Movie, Big Hero 6 and The Book of Life were
all recognized with one win each.
The Simpsons won the best TV/broadcast show honor, while Patrick Osbornes Feast took home the
Film London Introduces U.S.

Execs to Local Animation Scene
March 2, 2015
award for best animated short.
Congratulations to all the winners and to the nominees. The full list of nominees follows, with the
Add 'Neverbeast,' 'Mockingjay' to
winners in bold.
Your Disc Menagerie

March 2, 2015
Production Categories
Illustrator Mel Crawford Dies at

89
March 2, 2015
Featured Trailers
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Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios

The Book of Life Reel FX
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika
Cheatin Plymptoons Studio
The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. Pictures
Song of the Sea GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
'Paddington' Trailer
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya GKIDS/Studio Ghibli

'Strange Magic' Trailer
'Jupiter Ascending' Trailer

Dawn of the Dragon Racers DreamWorks Animation
'The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of
How Murray Saved Christmas Universal Television
Water' Trailer
Polariffic Bent Image Lab

Toy Story That Time Forgot Pixar Animation Studios
'Kingsman: The Secret Service'

Trailer
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Coda 62 George Street

The Dam Keeper Tonko House LLC
Featured Gallery
Duet Glen Keane Productions

Inside Homer The Simpsons Couch Gag (Episode #549) Acme Filmworks
Me and My Moulton National Film Board of Canada
The Raven Moonbot Studios
Silent Creative Artists Agency
Strange Magic

Citizen M: Swan Song Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Plastic Wax
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children

Doc McStuffins Disney Channel / Disney XD
Peter Rabbit Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Wallykazam! Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Zack & Quack Zodiak Kids
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For a Childrens Audience

Adventure Time Cartoon Network
The Legend of Korra Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Over The Garden Wall Cartoon Network
Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation
2 of 9
3/3/15 10:56 AM
Archer FX Networks
Back To Backspace Cartoon Network Studios
Bobs Burgers Bento Box Entertainment
Rick and Morty Starburns Industries, Inc.
Mike Tyson Mysteries Warner Bros. Animation
Regular Show Cartoon Network Studios
The Simpsons The Simpsons
Best Video Game

Forza Horizon 2 Microsoft Turn 10 Studios
Child of Light Ubisoft
Best Student Film

After School Junyi Xiao
Dead Over Heels Jose Matheu
El Coyote Javier Barboza
Frogs Legs Katie Tamboer
My Big Brother Jason Rayner
Tiny Nomad Toniko Pantoja
Achievement Categories
Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David
Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik
The Book of Life Reel FX Augusto Schillaci, Erich Turner, Bill Konersman, Chris Rasch, Joseph
Burnette
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Rick Sevy, Peter Vickery, Kent Estep, Peter Stuart, Ralph
Procida
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation James Jackson, Lucas Janin, Tobin Jones,
Baptiste Van Opstal, Jason Mayer.
The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. Pictures Jayandera Danappal, Matt Ebb, Christian Epunan
Hernandez, Danielle Brooks, Raphael Gadot.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman DreamWorks Animation Fangwei Lee, Krzysztof Rost, Jihyun Yoon,
Robert Chen
Penguins of Madagascar DreamWorks Animation Mitul Patel, Nicolas Delbecq, Santosh
Khedkar, Yash Argawal.
Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in a Live-Action

Production
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Sony Pictures Imageworks Charles-Felix Chabert, Daniel La
Chapelle, Spencer Lueders, Klaus Seitschek, Chris Messineo
Edge of Tomorrow Sony Pictures Imageworks Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel
Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Weta Digital Areito Echevarria, Andreas Soderstrom,
Ronnie Menahem, Christoph Sprenger, Kevin Romond
Noah Industrial Light & Magic Raul Essig, Karin Cooper, Rick Hankins, Owen Calouro
Transformers: Age of Extinction Industrial Light & Magic Michael Balog, Jim Van Allen, Rick
3 of 9
3/3/15 10:56 AM
Hankins, John Hansen

X-Men: Days of Future Past Digital Domain Jeremy Hampton, Daniel Stern, Edmond Smith III,
Hiroshi Tsubokawa, Daniel Jenkins
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated

Television / Broadcast Production
Toy Story That Time Forgot Pixar Animation Studios Don Crum
Toy Story That Time Forgot Pixar Animation Studios Carlo Vogele
Toy Story That Time Forgot Pixar Animation Studios Ken Kim
Tumble Leaf Amazon Studios Michael Granberry
Tumble Leaf Amazon Studios Teresa Drilling.
Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation Justin Nichols
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Feature

Production
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Travis Knight
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Malcolm Lamont
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Jason Stalman
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation Fabio Lignini
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation Steven Shaggy Hornby
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation Thomas Grummt
Penguins of Madagascar DreamWorks Animation Ravi Kamble
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live-Action

Production
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Weta Digital Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema,
Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic
Guardians of the Galaxy Framestore Kevin Spruce, Dale Newton, Sidney Kombo, Chris Mullins,
Brad Silby
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Weta Digital Eric Reynolds, David Clayton, Andreja
Vuckovic, Guillaume Francois, Gios Johnston
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game

Assassins Creed Unity Ubisoft Mike Mennillo
Dont Starve: Console Edition Klei Entertainment Inc.
Child Of Light Ubisoft Alex Drouin
Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television

/ Broadcast Production
Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Andy Suriano
Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation Benjamin Balistreri
Welcome to the Wayne Nickelodeon Animation Studio Zac Gorman
Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature

Production
Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios Shiyoon Kim, Jin Kim
The Book of Life Reel FX Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez
4 of 9
3/3/15 10:56 AM
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Mike Smith

Mr. Peabody & Sherman DreamWorks Animation Timothy Lamb, Joe Moshier
Penguins of Madagascar DreamWorks Animation Craig Kellman, Joe Moshier, Stevie Lewis,
Todd Kurosawa
Rio 2 Blue Sky Studios Sang Jun Lee, Jason Sadler, Jos Manuel Fernandez Oli
Song of the Sea GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon Tomm Moore, Marie Thorhauge, Sandra Anderson,
Rosa Ballester Cabo
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television /

Broadcast Production
Adventure Time Cartoon Network Yuasa Masaaki, Eunyoung Choi
Archer FX Networks Bryan Fordney
Bobs Burgers Bento Box Entertainment Jennifer Coyle & Bernard Derriman
Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Aaron Springer
Gravity Falls Disney Television Animation Rob Renzetti
Over The Garden Wall Cartoon Network Robert Alvarez, Ken Bruce, Larry Leichliter
The Simpsons The Simpsons Matthew Nastuk
Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation David Thomas
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production

Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios Don Hall & Chris Williams
The Book of Life Reel FX Jorge R. Gutierrez
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Anthony Stacchi & Graham Annable
Cheatin Plymptoons Studio Bill Plympton
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation Dean DeBlois
The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. Pictures Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, Directors; Chris McKay,
Co-Director
Song of the Sea GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon Tomm Moore
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya GKIDS/Studio Ghibli Isao Takahata
Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast

Production
Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Christopher Willis
Dora and Friends: Into the City! Nickelodeon Animation Studio Peter Lurye, George Gabriel,
Chris Gifford
LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu Jam Jay Vincent, Michael Kramer, Jeppe Riddervold, Erin
Chapman
Marvels Avengers Assemble Dynamic Music Partners Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter &
Michael McCuistion
Tumble Leaf Amazon Studios Nathan Barr & Lisbeth Scott
Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production

Cheatin Plymptoons Studio Nicole Renaud, Composer
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation John Powell, Jnsi
Mr. Peabody & Sherman DreamWorks Animation Danny Elfman
Song of the Sea GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon Bruno Coulais & Kila
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya GKIDS/Studio Ghibli Joe Hisaishi
5 of 9
3/3/15 10:56 AM
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated

Television / Broadcast Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Voyager Pictures LLC Kara Vallow, Brent Woods, Lucas Gray &
Andrew Brandou
Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Joseph Holt
Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Narina Sokolova
The Powerpuff Girls Cartoon Network Kevin Dart, Chris Turnham, Jasmin Lai & Elle Michalka
Turbo FAST DreamWorks Animation Antonio Canobbio, Khang Le, Mark Taihei, Howard Chen
& Brandon Cuellar
Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation Alex Kirwan, Chris Tsirigotis, Alexander
Duckworth, Janice Kubo & Francis Giglio
Zack & Quack Zodiak Kids Erez Gavish
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature

Production
The Book of Life Reel FX Simon Varela & Paul Sullivan
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure & August Hall
The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. Pictures Grant Freckelton
Mr. Peabody & Sherman DreamWorks Animation David James, Ruben Perez, Priscilla Wong,
Timothy Lamb & Alexandre Puvilland
Song of the Sea GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon Adrien Merigeau
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television /

Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Heiko Drengenberg
Gravity Falls Disney Television Animation Luke Weber, Alonso Ramirez Ramos, Neil Graf &
Steve Heneveld
Legend of Korra Nickelodeon Animation Studio Joaquim Dos Santos
The Simpsons Film Roman Brad Ableson, Matthew Faughnan & Stephen Reis
Star Wars Rebels Disney Channel / Disney XD Nathaniel Villanueva & Douglas Lovelace
Toy Story That Time Forgot Pixar Animation Studios Louise Smythe
Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation Mark Ackland
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature

Production
Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios Marc E. Smith
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Julian Nario
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Emanuela Cozzi
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation Truong Tron Son Mai
Planes: Fire & Rescue Disneytoon Studios Piero Peluso
Rio 2 Blue Sky Studios John Hurst
Rio 2 Blue Sky Studios Rodrigo Castro
Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television /

Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Bill Farmer as the voices of Goofy
and Grandma
Fairly OddParents Nickelodeon Animation Studio Carlos Alazaraqui as the voice of Crocker
6 of 9
3/3/15 10:56 AM
Robot Chicken Stoopid Buddy Stoodios Seth Green as the voice of Robot Chicken Nerd
Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature

Production
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Fish
Henry & Me Reveal Animation Studios Cyndi Lauper as the voice of Nurse Cyndi
Rio 2 Blue Sky Studios Andy Garcia as the voice of Eduardo
Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television /

Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Darrick Bachman
The Powerpuff Girls Cartoon Network Dave Tennant, David P. Smith, Chris Mitchell & Will Mata
The Simpsons 20th Century Fox Rob LaZebnik
The Simpsons 20th Century Fox Tim Long
Toy Story That Time Forgot Pixar Animation Studios Steve Purcell
Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production

Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson & Jordan Roberts
The Boxtrolls Focus Features/LAIKA Irena Brignull & Adam Pava
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation Dean DeBlois
The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. Pictures Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Song of the Sea GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon Will Collins
Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Television /

Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation Illya Owens
Dragons: Defenders of Berk DreamWorks Animation Television Ernesto Matamoros
Family Guy Super 78 Mike Elias
Toy Story That Time Forgot Pixar Animation Studios David Suther, Bradley Furnish & David
Condolora
Turbo FAST DreamWorks Animation Todd Raleigh & Doug Vito
Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios Tim Mertens
How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation John K. Carr
The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. Pictures David Burrows, Todd Hansen, Doug Nicholas,
Jonathan Tappin & Courtney OBrien-Brown
Planes: Fire & Rescue Disneytoon Studios Dan Molina, Mark Keefer & Karen Hathaway
Song of the Sea GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon Darragh Byrne
Juried Awards
The Winsor McCay Award
Didier Brunner
Don Lusk
Lee Mendelson
7 of 9
3/3/15 10:56 AM
The June Foray Award

Charles Solomon
The Ub Iwerks Award

DreamWorks Animations Apollo Software
Special Achievement Award

The Walt Disney Family Museum
Tags: 62 George Street, Aardman Animations, Acme Filmworks, Adventure Time, After School,
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Bento Box Entertainment, Big Hero 6, Bob's Burgers, Cartoon Network, Cartoon Saloon, Cheatin',
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How to Train Your Dragon 2 tops 42nd Annual Annie Awards

Disneys Feast, directed by Patrick Osborne and produced by Kristina Reed, receives award
for Best Animated Short Subject.
By Jennifer Wolfe | Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 10:50pm
In Awards, Event, Films, Games, People, Places, Short Films, Television | ANIMATIONWorld, Headline News |
Special Events: Annie Awards | Geographic Region: North America
Top Headline News

Warner Bros. Planning Adventure Time
Feature
Box Office Report: Will Smiths Focus on Top

DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2 wins Best Animated Feature at 42nd Annual Annies.
DreamWorks Animations How to Train Your Dragon 2, written and directed by Dean DeBlois and
produced by Bonnie Arnold, took home the prize for Best Animated Feature at ASIFA-Hollywoods
42nd Annual Annie Awards, held Saturday, January 31 at UCLAs Royce Hall.
New Trailer & Poster Released for Bill

Plymptons Cheatin
Digital Chief Bob Osher Out at Sony

Alessandro Carloni to Co-Direct Kung Fu
Among short film contenders, Disneys Feast, directed by Patrick Osborne and produced by
Kristina Reed, was given the award for Best Animated Short Subject.
The full list of winners is shown below:
Panda 3
Netflix Expands Portfolio with Five New Kids

Shows
Nice Shoes Steps Up to Danny and the Wild

Bunch
Nickelodeons Harvey Beaks Premieres

March 29
See More

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for a Childrens Audience
The Simpsons Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Best Video Game
1 of 5
3/3/15 10:57 AM
How to Train Your Dragon 2 tops 42nd Annual Annie Awards ...
http://www.awn.com/news/how-train-your-dragon-2-tops-42nd...

Best Student Film
Jason Rayner My Big Brother Savannah College of Art and Design
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik
Big Hero 6 Walt Disney Animation Studios
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist
Edge of Tomorrow Sony Pictures Imageworks
Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Fabio Lignini How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Weta Digital
Career Connections
Storyboard Artist ( Job Number: FFE0002532)

Blue Sky Sudios
Production Assistant (Job Number: FFE0002786)

Blue Sky Studios

Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production

Benjamin Balistreri Wander Over Yonder Disney Television Animation
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez The Book of Life Reel FX

Aaron Springer Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation
Graphics Software Engineer - 754982

Intel Corporation
Designer for Online

Dell, Inc.
Graphic and Web Designer

Southcentral Foundation
UX Designer
EMC
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Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Christopher Willis Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation
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John Powell, Jnsi How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation
Narina Sokolova Mickey Shorts Disney
season 4

Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure, August Hall The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika
Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Joaquim Dos Santos Legend of Korra, Venom of the Red Lotus Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Truong Tron Son Mai How to Train Your Dragon 2 DreamWorks Animation
is this for real or not


Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy and Grandma Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television
Animation
Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher The Boxtrolls Focus Features/Laika
Darrick Bachman Disney Mickey Mouse Disney Television Animation
Great discuss on Chinese Animation industry. I

have to mark this page, mostly for the
comments down here.
Wolf Smoke Studio and the State of Chinese Animation

Phil Lord, Christopher Miller The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. Pictures
2 of 5
3/3/15 10:57 AM

Globes Win, Oscar Nom Lift
JANUARY 15, 2015 | 03:48PM PT
Marc Graser (http://variety.com/author/marc-graser/)

Senior Editor
@marcgraser (http://twitter.com/@marcgraser)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (http://variety.com/t/how-to-train-your-dragon-2/) is
providing DreamWorks Animation (http://variety.com/t/dreamworks-animation/)
with a much-needed morale boost after a tough 2014 filled with disappointing
films at the box office, a significant drop in its stock price and drama surrounding
a potential sale.
With the companys first-ever win in the animation category at the Golden Globes
and now an Academy Award nomination, the Dragon sequel looks to be the
frontrunner when the Oscars are handed out Feb. 22. Disney had won seven of
1 of 6
the past eight years at the Globes.
3/3/15 11:00 AM
How to Train
Your Dragon
2 Oscar
Lifts Dream...
Awards
recognition
is great,
butNomination
with no sequels
on the horizon for
2015, it could
be another tough year at the box office for DreamWorks Animation.
The awards recognition comes shortly after DWA chief Jeffrey Katzenberg
(http://variety.com/t/jeffrey-katzenberg/) named Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria
as co-presidents of the studio (http://variety.com/2015/film/news/dreamworksanimation-names-bonnie-arnold-mireille-soria-co-presidents-of-featureanimation-1201392307/). Both have extensive knowledge in launching and
running successful franchises, with Arnold having overseen How to Train Your
Dragon, and Soria, Madagascar, both major moneymakers for the company
across a variety of platforms from TV shows and consumer products to live
touring shows and theme park experiences.
The folks at the studio are so happy for us, Arnold said of Katzenberg and the
rest of the DWA executive roster. Theyre on our indirect crew
(http://variety411.com/us/new-york/crew/).
I feel very fortunate for the Oscar nomination, she added. Arnold is a contender
in the category with director Dean DeBlois. I feel that its further
acknowledgement of our whole crew, the passion and the artistry that comes
through. Its a great honor by the industry and the film community at large of the
work that youve done. Its a validation.
Animated features have long been known for taking around three years to
produce. But with Richard Linklaters Boyhood, which was filmed over 12 years,
live-action films can start to empathize with animated movies, Arnold joked.
They take a long time.
Arnold and Soria are now focusing on managing the rest of DWAs film slate for
the next several years, which has involved taking a closer look at release dates.
We hit the ground running on Monday as we got started in the new year, Arnold
said. I think the great thing she and I agree on is there are really good
filmmakers here. What we do best is help those filmmakers get the best version
of their movies on the screen. Were figuring out the particulars of that. Theres a
lot of good stuff in the works. A lot of good ideas and projects.
2 of 6
DWA needs a hit outside of Dragons after Mr. Peabody & Sherman struggled
3/3/15 11:00 AM
to Train
Your $273
Dragonmillion
2 Oscarworldwide,
Nomination and
Lifts Dream...
inHow
2014,
earning
Turbo ($283 million)
and Rise of
the Guardians ($307 million) before that. Madgascar spinoff The Penguins of
Madagascar was poorly reviewed and earned $287 million toward the end of
2014.
That compares to How to Train Your Dragon 2, which generated $618 million
around the globe, up from the firsts $495 million, in 2010.
Looking ahead, DWA has just one film on the schedule this year, the alien
invasion comedy Home, which will get a big promotional push given that it
features original songs by Rihanna.
The company has just that lone release set for 2015 because Kung Fu Panda 3
was moved out of this year and into 2016, in order to steer clear of Star Wars:
The Force Awakens. Trolls is also currently set for a 2016 release, later in
November; DWA believes it could launch a new franchise.
3 of 6
3/3/15 11:00 AM
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Oscar Nomination Lifts Dream...
Now that it has two veteran producers (http://variety411.com/us/los-angeles/producers/) at the helm, DWA is looking to reduce the production costs of its films
down from the $135 million to $145 million its been spending.
Beyond Trolls, based on the popular toy line of the 1960s that DWA purchased
outright in 2013, (http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/troll-dolls-in-dreamworkstoy-chest-1200350401/) the studio also has franchise potential with B.O.O.:
Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, Boss Baby and Mumbai Musical.
Sequels to Puss in Boots and The Croods are planned as well.
And then theres a third How to Train Your Dragon set for 2017.
DeBlois, who wrote and directed the first two Dragon films, is currently penning
the script for the third.
Were excited about the third and final chapter of this story, Arnold said.
A renewed focus on stories that appeal to broader audiences will help put some
distance from reports that DWA is looking to find a new partner or buyer last
year, that included everyone from Japans Softbank to toymaker Hasbro
4 of 6
(http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/dreamworks-animation-sale-talks-with-hasbro-
3/3/15 11:00 AM
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Oscar Nomination Lifts Dream...

end-1201356896/).
To win the Globe, DWA beat out Disneys Big Hero 6, Foxs The Book of Life,
Laikas The Boxtrolls and WBs The Lego Movie.
With The Lego Movie not even in the running for an Oscar, Dragon 2 has less
competition to contend with for Oscar gold.
Big Hero 6 is not yet on homevideo platforms, while How to Train Your Dragon
2 has been available since November and broken sales figures for a family
title from Fox, which distributes DWAs films. Interest in the film on digital
platforms has picked up since the Globes win and should only increase now with
the Oscar nomination.
We never take anything for granted, Arnold said. It was a good year for
animation. The five nominated movies really represent a really diverse slate
made up of a mix of hand-drawn and CG animation. Were in such good
company.
While the Dragon franchise has a strong fanbase, awards may not necessarily
mean much to its younger audiences.
But nominations and actual wins do cause people to take a second look at the
films and its spinoffs, Arnold said. It just makes people who havent seen the
movie pay more attention. Thats a good thing for us.
SEE ALSO: 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Breaks Homevideo Sales Records
for Fox, DreamWorks Animation (http://variety.com/2014/film/news/howto-train-your-dragon-2-breaks-homevideo-sales-records-for-fox-dreamworks-animation-1201358466/)
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S A G A N D G O L D E N G L O B E AWA R D S 2 0 1 4
26
Toothless the
dragon and Hiccup
were box-office
hits once again
for DreamWorks
Animation.
FEATURES
Yep, They Said It on Golden Globes

Nomination Morning
COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
Nominees react and reveal their favorite

memories from the set and in Steve Carells
case the feedback that gets them choked up.
Edited by Stacey Wilson
14
SAG and Globes Snubs Dont

Always Mean Oscar Oblivion
Bradley Cooper, Matthew McConaughey,

Kevin Costner, David Oyelowo and
Timothy Spall were MIA when nominations
were announced, but history says one of
them still could get a seat at the Oscar table.
By Scott Feinberg
18
Feinberg Forecast
Lines are being drawn: Nominations

for the SAG Awards and Globes have been
revealed. Some movies saw their stock rise;
others couldnt find any buyers. Next,
the real scramble for Oscar noms heats up.
20
26
Making of How to Train

Your Dragon 2
Drawing on a page from his family history,

director Dean DeBlois created a sequel
to the 2010 hit animated tale that takes some
surprisingly risky turns. By Carolyn Giardina
The Composer Roundtable
Five sleep-deprived movie

music maestros reveal their insecurities
(even after 30 years in the industry),
the power of procrastination and the
real story behind that controversial
Interstellar sound mix: Be bold or go home.
By Kevin Cassidy
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www.thr.com | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
|1
1 Costumes such as
the one worn by Valka the
dragon whisperer were
inspired by the Sami people
indigenous to Norway.
2 Head of character
animation Simon Otto was
able to create more
complex characters using
DWAs Apollo platform.
3 Production designer
Pierre-Olivier Vincent made
the dragons lair a lush
oasis in contrast to the rest
of the films Arctic setting.
4 The core relationship is

between Hiccup [left] and
Toothless, says DeBlois. I
wanted to test it in its most
fundamental way.
How to
Train Your
Dragon 2
Making of
Drawing on a page from his own family

history, director Dean DeBlois created
a sequel to the 2010 hit dragon tale that
takes some surprisingly risky turns
CREDITS HERE AND HERE
CREDITS HERE AND HERE
By Carolyn Giardina
26 | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | DECEMBER 2014 AWARDS
OM E PEOPL E WOR K ON
their personal issues with

a therapist. Others manage their inner pain with
alcohol or drugs. For still
others, denial is the best medicine.
But Dean DeBlois? He deals with
loss by making animated movies
about dragons.
Even before it became clear that
there would be a sequel to his first
DreamWorks Animation film, How
to Train Your Dragon which was
right around the time the 2010 feature about a teenage Viking named
Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel)
grossed $495million worldwide
and got nominated for an Oscar
DeBlois was already thinking about
possible plotlines for How to Train
Your Dragon 2. As artists so often
do, he took inspiration from his
own life and decided to kill off a
major character: Hiccups father.
I wanted the movie to be a tribute
to parents, particularly those
From left: Head of lighting Pablo Valle, production

designer Vincent, DeBlois, visual effects supervisor
Dave Walvoord and head of character effects
Oliver Finkelde.
www.thr.com | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
| 27
Says DeBlois, I wanted the tone to balance humor and adventure,

moments of nail-biting danger and character warmth.
HOW TO DRAW A DRAGON

1
2
1 The first stage of animation

is storyboarding, like this line
drawing of Hiccup in a hang-gliding
suit with Toothless.
2 The next stage is previsualization,

in which the first rough simulation
of character movement is combined
with camera work.
3 After previz comes actual

animation, in which the animators
create and finesse the
performances in each shot.
4 In this final, finished image,

Hiccup and Toothless fly through
the clouds in an early sequence
in the film.
PREVIOUS SPREAD: COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (5). ICON: KENDRICK KIDD. THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (5). ICON: KENDRICK KIDD.
who some of us lost early, says the

Canada-born writer-director, 44,
whose own fathers death helped
DeBlois (then 19) make the transition
from boy to man. DeBlois figured a
death in the family might do the same
for Hiccup.
How to Train Your Dragon 2, which
opened June 13, was 2014s highestgrossing animated film, raking in
$619million worldwide, and is a frontrunner for an Oscar this year (the first
Dragon lost to Toy Story3). That said,
it was a fairly risky movie for DWA
to make, at least with the plotline
DeBlois had in mind. Beloved cartoon
characters have been killed off before,
of course Simbas dad bit the dust
in 1994s The Lion King, and Bambis
mothers death in 1942 scarred a
whole generation of filmgoers but
its never been a parent-pleasing plot
twist. When you take your kid to a
movie about a boy and his dragon,
you dont expect to have to explain
the five stages of grief in the parking
lot afterward.
Still, says DeBlois, there was a
lot of support at DWA. Especially
since the studios CEO, Jeffrey
Katzenberg who knows the value
of a fathers legacy and the power
of having a mantle handed down,
says DeBlois also is the guy who
made The Lion King. But DeBlois
admits, There was nervousness
when we started to test the film, and
we began to sense reservations from
some parents. Those reservations
were understandable, considering
DeBlois had arranged for the death
of Hiccups dad Stoick the Vast
(Gerard Butler) to be a particularly
awkward and emotionally complicated one: Hiccups beloved dragon,
the otherwise adorable Toothless,
1
2 Concept art, like this
image created by
production designer
Vincent, is used prior
to production to plan
the look of the film.
3 Another piece of
concept art by Vincent,
who went on a research
trip to Norway to
find inspiration for
his designs.
is put under a spell by an evil

warlord named Drago (Djimon
Hounsou) and incinerates Stoick
with a plasma blast. Its a sad
moment, DeBlois acknowledges,
but most people understand its a
rite of passage. Theres also a plot
twist about Hiccups long-missing,
presumed-dead mother (Cate
Blanchett) coming back to life, so
you get the idea. Peel away the
eye-popping 3-D flight sequences
made even more stunning by DWAs
new Apollo real-time animation
platform and Dragon 2 is one
dark Nordic fantasy.
DeBlois, though, had a lot of
credibility with DWA; not only did
he co-write and co-direct the first
Dragon movie (with Chris Sanders,
who was too busy making last
years The Croods to co-direct the
sequel, although he does have an
executive producer credit), but he
also co-wrote and co-directed
Disneys 2002 hit Lilo & Stitch. So
the studio gave the script a green
light, set the budget at $145million,
and signed DeBlois for his very first
solo directing job.
DeBlois reassembled much of

the crew who made the first Dragon,
including 11-time Oscar-nominated
cinematographer Roger Deakins
(Like a master class in storytelling, says DeBlois of working with
him), as well as composer John
Powell (Oscar-nominated for the
first Dragon score). He also brought
back two-time Oscar-winning sound
From left: DeBlois, Deakins and Vincent.

Oftentimes wed have these elaborate
shots, and he would say, Why? says
DeBlois of working with Deakins.
Everything has to service the story.
designer Randy Thom, who created

Toothless dragon roar from a variety
of animal sounds tigers, elephants,
camels, hippos, horses and even
dogs (When I couldnt figure it out,
I would do the vocals myself, he
admits). But before beginning the
long, arduous process of creating
the stereoscopic 3-D computer animation at DreamWorks Animation
headquarters in Glendale, DeBlois

and producer Bonnie Arnold took
the Dragon team on a fact-finding
mission to Norway, where they
soaked up inspiration from a Viking
ship museum and other sightseeing
adventures. The six-day snowmobile
safari was a highlight, says DeBlois.
Traveling through polar bear
country and photographing these
amazing fjords and the majestic
lighting but I still managed to
run into the back of Roger Deakins
snowmobile.
Of course, the real inspiration
came from DeBlois own personal
experiences with loss, grief and
familial healing and it sounds
like hes got enough material for
at least a couple more dragon and
Viking movies. Hes at a crossroads, DeBlois says thoughtfully
of Hiccup, his big-screen cartoon
alter ego. He knows hes not a carbon copy of his father, but hes still
in search of who he is.
DRAGON: COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS ANIMATION (4). ICON: KENDRICK KIDD.
1 Hiccups father,
Stoick the Vast
(voiced by Butler),
and his long-lost
mother, Valka
(Blanchett).
Making of 'How to Train Your Dragon 2': How a Personal Trag...
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/making-how-train-you...
1. William Shatner Flies to L.A. in

Time for Leonard Nimoy's Funeral a
day ago hollywoodreporter.com
Read More
TheHollywoodReporter.com
Leonard Nimoy Television
Making of
'How to Train
Your Dragon
2': How a Personal Tragedy
Inspired the Story
'How to Train Your Dragon 2'

Courtesy of DreamWorks Animation
1 of 14
3/3/15 11:08 AM
AWARDS
inner pain with alcohol or drugs. For still others, denial is the best medicine.
But Dean DeBlois? He deals with loss by making animated movies about dragons.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 director Dean DeBlois
Even before it became clear that there would be a sequel to his first DreamWorks
Animation film, How to Train Your Dragon which was right around the time the 2010
feature about a teenage Viking named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) grossed $495
million worldwide and got nominated for an Oscar DeBlois was already thinking
about possible plotlines for How to Train Your Dragon 2. As artists so often do, he took
inspiration from his own life and decided to kill off a major character: Hiccup's father.
"I wanted the movie to be a tribute to parents, particularly those who some of us lost
early," says the Canada-born writer-director, 44, whose own father's death helped
DeBlois (then 19) make the transition "from boy to man." DeBlois figured a death in the
family might do the same for Hiccup.
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AWARDS
How to Train Your Dragon 2, which opened June 13, was 2014's highest-grossing
animated film, raking in $619 million worldwide, and is a frontrunner for an Oscar this
year (the first Dragon lost to Toy Story 3). That said, it was a fairly risky movie for DWA
to make, at least with the plotline DeBlois had in mind. Beloved cartoon characters
have been killed off before, of course Simba's dad bit the dust in 1994's The Lion
King, and Bambi's mother's death in 1942 scarred a whole generation of filmgoers
but it's never been a parent-pleasing plot twist. When you take your kid to a movie
about a boy and his dragon, you don't expect to have to explain the five stages of grief
in the parking lot afterward.
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Installment
AWARDS
Still, says DeBlois, there was "a lot of support" at DWA. Especially since the studio's
CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg "who knows the value of a father's legacy and the power of
having a mantle handed down," says DeBlois also is the guy who made The Lion
King. But DeBlois admits, "There was nervousness when we started to test the film,
and we began to sense reservations from some parents." Those reservations were
understandable, considering DeBlois had arranged for the death of Hiccup's dad
Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) to be a particularly awkward and emotionally
complicated one: Hiccup's beloved dragon, the otherwise adorable Toothless, is put
under a spell by an evil warlord named Drago (Djimon Hounsou) and incinerates
Stoick with a plasma blast. "It's a sad moment," DeBlois acknowledges, "but most
people understand it's a rite of passage." There's also a plot twist about Hiccup's
long-missing, presumed-dead mother (Cate Blanchett) coming back to life, so you get
the idea. Peel away the eye-popping 3-D flight sequences made even more stunning
by DWA's new Apollo real-time animation platform and Dragon 2 is one dark Nordic
fantasy.
DeBlois, though, had a lot of credibility with DWA; not only did he co-write and
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AWARDS
year's The Croods to co-direct the sequel, although he does have an executive
producer credit), but he also co-wrote and co-directed Disney's 2002 hit Lilo & Stitch.
So the studio gave the script a green light, set the budget at $145 million, and signed
DeBlois for his very first solo directing job.
Read more 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Made Using DWA's New Animation Software
DeBlois reassembled much of the crew who made the first Dragon, including 11-time
Oscar-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins ("Like a master class in
storytelling," says DeBlois of working with him), as well as composer John Powell
(Oscar-nominated for the first Dragon score). He also brought back two-time Oscarwinning sound designer Randy Thom, who created Toothless' dragon roar from a
variety of animal sounds tigers, elephants, camels, hippos, horses and even dogs
("When I couldn't figure it out, I would do the vocals myself," he admits). But before
beginning the long, arduous process of creating the stereoscopic 3-D computer
animation at DreamWorks Animation headquarters in Glendale, DeBlois and producer
Bonnie Arnold took the Dragon team on a fact-finding mission to Norway, where they
soaked up inspiration from a Viking ship museum and other sightseeing adventures.
"The six-day snowmobile safari was a highlight," says DeBlois. "Traveling through
polar bear country and photographing these amazing fjords and the majestic lighting
but I still managed to run into the back of Roger Deakins' snowmobile."
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Trent Reznor, Danny Elfman and Top Composers Reveal Insecur...
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trent-reznor-danny-el...
Trent Reznor,
Danny
Elfman and
Top
Composers
Reveal
Insecurities, Power of
Procrastination and the
Real Story Behind
'Interstellar's' Controversial
Sound Mix
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by Kevin Cassidy
12/23/2014 9:00am PST
This story rst appeared in a special awards issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Film composers love to talk about insomnia. Prior to The Hollywood Reporter
roundtable with five of the industry's most sought-after film scorers, the group
Marco Beltrami, 48 (The Homesman), Danny Elfman, 61 (Big Eyes), John Powell, 51
(How to Train Your Dragon 2), Trent Reznor, 49 (Gone Girl), and Hans Zimmer, 57
(Interstellar) chatted at length about their preferred sleep aids. Most favor Ambien,
but at least one opted for a method that might or might not be entirely legal (hint: It
involves THC). Then there's Zimmer, who is such a night owl, he referred to the 1 p.m.
start of the sit-down as "my morning time."
The discussion that followed touched on the technical, like less-than-ideal sound
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THE BUSINESS
rarely get time to relax with family and listen to music for pleasure. Throughout, these
awards contenders with 16 Oscar noms and two wins between them appeared to
relish the opportunity to actually talk shop; after all, the composer's life is largely an
isolated one, and the chance to trade war stories with other composers is rare. Says
Elfman: "The unsureness of how other people feel I find very helpful, because I'm
unsure of everything."
Read More Composer Hans Zimmer Talks 'Interstellar' Origin, Punk Influence on 'Dark
Knight' (Exclusive Video)
What was the biggest musical challenge you faced in the past year? What caused the
most anxiety?
HANS ZIMMER In my case, I don't think there was a lot of anxiety. Obviously, on
Interstellar when the director [Christopher Nolan] says, "Is there a way in music you
could sort of consolidate the different theories of time, gravity and things like that in
some sort of poetic way?" it keeps you up at night. But I was very protected by Chris. I
could just go in and confess my ideas and whatever I wanted to try out, we could try
out. It was just one long great experiment; just keeping the lab doors open and going
for it.
TRENT REZNOR My struggle with Gone Girl revolved around boxing myself into a
schedule. A couple years ago, we knew that David [Fincher's] next film was going to
be a different film that would've started right now. I booked a tour with Nine Inch
Nails, which was going to eat up almost all of this year. And once that tour was
booked and went on sale, I got the call saying, "Hey, that other film fell through. Now
I'm going to do Gone Girl." So it was either pass which I wasn't going to allow or
try to find a way to fit that into any time there was a week off or any moment to
address working on the score. And I approach these projects with a great sense of
insecurity. I try to make up for that by just an enormous amount of work I can throw at
it, you know, to make up for what might be dead-ends or wrong directions. I think it
wound up being a good thing, but it made the process a bit anxious throughout. I
always felt like if there's one wrong turn, I could screw this up without the luxury of
time to fix things.
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THE BUSINESS
wanted to think small. He didn't want it to get into the fantasy side that he's so often
explored. Tim never says he loves any piece of music I've ever written. He's either
pulling his hair out, which is bad, or he's looking pensive, and that's good. And he'll
nod, maybe a little bit. So I just look for where the hair stops getting pulled and then I
know we're OK.
JOHN POWELL On Dragon, [I was] just trying to come to terms with the fact that I was
getting old, the characters were getting old and my style was getting old, I think. So I
just had to be happy with the fact that I was sounding really old-fashioned. I used to
be hip, apparently, and now I'm this old fart that does only orchestral music and writes
tunes. It took a while, but I had to kind of get over it I think it was about being 50
right at the time when I was trying to write this score.
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THE BUSINESS
So you had a midlife crisis?
POWELL I did, right in the middle of the film. It was funny, actually.
What's it like the first time you play a score for a director?
ELFMAN Well, if anybody gets effusive with praise, I want to disappear very quickly. I
just want to hide.
REZNOR I'm speaking with very limited experience, but as Danny said, I'm suspicious
immediately of any sort of praise if it sounds too good. I want to focus in on the
negative. You know, if there's a hundred reviews and one is bad, that's the one that I'm
paying attention to. I know David quite well and we have a similar kind of mindset, so
we've got a rhythm where he's careful to critique, but I know when we haven't hit it
right. When we get it right, it is usually a pretty glowing response that feels good. And
then I know it's genuine coming from him.
ZIMMER I had run into Chris about two years ago and he said, "If I gave you one page
but wouldn't tell you what the movie is about, would you give me one day and just
write whatever comes to you?" Sounds like a fun experiment. So he gave me this one
page. Typewritten, old typewriter, thick paper so I knew there were no carbon copies.
And there was a fable really about being a parent. He knows me pretty well. There
were lots of things which we had talked about over dinners. So I sat down, wrote the
piece. I phoned him up Sunday 9:30 at night. And I said to him, "Do you want me to
send it over?" And he goes, "No, can you come over?" So I went over and I played it to
him. I looked at him and went, "So what do you think?" And he says, "Suppose I better
make the movie." And then I said, "What is the movie?" Somewhere while he was
explaining the physics and everything to me, I said, "Hang on a second. I've only
written you this tiny little fragile theme." And he goes, "Yeah, but I know where the
heart of the story is now." So that was a good way to start.
ELFMAN There's advantages and disadvantages to being with a director that you
know really well. On the one hand, you can kind of fall into a rhythm where you
understand what they might be looking for, and it makes sense. And on the other
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THE BUSINESS
that's a whole kind of a beautiful thing unto itself.
Read More 'Lord of the Rings' Composer Howard Shore on Scoring 80 Movies: "I Often
Felt Like Frodo"
What happens if the director really doesn't like what you've just played?
MARCO BELTRAMI It's fine if the director can articulate the reasons and we're able to
have a conversation. With [Homesman director] Tommy [Lee Jones], it was very much
like that. Because one of the great things about working with him is, he doesn't use a
temp score. He's all about "here's the picture," "it's an open slate, I want creativity and
originality," which is all great. But if I know he has some sort of mindset about what
the picture's about and if the music's not going to fit into that, then there's a problem.
But if he can articulate what it is and I can respond to it, then I'm happy to work on it.
If it comes to an impasse where you can't see what they're going after, then it's a
certain point where you have to walk away.
ELFMAN I can't think of anything I'm more terrified of, still, than the first time I'm
playing something.
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BELTRAMI What's interesting is that you actually perceive your own music differently
when somebody like the director or somebody else is in the room. And you're so
conscious of every nuance that's going on with them.
REZNOR I agree with that. It's a strange thing, even if I'm working on an album and I've
got 15 songs and I need to trim it down to 12. If I have a friend come in and listen, I
don't even have to look at them I immediately know what has to go.
ELFMAN There's a balance as we're getting attached to something and the director
hasn't heard it yet. If you wait too long, you're going to get really attached to it. Then
you might play it and the director might go, "No, no, it's the wrong thing," and then
you're devastated. You don't want to get so attached that you run the risk of, like,
really getting into it. It can just go evaporate in a second like a bubble.
Gone Girl composer Trent Reznor
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POWELL If I have three months to do it, the first month I don't. Then the second month
ELFMAN You think about thinking about getting started.

POWELL Yeah. Then you get really worried because you're running out of time
ELFMAN You have no choice.
This happens every time?
POWELL Oh yeah, absolutely. Every single time.
BELTRAMI Fear's a good motivator.
POWELL Eventually you run out of time and your adrenaline is so high that you start
writing. In this particular case [Dragon 2], I got lucky because it was on a sequel.
Sequels are great, but they're very hard sometimes. This time I knew the tone; it just
had to mature. And I had a filmmaker who'd constructed a story that was so precisely
done, I could see it exactly. It wasn't just in conversations beforehand, or the year
before. It was literally the first time I saw the film; everything was there. So then it was
just about sort of stitching together the music so it adhered as closely as it could to
this perfectly constructed narrative. And making sure that structurally it was all in
place. That kind of made it easier. But the process is always to be frightened
because there's nothing in your future other than failure.
ZIMMER I think that's why I'm very lucky with Chris, who really tries to protect me. We
finished the movie and then we showed it to [a few] people and nobody else gets to
see it. And I work well late at night; Chris is a morning person. But I realize that
something happens about him coming over late at night. Sunday evenings are really
productive for us because it's not business. He's now in the band somehow. And it's
the two of us jamming. It's not like he's sitting there playing instruments, but we're
trying to construct an intellectual framework for what the music can do in this movie.
And actually the best thing I ever learned about how to do a movie is from John
Powell, who said you just have to get it under your fingers. And I think that's
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have to invent the language, you have to find the words, you have to figure out what
and how you want to say it, and you have to figure out how you're going to say it with
the filmmaker.
REZNOR I've learned over the years that a deadline is productive. My new thing as I'm
old now is, before the sun comes up, I wake up and my timetable's probably the
opposite of yours [Zimmer's]. I start with a full bucket of ideas, midday, by the end I'm
defeated and I'm ready to just give up and start fresh, and so my mornings are
productive.
Where does that bucket of ideas come from?

REZNOR I found in my film work, it's replacing the idea that I would come up with as a
song idea and trying to get inside David's head and become familiar with the material.
My strategy, which has worked pretty well, has been: Read the script or the novel,
become very intimate with what the spirit of the story is, and then spend as much
time with David as I can to hear what he thinks about it, what kind of film is he trying
to make. And to pick up on phrases he might repeat or clues from bread crumbs he
drops. There's just a feeling you get from him because he's thought deeply about
every aspect of what's happened. Every word, the slightest bit of set design detail
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and try to not think about composing music for that film but what it feels like in that
world.
Do you ever see yourself writing a big, traditional orchestral score?
REZNOR I'd love to have the opportunity if it was appropriate for the film. The little bit
that we dabbled in on Gone Girl was more just accessorizing a bit. There were a few
passages that we were working on that sounded like it might be interesting to see
what would happen if a room full of people were playing it. We had several hours to
kind of really open my eyes to the possibilities [of an orchestra] that I hadn't really had
access to in my world. So, yeah, I would like to try that.
The Homesman composer Marco Beltrami

Is it difficult to go from rock 'n' roll, which is very aggressive, to film music, which isn't
really supposed to draw attention to itself?
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there's a lot that would counter that; that's a contemporary thing that I've heard very
frequently. "It's not supposed to be noticed." But why is it not supposed to be noticed?
I grew up on Alfred Hitchcock's films, Bernard Herrmann, and I noticed every note that
Bernard Herrmann played in those movies. So why was I supposed to notice it
growing up but now somebody isn't? So I think it depends on the film. There are films
where the music is supposed to melt into the background more and become more of a
transparent support. And there are films where clearly there's no reason why the
music shouldn't be charging along as a major character, front and center as much as
anything else in the film. It depends on the style of the film. But as an overall concept,
which I've heard frequently in the last 10, 15 years, I find it a little bit baffling why that
seems to be the consciousness of music in film.
ZIMMER But I don't think that's the consciousness of filmmakers. I think it's just an
old cliche.
What about the sound mix? Sometimes film music doesn't seem as loud as the sound
effects. Hans, given the controversy surrounding the sound on Interstellar, can you
comment on this?
ZIMMER You know, one of the things Trent brought up was that we work as a team.
For instance, Richard King, our sound designer, Alex Gibson, our music editor, Chris
we are all in this together. And we really discuss what our sonic landscape is going to
be, before we even go in. And then the last six weeks are a period where every Friday,
we'd watch the whole thing in a different theater and make little notes and stuff. So
the last Friday, we had one week left and I remember watching the movie with Chris
and everybody else. And for the first time in my life, I was saying, "I think we're done."
There is nothing random in it. We made the movie that we wanted to make. And the
controversy, if you want to call it that, is, yes, there will always be [one] if you're
provocative in a certain way. These days people will take to the Internet. It seems to
be that people who have to take issue with something are going to be the most vocal.
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Were you intentionally doing something provocative?
ZIMMER We never tried to alienate an audience. What we were trying to do was, we

were intentionally being bold. Because that's what we felt we needed to be. I mean, be
bold or go home. Chris gave me this watch, and on the back it says, "This is not a time
for caution." Which is really how we approached the whole thing, and I think really the
thinking behind this is, "Let's make the movie we want to make." You know? Let's stand
by our decision. Which is absolutely what we did.
BELTRAMI When I started out, I used to view the sound department as almost like the
enemy. But gradually I've come [around]. Now on every picture I do, I work very closely
with the sound team because, to me, it's one integrated experience. It's not always an
exact line between sound and music, and what is music and what is sound? Those are
questions that we always ask and we're playing with.
ELFMAN It can occasionally feel like the music is an afterthought and as certainly
these gentlemen know very well genre is everything. I just did a movie that was just
two guys driving in a car. It was like heaven; it was just conversations. But when
you're in an action film with a lot of effects, you run the gamut it could be that
someone like Christopher Nolan would take great effort to use the music. And it could
be that there will be a team that will literally just put all of their effort into the effects,
and then put in the music and that's it. I've seen both extremes. And I'm not even
taking a side one way or another; I'm just close to a hundred films now and I've seen
far sides of both extremes. But I've had my heart broken many times we all have.
Composers tend to work in isolation. What's it like to interact like this?
ELFMAN I like hearing that there's insecurity out there. That's what I've gotten; I've
done three of these [roundtables] and it's been really helpful for me to know that
others are as insecure as I am. The unsureness of how other people feel I find very
helpful because I'm unsure of everything still.
ZIMMER But don't you think that's part of the job? I mean, don't you think that is part
of the journey? The moment I feel sure, I know I'm just churning out stuff.
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that insecurity, you're not going to push the boundaries to look further. I think it's like
riding a very fine line.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 composer John Powell

You all seem to be working constantly do you have social lives?
ELFMAN That's kind of like a joke, you know? I have a family that I occasionally see.
When you have a composer as a husband, father, that's what I think you have to
expect. I remember saying to my wife, "It will be rather like you're a single mother
raising this child, with my schedule."
Do you ever have time to listen to music for pleasure?
REZNOR That's a good question. I've been out of any kind of routine, coming off tour
where I still have a suitcase open at my house right now. I've been off tour for two
months now, but I haven't kicked into a real routine. And I haven't had a good location,
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to music. And I think a lot about that because I've tried to always have in my life a
place [where] the priority is to listen to music. And not to do it while you're on the
computer or something else, but you're harkening back to the old days of putting the
needle on the vinyl and
ELFMAN Focusing on it.
BELTRAMI I think this comes back to your very first question: What's the hardest thing
for us? For me, it's managing time. Between raising kids I try to spend time with and
having a family, but also putting everything you need into the film. But how much time
can you spend experimenting? How much time do you have to figure things out? And
listening to music falls into that same category because I feel like I'm deprived in a lot
of areas. Whereas I used to sit around and listen to records and all that, it's so hard
now.
POWELL I used to hike with headphones on and listen to music, but it got a bit weird
because I'd get to the top of the hill and I'd be in tears because I was listening to
Puccini. And people would kind of look, come up to me and go, "Yes, the view is
beautiful," and I'd say, "What?" Because I wasn't out there for the hiking, really. I was
just listening. That was just a function of getting myself away, doing something I
didn't want to do which was hike and something I did want to do, which was
enjoy music. Which was the reason we all got into it. If you think about it, we're only
doing this because we're trying to extend our childhoods in some way, and we all got
hooked on the ability we have to get such transcendental pleasure from music.
Nothing else could touch it.
When you have time to listen to music, is it film music?
POWELL No. F no. That's crazy.
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THE ENVELOPE
latimes.com/envelope
JOINING THE
DISCUSSION
about the challenges involved

with animation
were, from left,
Dean DeBlois
(How to Train
Your Dragon 2),
Don Hall (Big
Hero 6), Graham
Annable (The
Boxtrolls), Jorge
Gutierrez (The
Book of Life) and
Christopher Miller
(The Lego Movie).
BY REBECCA KEEGAN >>> Part Pablo Picasso, part George Patton, animation filmmakers must possess an
unusual mix of artistic vision and managerial savvy. Five directors who recently came together for the Envelope Animation Roundtable discussed the unique demands of the medium. In a conversation at the Los Angeles
Times, Graham Annable (The Boxtrolls, with Anthony Stacchi), Dean DeBlois (How to Train Your Dragon
2), Don Hall (Big Hero 6, with Chris Williams), Jorge Gutierrez (The Book of Life) and Christopher Miller
(The Lego Movie, with Phil Lord), tackled such topics as the pitch that goes wrong, the virtue of studio negligence and solutions for decision fatigue.
Here are excerpts from that conversation.
latimes.com
/envelope
Further insight
Go online to read more of
these filmmakers animated
conversation and see videos
from the gathering.
Dean, when you signed on to do How to

Train Your Dragon 2 it was specifically
with the idea that you would get to do a
trilogy. Why was that important to you?
DeBlois: A lot of sequels feel unnecessary and they tend to recycle material and
a lot of them feel like cash grabs. If were
going to invest the time in it, it would be
nice to have it feel as though its got a
sense of purpose. So, I pitched the idea of
the first movie being the first act in a
three-act story and the second film would
be the meat of Hiccups coming of age, but
then everything would culminate in a very
finite conclusive way with a third installment. And they bought into that because
it meant that we could actually develop
story lines, that some things left unexplained in the first could take on more
importance, but also set up things that
must transpire in the third.
Chris, did Lego have much input as you
were making the film?
Miller: No. Well, part of our pitch to
them was, if this is going to work, it cant
be coming from the Lego Group and it
cant be coming from Warner Bros. It has
to feel like its a grass-roots thing. If it feels

like the hand of the Lego Group is there
going, Sell these toys, then it would just
be a disaster. And so, they understood
that and respected it. The movie made
them very nervous obviously because its
sort of gently nibbling at the hand that
feeds it, but they were pretty respectful.
Did DC have anything to say about
what you did with the Batman character?
Miller: Yes. We met with Zack Snyder
and we met with Christopher Nolans
team about making sure that we were not
treading over any of the same ground.
And then we just wrote a bunch of stuff
with no regard as to how possible it was or
anything. The only stuff that made anybody uncomfortable was we had it was
the Green Lantern character that people
thought was maybe a little bit too soon
and then we had a Justice League scene
where they were starting to form a Justice
League until the Green Lantern came
along and then they decided not to. They
decided that was not a good idea and so
we cut that from the movie, pretty late in
the process actually.
[See Roundtable, S22]
T U E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 14
I know at Disney youre encouraged to

pitch multiple ideas at once. Whats the
thinking there?
Hall: Well, its something I think that
John [Lasseter] started up at Pixar where
he doesnt want you to kind of put all of
your emotional eggs in one basket and
just be like this is the only thing that I can
see making. He likes you to think a little
broader than that. The task of trying to
put together three ideas, it makes you
automatically kind of divert your focus
into different things. For Big Hero 6, I
think I pitched maybe six or seven.
DeBlois: Wow.
Hall: It was the last one I pitched and I
put the least amount of work into it as far
as thinking about what we would do with
it. It just had a very basic pitch and it was
the last one, but that was one that I think
for him had the emotional center that he

felt compelled by.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
BEHIND
THE LINES
Five directors
discuss the
unique
challenges of
animation
moments and Im yelling all this stuff. It

was a mess. He goes, That was one of the
worst pitches Ive ever seen. So, Im
ready to just shake his hand and get out of
there and he goes, But, I see magic here. I
know who you are. I know your cartoon.
So, of course I want to produce your movie. But he put me through it.
Hall: I wonder if he orchestrated all
the lawn mowers.
THE ENVELOPE
ENVELOPE ROUNDTABLE
I thought wed start at the beginning,

which is the pitch, your experience getting your movie made. I know, Jorge, you
have kind of a funny pitch experience
when you were explaining your movie to
producer Guillermo del Toro?
Gutierrez: I pitched the movie to him
five times and he had said no. He just was
so busy. Eventually, I guess he felt really
bad for me and said, OK, come to my
house and pitch to me one last time so I
can say no to you to your face. And so, we
go over there. We bring all the stuff and it
was one of the worst pitches of all time in
the history of pitches. It was like 100 degrees in his house. He was miserable
because it was so hot and I sweat a lot, so
I was drenched, and it was right outside
his pool area.
As soon as I opened my mouth to pitch
they had told me, You have 20 minutes
to pitch him he goes, You have five
minutes to pitch me. So, the words start
coming out of my mouth and my people in
the house next door betray me there
must have been like five lawn-mower guys
and leaf-blower guys all at the same time,
super loud. I look at Guillermo like, We
should wait for them to finish. He goes,
No, keep going. So, I start pitching him
and, you know, theres some very heartfelt
Kirk McKoy Los Angeles Times
S21
S20
THE ENVELOPE
LOS ANGELES TIMES
T U E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 14
Photographs by
THE ENVELOPE
latimes.com/envelope
KEEPING
IT FUN
S22
THE ENVELOPE
LOS ANGELES TIMES
T U E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 014
You got
[Roundtable, from S20]
away with a lot.
Miller: Lack of supervision is the best,
you guys. Negligence.
Is there a virtue also in being outside Los
Angeles, like with Laika, Graham?
Annable: Yeah. Were in a weird,
unique spot in that we really kind of have
[company president] Travis Knight to
deal with, but we dont have much beyond
that. In one of the early iterations, we had
this great fish-out-of-water sequence with
Eggs, our main character, and he was at a
tea party with Winnies parents and it was
one of the few things in those early screenings that for the studio was working great.
But as the movie began to evolve, Travis
came in at a certain point and said, You
guys, as much as we all love it, we need to
rework it, make that moment bigger.
So, we went back to the drawing board
and came up with doing a whole big ballroom dancing scene, which ultimately
became the absolute hardest thing we had
to do in the movie. But we didnt know
that. Neither Tony or I were stop-motion
guys at heart. So, we didnt quite recognize the logistical pain it was going to
cause in all the departments. But it was
what Travis had sort of pushed us into
doing. It was one of those moments where
it was nice that he had seen it from a bigpicture perspective because we were so in
the trenches of the story, and that moment became something really special
because of him.
Theres this idea in psychology called
decision fatigue, and its basically the
more decisions you make in a day, youre
making worse decisions.
DeBlois: Its an everyday thing. The
nice thing about How to Train Your
Dragon 2 is we were a bit of a wellgreased wheel coming off of the first film,
and we had really strong artists in charge
of their departments. And because I was
writing solo and I was going to be directing solo, I empowered those people
around me by saying, You can reign dominion over your department and you can
make a lot of the creative decisions and Ill
support you unless I absolutely disagree.
Miller: Right, and thats whats great
DIRECTORS Don Hall,
left, Christopher Miller,

Jorge Gutierrez, Dean
DeBlois and Graham
Annable take a break
from worries about
pitches, decisions, deadlines, bosses and voice
sessions.
Kirk McKoy Los Angeles Times
about animation. Its such a slow, drawnout process theres time for everybody to
debate, and not just the story team, but
every part of the department and the PAs
can chime in and say, You know what? I
think this and whereas like in live action,
youre burning daylight and youve got to
shoot the thing. But in animation, its just
years of being able to go back over it and
over it and over it again and keep making
changes.
Is there such a thing as too much time?
Miller: For sure, and the same kind of
fatigue where youve seen a moment and
it was really emotional or it was really
funny the first time and the seventh time
and the 20th time and now youre numb to
it and you dont feel anything. Its not
funny anymore.
Hall: Youve got to protect it.
Miller: You have to remember: Remember when this used to make us
laugh? That was delightful and then its
good to bring in fresh eyes and audiences
and just people that you trust to come in
and be like, Does this work?
Is the voice actor stage a fun one for you
guys?
Gutierrez: It was terrifying for me in
the beginning.
Why is that?
Gutierrez: Well, again, Guillermo

you know, one of the first guys we hired
was Ron Perlman and Guillermo did a
number on me. Hes like, Rons going to
push you around. Hes going to challenge
you. Hes going to yell at you.
Hall: You have to fight him.
Gutierrez: Yeah. Its going to be like a
cockfight between you two and you have
to kill him. I was like, Oh, my God. This
is going to be crazy. So, Im shaking and
Ron was a sweetheart, the nicest guy in
the universe.
Miller: It seems like Guillermo tries to
mess with you a lot.
Gutierrez: But, the actors, I mean
its amazing. You think you know who the
character is and what the lines are. You
think you know these moments, but then
in the moment they make it their own
there was like foundation shakes during
our records where we went, Holy crap.
This is so much better than anything we
imagined. Channing Tatum, for example,
was so funny. So, it definitely changed I
was really nervous, but I had no idea how
creative that part of it was.
DeBlois: Its the only aspect of animation that has any spontaneity to it.
Hall: Thats the thing, you dont want
it to be just a job [for them]. Just to come
in, punch a clock and say these lines and
then leave. Thats not whats going to get
you a great animated performance. We
had a similar experience and you let them

run. You know, Heres the script. Heres
the storyboard. You walk them through
it, but Any time you want to add anything, you know, take it and run with it.
We were very lucky to have people like T.J.
Miller and Damon Wayans Jr. and Genesis
[Rodriguez] and actually all of them to an
actor were very good at sort of improvising. Like Dean said, its tough to get spontaneity in an animated film because of just
the structure of how we make them, but
that is one of the areas where you can
encourage it and really get some gems.
Annable: It made a huge difference for
us because in one of the early sessions, we
were lucky enough to get Nick Frost and
Richard Ayoade together in the same
room for Trout and Pickles and yeah, just
immediate chemistry and like you guys
were saying, I mean they just took the
characters. They riffed on things that even
we werent reading into the lines we had
written, they made it so much more
fun.
DeBlois: The alternatives terrible
because the actor has to then sit in the
booth with me and I have to play every
other character. I actually dont sit behind
the glass. Im always in there with the
actors so they can get immediate reaction,
but Im a terrible actor.
rebecca.keegan@latimes.com
Animation: Five awards-contending directors take us behind the ...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-et-mn-anima...
Oscars Round Table

Animation: Five awards-contending
directors take us behind the lines
By REBECCA KEEGAN
DECEMBER 5, 2014, 5:15 AM
art Pablo Picasso, part George Patton, animated filmmakers

must possess an unusual mix of artistic vision and managerial
savvy. Five directors who recently came together for the
Envelope Animation Roundtable discussed the unique demands of the

medium. In a conversation at the Los Angeles Times, Graham Annable
(The Boxtrolls, with Anthony Stacchi), Dean DeBlois (How to Train
Your Dragon 2), Don Hall (Big Hero 6, with Chris Williams), Jorge
Gutierrez (The Book of Life) and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie,
with Phil Lord), tackled such topics as the pitch that goes wrong, the
virtue of studio negligence and solutions for decision fatigue.
Here are excerpts from that conversation.
I thought wed start at the beginning, which is the pitch, your
experience getting your movie made. I know, Jorge, you have
kind of a funny pitch experience when you were explaining your
movie to producer Guillermo del Toro?
Gutierrez: I pitched the movie to him five times and he had said no. He
just was so busy. Eventually, I guess he felt really bad for me and said,
OK, come to my house and pitch to me one last time so I can say no to
you to your face. And so, we go over there. We bring all the stuff and it
was one of the worst pitches of all time in the history of pitches. It was like
100 degrees in his house. He was miserable because it was so hot and I
sweat a lot, so I was drenched, and it was right outside his pool area.
As soon as I opened my mouth to pitch they had told me, You have 20
minutes to pitch him he goes, You have five minutes to pitch me. So,
the words start coming out of my mouth and my people in the house next
1 of 9
3/3/15 11:34 AM
door betray me there must have been like five lawnmower guys and
leaf-blower guys all at the same time, super loud. I look at Guillermo like,
You've read 3 of 5 free stories this month. Register

to get 10 per month.
pitches Ive ever seen. So, Im ready to just shake his hand and get out of
there and he goes, But, I see magic here. I know who you are. I know your
cartoon. So, of course I want to produce your movie. But he put me
through it.
Hall: I wonder if he orchestrated all the lawnmowers.
I know at Disney youre encouraged to pitch multiple ideas at
once. Whats the thinking there?
Hall: Well, its something I think that John [Lasseter] started up at Pixar
where he doesnt want you to kind of put all of your emotional eggs in one
basket and just be like this is the only thing that I can see making. He likes
you to think a little broader than that. The task of trying to put together
three ideas, it makes you automatically kind of divert your focus into
different things. For Big Hero 6, I think I pitched maybe six or seven.
DeBlois: Wow.
Hall: It was the last one I pitched and I put the least amount of work into
it as far as thinking about what we would do with it. It just had a very
basic pitch and it was the last one, but that was one that I think for him
had the emotional center that he felt compelled by.
Dean, when you signed on to do How to Train Your Dragon it
was specifically with the idea that you would get to do a trilogy.
Why was that important to you?
DeBlois: Because I think a lot of sequels feel unnecessary and they tend
to recycle material and a lot of them feel like cash grabs. So, to me it felt
likeyou know, these things take three or four years to make. If were
going to invest the time in it, it would be nice to have it feel as though its
got a sense of purpose. So, I pitched the idea of the first movie being the
first act in a three-act story and the second film would be the meat of
2 of 9
3/3/15 11:34 AM
Hiccups coming of age, but then everything would culminate in a very

finite conclusive way with a third installment. And they bought into that

Chris, did Lego have much input as you were making the film?
Miller: No. Well, part of our pitch to them was, if this is going to work, it
cant be coming from the Lego Group and it cant be coming from Warner
Brothers. It has to feel like its a grassroots thing. If it feels like the hand of
the Lego Group is there going, Sell these toys, then it would just be a
disaster. And so, they understood that and respected it. The movie made
them very nervous obviously because its sort of gently nibbling at the
hand that feeds it, but they were pretty respectful.
Did DC have anything to say about what you did with the
Batman character?
Miller: Yes. We met with Zach Snyder and we met with Christopher
Nolans team about making sure that we were not treading over any of the
same ground. And then, we just wrote a bunch of stuff with no regard as
to how possible it was or anything. The only stuff that made anybody
uncomfortable was we hadit was the Green Lantern character that
people thought was maybe a little bit too soon and then we had a Justice
League scene where they were starting to form a Justice League until the
Green Lantern came along and then they decided not to. They decided
that was not a good idea and so we cut that from the movie, pretty late in
the process actually.
You got away with a lot.
Miller: Lack of supervision is the best you guys. Negligence.
Is there a virtue also in being outside Los Angeles, like with
Laika, Graham?
Annable: Yeah. Were in a weird, unique spot in that we really kind of
have [company president] Travis Knight to deal with, but we dont have
3 of 9
3/3/15 11:34 AM
much beyond that. I remember on The Boxtrolls, in one of the early

iterations, we had this great fish-out-of-water sequence with Eggs, our

certain point and said, You guys, as much as we all love it, we need to
rework it, make that moment bigger. It just needs to, for the whole film,
needs to balance it a little better.
So, we went back to the drawing board and came up with doing a whole
big ballroom dancing scene, which ultimately became the absolute hardest
thing we had to do in the movie. But, we didnt know that. Neither Tony or
I were stop-motion guys at heart. So, we didnt quite recognize the
logistical pain it was going to cause in all the departments. But it was what
Travis had sort of pushed us into doing. It was one of those moments
where it was nice that he had seen it from a big-picture perspective
because we were so in the trenches of the story, and that moment became
something really special because of him.
Theres this idea in psychology called decision fatigue, and its
basically the more decisions you make in a day, youre making
worse decisions.
DeBlois: Its an everyday thing. The nice thing about How to Train Your
Dragon 2 is we were a bit of a well-greased wheel coming off of the first
film, and we had really strong artists in charge of their departments. And
because I was writing solo and I was going to be directing solo, I
empowered those people around me by saying, You can reign dominion
over your department and you can make a lot of the creative decisions and
Ill support you unless I absolutely disagree.
Miller: Right, and thats whats great about animation. Its such a slow,
drawn-out process theres time for everybody to debate, and not just the
story team, but every part of the department and the PAs can chime in
and say, You know what? I think this and whereas like in live action,
youre burning daylight and youve got to shoot the thing. But in
animation, its just years of being able to go back over it and over it and
over it again and keep making changes.
4 of 9
3/3/15 11:34 AM
Is there such a thing as too much time?

Hall: Youve got to protect it.
Miller: You have to remember: Remember when this used to make us
laugh? That was delightful and then its good to bring in fresh eyes and
audiences and just people that you trust to come in and be like, Does this
work?
Is the voice actor stage a fun one for you guys?
Gutierrez: It was terrifying for me in the beginning.
Why is that?
Gutierrez: Well, again, Guillermoyou know, one of the first guys we
hired was Ron Perlman and Guillermo did a number on me. Hes like,
Rons going to push you around. Hes going to challenge you. Hes going
to yell at you.
Hall: You have to fight him.
Gutierrez: Yeah. Its going to be like a cockfight between you two and
you have to kill him. I was like, Oh, my God. This is going to be crazy.
So, Im shaking and Ron was a sweetheart, the nicest guy in the universe.
Miller: It seems like Guillermo tries to mess with you a lot.
Gutierrez: But, the actors, I meanits amazing. You think you know
who the character is and what the lines are. You think you know these
moments, but then in the moment they make it their ownthere was like
foundation shakes during our records where we went, Holy crap. This is
so much better than anything we imagined. Channing Tatum, for
example, was so funny. So, it definitely changedI was really nervous, but
I had no idea how creative that part of it was.
5 of 9
3/3/15 11:34 AM
DeBlois: Its the only aspect of animation that has any spontaneity to it.

story board. You walk them through it, but Anytime you want to add
anything, you know, take it and run with it. We were very lucky to have
people like T.J. Miller and Damon Wayans Jr. and Genesis [Rodriguez]
and actually all of them to an actor were very good at sort of improvising.
That stuff islike Dean said, its tough to get spontaneity in an animated
film because of just the structure of how we make them, but that is one of
the areas where you can encourage it and really get some gems.
Annable: It made a huge difference for us because in one of the early
sessions, we were lucky enough to get Nick Frost and Richard Ayoade
together in the same room for Trout and Pickles and yeah, just immediate
chemistry and like you guys were saying, I mean they just took the
characters. They riffed on things that even we werent reading into the
lines we had written, they made it so much more fun. And then, you know,
subsequent sessions where they were on their own, they at least had that
rhythm to kind of build on and they knew where to take it from there.
DeBlois: The alternatives terrible because the actor has to then sit in the
booth with me and I have to play every other character. I actually dont sit
behind the glass. Im always in there with the actors so they can get
immediate reaction, but Im a terrible actor.
How cognizant are you of your international audience versus
your domestic audience?
Gutierrez: I was terrified of American audiences.
How come?
Gutierrez: Well, is this too Latin America, too Mexican? Is this too
foreign to them? I also felt the weight of, you know, Mexico. I felt like as
Guillermo began doing all this tough love on me, every meeting he would
end just by him saying, OK, Jorge, just remember you have the weight of
6 of 9
3/3/15 11:34 AM
our whole culture on you.

specific relationship with death that Mexicans have, how do you convince
people that are normally afraid of it and fear it to come to your kids movie
that kind of is about it? That to me was the biggest hurdle and it was
impossible because I had to try to put myself inyou know, what will the
non-Mexican think when they saw a main character of a movie die to go to
the one he loves? In the beginning, I just assumed everybody thought like
me and then realized, oh, no, no. People in the U.S., they see of the dead,
they think zombies; they think depressing; they think scary, horror. Like
no one thinks when they read the word death, oh, loving, like a tribute,
an honorable thing to someone else. So, that took a lot of like kind of
figuring out how do we not scare soccer moms?
You also had this really funny moment in the movie where this
little Goth boy character at the museum who says, What is it
with Mexicans and death and hes a Goth, right? What was the
thinking in putting that line in there?
Gutierrez: We were basically telling the audience exactly what they were
thinking. We have a line in there also where a kid says, What kind of
story is this? Were just kids where its like Hold on, we know what were
doing. Trust us. Its not going to go the way you think its going to go.
Hall: Its really smart because, again, it did what you wanted it to do,
which is to let everybody know that the filmmakers are aware of what
youre thinking right now. It was awesome. It was funny.
Gutierrez: And those were all improv jokes because we had meetings
and people would literally say those things in the meetings and were like,
Uh, lets go to the script.
Copyright 2015, Los Angeles Times
7 of 9
3/3/15 11:34 AM
Dragon 2 director DeBlois animates Whistler Film Festival sc...
http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/dragon-director-dean-debl...
Dragon 2 Director DeBlois

Animates Whistler Fest Scene
NOVEMBER 27, 2014 | 10:00AM PT
Helmer to receive Trailblazer in Animation Award

Katherine Brodsky (http://variety.com/author/katherine-brodsky/)
When Dean DeBlois (http://variety.com/t/dean-deblois/) wrote and directed the
How to Train Your Dragon pics (along with Chris Sanders for the first film), he
was looking to take some creative risks and defy convention.
SEE MORE: From the November 25, 2014 issue of Variety (http://variety.com
/print-issues/326-4-november-25-2014/)
It paid off; the series is a box office and critical success, and for his work, DeBlois
will receive Whistler Film Festivals Trailblazer in Animation Award on Dec. 6, as
well
1 of 3as take part in a Variety Contenders Conversation.
3/3/15 11:35 AM
Dragon
2 director
DeBloisIndies
animatesEmbrace
Whistler Film
Festival Fests
sc...
See
Also:
Canandian
Whistler
Impromptu
Market
(http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/whistler-festival-premieres-securedcanadian-distribution-1201365796/)
DeBlois is also leading the charge to harness new computer technology to

enhance animation.
is the first film to take advantage of DreamWorks Animation (http://variety.com/t/dreamworks-animation/)s Apollo software, an
overhaul of tools ranging from animation to lighting, and a new cloud-based
system that makes an unprecedented amount of computer processing power
available on demand.
This allows the creation of simulation algorithms that can spawn anything from
hair (http://variety411.com/us/los-angeles/hair-makeup-artists-local-798-ny/) and
fur movement, to fat jiggle. Details that were once difficult or impossible to
animate are now within reach.
It really comes down to just the limits of our imaginations, DeBlois says. Now
(animators work) goes directly from thought to creation without having to wait for
those exhausting renders and counterintuitive tools.
In Dragon 2, a key epic battle scene involving hundreds of dragons would have
been impossible without Apollo.
It allowed the artists to work in a very intuitive way, says DeBlois. Instead of
having to work with spreadsheets and graphs, the artists are able to manipulate
images in real-time with a stylus and a tablet, a quicker and more dynamic
approach. They are drawing again and their thoughts are being communicated
through their hands its such a pleasant and exciting way to work, he says.
Thats a relief for animators, and it allows for bolder choices and
experimentation.
And its just the beginning. I dont think weve seen the limit of it yet, says
DeBlois. It means that anything is possible.
New tools developed for one film become part of the toolkit for future films and
future animators. It just becomes an expanding toolbox all the time, he says.
2 of 3
3/3/15 11:35 AM
Dragon
2 director
DeBloisthough,
animates DeBlois
Whistler Film
Festivalthat
sc...artistry comes
For
all that
technology,
cautions
from the
animators, not the tools.
You cant replace talent with computing power.
Tipsheet
What: Film Festival
When: Dec. 3-7
Where: Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Web: http://www.whistlerfilmfestival.com (http://www.whistlerfilmfestival.com)
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/animation-roundtable-...
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1 of 21
3/3/15 11:37 AM
M OV I E S
a wide range of physics-defying powers dragons that soar through the skies,
troll-like creatures who dwell underground and a squishy robot who can squeeze
through tight spaces, to name a few but the minds behind this year's animation
contenders all see eye to eye about one thing: Their films often are not given the
artistic cred they merit.
This and other aspects of their unique craft were the subjects of a lively discussion
Nov. 5 at The Fig House in Los Angeles, where the directors and producers behind
some of 2014's most engaging 'toons were eager to compare notes on their varied
projects, which all took years to bring to the screen. Tomm Moore, 37, director of the
hand-drawn Song of the Sea, came the furthest, all the way from Dublin. Travis Knight,
41, who not only is the CEO of Laika but also served as both animator and producer on
the stop-motion-animated The Boxtrolls, flew in from Hillsboro, Ore. Mexico-born
director Jorge Gutierrez, 39, director of the Latin-inflected The Book of Life, traveled
from his home in Dallas. The Hollywood contingent included Dan Lin, 41, producer of
The Lego Movie; Bonnie Arnold, 58, producer of How to Train Your Dragon 2; and Don
Hall, 45, director of Big Hero 6. Topics ranged from art (the quirks of voice casting
The Lego Movie discovered Christ Pratt before Guardians of the Galaxy did) to business
(the pitfalls of audience testing and the debatable wisdom of making sequels) to the
surprisingly intimate: the heartfelt stories that inspired each of their films.
Last year, Frozen became a worldwide phenomenon, with $1.3 billion in global box
office. What lessons did you all take from that?
BONNIE ARNOLD Well, I've got my buzzword: That one was, "Go, girls." I was excited to
see female heroines and not just boy movies or new movies that appeal to boys.
Because I do think there's this crossover. And it makes you think more as a producer
or director, or creator or filmmaker, of how to incorporate things that are going to
appeal to both boys and girls.
DON HALL And, conversely, it wasn't just a girl movie, either. To gross that much
money and have that many people come see your film, it does have to appeal to a
large swath of people. That was the big takeaway.
5 of 21
3/3/15 11:37 AM
M OV I E S
certainly having a great song really helps.
TOMM MOORE I was at a little airport in Belgium, and there was a little girl in the
queue in front of me dressed as a princess, singing "Let It Go." That's a big
phenomenon.
JORGE GUTIERREZ I remember thinking, "We're so screwed." It did so well and the
pressure on everybody saying, "Where's your 'Let It Go' song?"
ARNOLD That's a little bit cyclical, too. My daughter, who's now 20, grew up in that
whole age of Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid, and then that seemed to fall out
of favor a bit. But it comes back. Sometimes for animation, it's a little bit harder for us
to [jump] on the moment because some of our projects take three to four years to
gestate and get made.
TRAVIS KNIGHT Three to four years? I wish. (Laughter.) I think it's dangerous to try to
figure out why it worked and why it didn't. Sometimes, things just capture the
zeitgeist. And certainly it's not something that someone could re-create easily. And
nor should they try. As animators and as filmmakers, the only thing that we can do is
try to live up to the ethos of John Lennon: Just give us some truth. And try to sell
something that's emotionally true. And in the end, it has to be a personal thing,
otherwise it's hollow. And I think the filmmakers behind that movie, that's exactly what
they did.
Read more 'ParaNorman's' Travis Knight: The Nike Scion Behind the Oscar-Nominated
Film
Live-action movies, and especially the big tentpoles, increasingly are based on
best-sellers, superheroes and other very well-known, marketable commodities. But
most of you decided to work with either original material or somewhat obscure source
material. What was the inspiration for each of your movies?
HALL For me, it was a simple conversation I had as I finished [directing] Winnie the
Pooh. It was about delving into your childhood passions. I loved animation, and I loved
comic books, and the idea of mashing those two things up was very enticing. I found
6 of 21
3/3/15 11:37 AM
M OV I E S
the story centered on loss. This kid loses his big brother, and the robot becomes a
surrogate big brother and heals this kid's broken heart.

KNIGHT I first came across Alan Snow's book Here Be Monsters!, which ultimately
became the film The Boxtrolls 10 years ago, when we were developing Coraline, and
those were the first two things that we liked and developed to become films. That's
why when you say "three to four years," I smirk, because it's been a nearly 10-year
journey for us to make this as a movie. There was something about Alan Snow's book
that just captivated me. It was reminiscent of great children's literature like Charles
Dickens or Roald Dahl. He had a great biting sense of humor like you find in a Monty
Python sketch. Coming on the heels of Coraline and ParaNorman, which were both
contemporary stories and set in modern-day America, we wanted to do something
that was different. It was me and our directors Tony Stacchi and Graham Annable at
the time, we were all fathers of young children. Anyone who works in film or animation
knows that it comes at a cost; it takes you away from your loved ones for long
stretches of time. So trying to find that balance in your work and your family life is
very difficult. And we infused that into the narrative of the film, and it became a story
about that generational thing between parents and their children.
Tomm, you turned to Irish folklore?
MOORE The way it started with Song of the Sea is something like Travis' story. My son
was 10; he's 18 now, in college. Shows you how long these things take. It's just
glacial. But we were in Dingle on the West Coast of Ireland on holiday, just at the start
of the production of The Secret of Kells, and I was sketching on the beach. My son saw
some seals that had been killed. The lady whom we were renting the cottage from told
us that local fishermen had started to kill seals because they were blaming them for
the fallen fish stocks, even though [it was] fairly unlikely it was the seals' fault. But
she said that wouldn't have happened years ago. There was this belief in selkies:
People believed that seals could be the souls of people who have been lost at sea. It
got me thinking about the fact that folklore and nature and wildlife were very
interconnected. While I was working on The Secret of Kells, this other story was
forming. So it kind of became almost like a spiritual sequel. I named [the main
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where my son was getting taller than me as I was still drawing this 10-year-old version
of him.
Bonnie, you produced a sequel, but what inspired the original How to Train Your
Dragon?
ARNOLD The [Dragon] films are based on a series of books by Cressida Cowell, a
British author. And there are 12 books in the series. But very early on, we decided on a
combination of storytelling. Sometimes the book is the movie, and sometimes it's not
exactly. So the Dragon films are definitely a departure from the book. The first film was
very successful; we were very fortunate. And Jeffrey Katzenberg, who runs
DreamWorks Animation, came to Dean [DeBlois] and was talking to him about doing a
sequel. But Dean, who was the writer and director on the film, said the only way that
he would consider doing a sequel is if he could go somewhere different with it. And he
came back and pitched the idea of it being a trilogy, this three-part story of the coming
of age of Hiccup and [his dragon] Toothless. He took some bold risks like aging the
characters up five years; Hiccup and his gang are five years older. And I have to say
also Dean lost his dad at the age of 20, which is how old Hiccup is in the film. And so,
again, it was something personal.
See more The Making of Disney's Animated Oscar Contender 'Frozen'
Personal connections seem to be a theme here. Jorge, was that also true of The Book
of Life?
GUTIERREZ I've had this thing for 14 years. Day of the Dead is something really
special to me. I was married on Day of the Dead. I lost a lot of people; when I was a
kid, I lost my friend. And so Day of the Dead was the way I stayed in contact with him.
And so eventually I said I want to give this gift to the world. Mexico in the news is
known for really violent, ugly things. I wanted to remind the world there's beauty in our
country. Every place told me no. Everybody slammed the door in my face. After a
while, a studio in Texas, Reel FX, got behind the movie, took a big chance on it. And
then Guillermo del Toro became our producer. It was not an easy film to get made. It's
about Day of the Dead; most people who are not of Mexican descent think of Day of
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element in the movie. I mean, we could not have made it harder on ourselves. And
then the look of it is so different. All the things that people now like about the movie
were the exact things that made people not want to make the movie. The movie is
very much inspired by Orpheus, and I love storytelling. It's my first movie, so I figured I
might never get to do another one. And the movie became about making the movie.
Like this journey of this artist whom this town turns on, and no one believes in him.
And he has to go into this magical world to succeed. It's very ironic I had to leave
Mexico to make a movie about Mexico. Even though [it's] a big movie, it's super
personal to me. I still cry every time I watch it. The biggest thing in the movie for me
was, I got to see it in Mexico City with my father. And he's an architect. And so my
going into cartoons was kind of a bad thing for him. He didn't consider it a true art
form. He's very conservative. And so we're at the premiere; this is the first time he
sees it. He's sitting next to me, and he puts his hand on my arm. And every time
there's a big emotional moment, he squeezes my arm. And at the end of the movie, he
looks over and says, "Jorge, this is the best conversation we've ever had." And I
(mimics flooding tears) just lost it. And so just for that, it was worth it.
Dan, when Warner Bros. announced it was making a movie about Legos, a lot of
people raised their eyebrows. How did you figure out what it was going to be about?
LIN It took a while. I was inspired by playing with Legos; my son at the time was 5.
And it took us five years to make the movie. He's kind of a free-form builder. He wasn't
following instructions; [he was] building really cool inventions of his own. But also I
saw that when he was putting bricks together, he saw a much greater adventure than
what was in front of him. And we captured that experience in an animated movie.
Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the writer-directors of the movie, said to me, "Dan, we don't
want to make a toy commercial." And I said, "What approach would you do?" They're
like, "OK, Dan, if we made this movie, this is what we would do: use Lego as an art
form the way people paint; the way people use clay. And then let's tell it as a love
story. It's a love story between us and the Lego-playing experience when we were
kids."
How much do you think about international box office and reaching a wider audience
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GUTIERREZ In the beginning, I thought, "There is no market. There is no interest in this
subject matter. There is no audience for [a] Latino theme story." Now I get asked, "Did
you know that the Latin American market was going to explode?" And I just got lucky.
That's the only reason this movie got made because that audience is exploding, and
they were hungry to see themselves.
MOORE [International] was a big part of the writing process. We had to make sure that
this wasn't only for Irish kids, you know? We took the liberty to twist the story a little
bit to make sure that it was right for this moment and talking to kids of this
generation.
See more THR's Women in Entertainment Power List
Travis, The Boxtrolls has a very British inflection to it. Did you feel pressure to make it
more universal?
KNIGHT The sensibility is very much rooted in Dickens and things like Monty Python,
which does get into kind of the entrenched class system and all that kind of stuff. But
it felt like we would be doing the story a disservice to set it in some other place just
for the possibility that it might be more universal. As Tomm and Jorge were saying, I
think the most personal works are the most universal works.
ARNOLD It feels like these days, with all this communication, this social networking or
whatever, good news travels. Dragon 2 is playing all over the world and in places where
you wouldn't expect.
Dan, your movie is full of pop culture and pop culture references. Warners has a big
investment in its live-action Batman franchise. How did you approach Warners and DC
to let you show a somewhat comical Batman figure in the Lego world?
LIN We approached both Warners and Christopher Nolan. And myself, Chris Miller and
Phil Lord, we pitched a different kind of Batman. We said, "You guys have your
live-action Batman, we have what we called the Lego Batman. A Batman that's very
self-aware. That is, you know, a bit of a jerk at times." As soon as they understood
there are different universes, that worked out OK. But that was a big challenge going
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character and Lego-ize it."
Was Who Framed Roger Rabbit an inspiration?

LIN It definitely was. Roger Rabbit was the inspiration for the whole movie, to be
honest, with all the different cameos.
What's the status of The Lego Batman Movie?
LIN It's deep in production. It comes out in 2017. And Will Arnett is going to come
back [as the voice of Batman].
As someone who has been producing live-action movies, what was the learning curve
like shifting into animation?
LIN The time that it takes to make one of these is unbelievable. In live action, things
happen a lot more quickly. The ability to rework a movie is very different [for]
animation than in live action. We had a whole version of the movie that completely
failed, and we threw it out. And I was freaking out, and Chris and Phil were just like,
"Dan, we gotta hang in there. This is not like live action." In animation, you don't finish
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movie. I was shocked at how much until the very end you can change an animated
movie. The difference between seeing animated movies six months before release
and then the final product is radically different.
ARNOLD That's because in animation, you edit the movie first. And then you shoot it.
That's the advantage.
HALL The storyboarding process [is] where the movie can change drastically. We were
doing story screenings about every three months. So you're able to watch it internally
as a group with your colleagues. And then go upstairs and say, "OK, what didn't work?"
Most of it. "And what did?" OK, hold on to that little thing.
Do you arrange your schedule so there's some footage finished early on that can be
used for marketing?
KNIGHT That's always an ongoing debate. Can we pull things up in the schedule to
shoot things that we need to use in our trailer or commercial? Sometimes you can,
sometimes you can't.
MOORE There was one scene I was so sure was going to be in the movie. We put it
into production. And we were in the middle of animating it, and then in the next room
we were having the story meeting with the writer, and we realized that scene was
gone. So it became the conceptual trailer that we released; it's not even in there.
Read more R2-D2 Was Almost in 'The Lego Movie,' Directors Say
How do you test animated films when the animation isn't fully completed?
LIN We give [the audience] all the warnings: "Hey, the movie's not done. You're going to
see a lot of gray scale." And then the comments come back: "Why isn't the animation
done? Why isn't it in color?"
ARNOLD Having done the first Toy Story movie, I remember Buzz and Woody looking
like two Popsicle sticks. There's no way you could have done any kind of testing on
that. Now, previz [rough computer-generated versions used in planning] has gotten so
sophisticated-looking that a lot of people get it confused and think it's final animation.
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positives when you go out too soon.
MOORE Sometimes when you show the whole movie in storyboards, and it gets a
good reaction, you go, "Shall we even animate?" (Laughter.)
KNIGHT I've never tested a film. We have limited physical assets, and our budgets are
relatively meager in the animation world. So for us, testing would be self-flagellation.
Even if we got good feedback, there's nothing we could do about it because we can't
change.
GUTIERREZ I love testing. I mean, I threw up the first time we screened it. It was like, "I
think this joke's going to work." And then, silence. And then some stuff that got big
laughs was stuff that even I was surprised by. And so there were all these magical
things that kept happening.
When does the conversation about sequels start?
HALL They haven't happened for us yet, to be honest with you, because we just
finished the film 17 days ago. If [my co-director] Chris [Williams] and I both agree that
we want to do it, [then we will] because it's really in the director's hands at Disney. It's
never really a corporate-driven-type thing.
Travis, from your reaction, it looks as if you're not a fan of sequels.
KNIGHT I just think that as a whole, sequels are killing our industry. When you go back
to when I was a kid, the kind of films that I grew up watching were original ideas, bold
voices, really challenging material. We don't see a lot of that anymore. We live in an
era of reboots and remakes and sequels and prequels; where old presents are
rewrapped and offered up as new gifts. It's not to say that you can't tell a compelling
story in a sequel; you certainly can. We have Godfather and Empire Strikes Back and
How to Train Your Dragon 2. But if you think about storytelling generally, your film
should be the most significant, most poignant moment of your hero's life. And so the
sequel automatically is a diminishment of that. As artists, we have to look at it and
say, "Is this good for us in the long run as an industry to continue to churn out these
same things?" We get to an end of a trilogy, and then we restart that; we reboot it in
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big and require a big canvas. And I think some stories should never have a sequel.
And that's why we will never do a sequel.

LIN I look at it as a fan, though, as a kid growing up after I saw the first Indiana Jones,
the first one [Raiders of the Lost Ark]; I wanted more.
KNIGHT Yeah, but you know what? The Temple of Doom sucked. (Laughter.) As did The
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Last Crusade. They should have stopped at one
film.
MOORE Well, my favorite movie is Rocky. And I think it's such a pity that it's not the
only Rocky.
But, Travis, isn't that philosophy problematic for investors, who want a sure thing?
KNIGHT Yes, it's stupid. It's a dumb philosophy. It makes no sense. I recognize that.
But I think we as filmmakers need to challenge the conventional wisdom, the
prevailing orthodoxy, and be champions for new ideas, new voices, new films.
Watch more 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Director Dean DeBlois on the Third
Installment
Let's shift the conversation and talk about voice casting. You've all worked with an
array of really talented actors this year. Some of them are well known and some aren't.
When you're casting, do you meet with actors? Or do you listen to tapes of their
voices? How do you separate an actor's face and personality from the voice that we'll
be hearing coming through the character?
LIN We'll have listening sessions to figure out who's the right tone, who brings the
right sense of humor. But you have lots of plug-in surprises with The Lego Movie. Chris
Pratt, the world knew him in TV but didn't really know him in features. This process
takes a long time, but we cast him three or four years ago. The character is an
ordinary person who goes on this extraordinary journey. And I think [after his starring
role in Guardians of the Galaxy] the whole world is now seeing Chris Pratt going on this
extraordinary journey. So I think that's really exciting.
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the first Dragon. [At the ceremony] I went over to get something to drink, and Dean
comes to me, "I just ran into Cate Blanchett. And I'm writing [the mother] part for her,
and I just pitched her the thing on the way to the bathroom."
GUTIERREZ We have the largest Hispanic cast in the history of animation. But at the
same time, I personally didn't want to scare white people into thinking it was just for
Latin people. Channing Tatum, when I pitched him the movie, I told him, "You're going
to have the suaveness of Argentina and the smoothness of Brazil and the machismo
of Mexico. You're going to be Captain Latin America." At the end, he took me aside and
said, "Jorge, you know I'm not Mexican." (Laughter.)
MOORE The casting was a dream because the Oscar nomination [for my first movie,
The Secret of Kells] really opened doors, and nobody said no. Our biggest challenge
was the same one as the last movie; it's always the same when you have to cast a kid.
But we were lucky enough [to know] David Rawle, who was in the TV series Moone Boy,
and we were doing the animation for that series. He was like the most talented
11-year-old actor in Ireland.
<
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When you look at all of the Oscar categories, do you feel there are categories where
animated films are overlooked?

ARNOLD Absolutely.
GUTIERREZ Art direction.
MOORE But isn't it weird that Gravity and Avatar aren't animated films? They're not
considered animated films, but there's so much animation in them.
ARNOLD To me, animation is a technique to tell the story. I wish sometimes we
weren't as relegated to the kiddie table, as I feel like we are.
THR's signature discussions with the top awards contenders continue throughout the
season. Watch the full videos on THR.com or THR.com/iPad, or tune in to the A&E network
Dec. 28 to watch the Actor and Actress Roundtables.
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Veteran sound wizard Randy Thom did double duty on DreamWorks Animation's smash "How to
Train Your Dragon 2." Not only did he create an entire soundscape from scratch for this sequel to the
2011 hit but he also voiced the title character again. As he revealed during our recent webcam chat
(watch below), this dragon "who is vicious sometimes is frightened sometimes and needed to sound
like a little puppyso it was up to me and the team of people who I work with to figure out how to
create all those vocal sounds."
In this second installment of the trilogy, Toothless and his owner Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel)
fight to protect an ice cave that's home to hundreds of new wild dragons. The film scored with both
critics (earning a stellar 92 at Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences taking in almost $620 million
worldwide (a bump of more than $125 million from the original). And it is a strong contender for Best
Animated Feature at the Oscars.
Thom has won two of his 14 Oscar bids, claiming the Best Sound award in 1983 for "The Right Stuff"
and Best Sound Editing in 2004 for "The Incredibles." Ever self-effacing, he confessed, I think up until
now it was mostly luck, but now I think I grasp some of the techniques a little better, so I feel more
confident.
64

Supporting Actor?
365

April 26
He detailed all the demands of working on a big budget film like this. Some people might assume the
1 of 3
3/3/15 11:40 AM
Oscar-winning sound wiz Randy Thom doing double duty on '...
job of a sound designer is just literally to fabricate sounds, to figure out how to make the sounds, but
really in a grander sense the job of the sound designer is to help the director figure out what the movie
should sound like, what the sound style should be.

As Thom explained, Every film has a sound style, just like it has a visual style. For How to Train Your
Dragon, all the sounds needed to be convincing. They needed to be naturalistic enough so that youd
actually believe these were dragons.
766
The original "Dragon" lost the Best Animated Feature race to "Toy Story 3" back in 2010. That Pixar
pic also contended in Sound Editing (losing to "Inception"). Animated features have made strong
showings in both sound categories in recent years, with Thom also contending in both races for "The
Polar Express" in the year he won one of his two bids for "The Incredibles" and reaping two
nominations for "Ratatouille" in 2007.
Will Thom win Sound Editing for "How to Train Your Dragon 2"? After watching our interview, be sure
to vote using the easy drag-and-drop menu below.



2 of 3
3/3/15 11:40 AM
DreamWorks' 'How to Train Your

Dragon 2' breaking records and
misconceptions
The film has become Fox's most successful family production at
home
By Kristopher Tapley @kristapley | Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014
8:47 PM
13
There's been an interesting misconception around DreamWorks'
"How to Train Your Dragon 2" that seems to need correcting. Most
eyes tend to be on domestic box office tallies, so the film's $176.8
million haul feels like a failure stacked against the 2010 original
film's $217.5 million. But globally, "Dragon 2" blew past the
original's $494.8 by over $100 million, settling in at $618.8
million, enough to make it the highest grossing animated film of
the year.
And now, it's breaking records at home, too. Variety reported
earlier this week that the sequel has sold two million units on Bluray, DVD and Digital HD, making it 20th Century Fox's top
Digital HD family title ever.
It just seemed like a stream of facts worth embossing as the Oscar
season heats up and the Best Animated Feature Film race finds its
stride. A lot of love has been thrown "The LEGO Movie's" way
(the film made nearly 50% more than "Dragon 2" stateside but
didn't come close to the sequel's worldwide tally). I'm a fan of that
romp as far as it goes; it just doesn't match "Dragon 2" for scope,
craft and story. But I've already made the case for Dean DeBlois'
film in the Best Picture race, let alone the animated feature
scramble.
It's an interesting year for the animated features. All of the movies
that seem to have a real fighting chance also have perceived
knocks against them. "Big Hero 6" (which is delightful in a
Saturday morning kind of way) has the Marvel stigma. "The
Boxtrolls" (gorgeously designed and wrought) didn't capture critics
the way Laika's previous films have. The GKIDS movies are, well,
low profile, shall we say. "Dragon 2" has this misconception
regarding its financial success and "The LEGO Movie" is dealing
with brand stigma as well.
Most expect "LEGO" to pull out the win for ingenuity in a sea of
brand and aesthetic familiarity. But my fingers will be crossed for
DreamWorks' best film and franchise to date, a thrilling piece of
work that still rates as one of the very best films period of
the year.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/dreamworkshow-to-train-your-dragon-2-breaking-records-andmisconceptions#F47cDiQ6Q7QSbMJR.99

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2014 2015 AWARDS SEASON

COMPLETED COVERAGE REPORT

Dean DeBlois Rides the Dragon to Success

A One-Hour Documentary About the Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2

Dragons, robots, trolls run tight race for animation Oscar

Dragon 2 Reaps Benefits of DreamWorks Animations Techie Innovation

The Oscar ballot with predictions in each category

LATIMES THE ENVELOPE

15 Movies to See Before the Oscars: 6. How to Train Your Dragon 2

Watch an Amazing One-Hour How to Train Your Dragon 2 Making of Documentary

Behind the Scenes with America Ferrera

Special Animation Issue / Finally Ready for Primetime

Enter the Dragon 2: How Did it Become the Oscar Frontrunner?

Oscar Winner Predictions 2015: Animated Feature

Immersed in Movies: The Oscar-Nominated Animation Directors Tell Their Secrets

How to Train Your Dragon 3 Could Have a Toy Story 3 Arc

Strong Storytelling is Key for Oscar Animation Contenders

How to Train Your Dragon 3 is a Coming of Age Story

HP DreamColor Display Wins Academy Award!

CINEMA WITHOUT BORDERS

DeBlois on Third Train Your Dragon Story

The Science Behind Oscars Award-Winning Trees and Tresses

America Ferrera Embraces Competitive Side for Dragon

Bonnie Arnold Talks How to Train Your Dragon 2

ANIMATION WORLD NET

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Annie Awards

TOY WORLD MAGAZINE

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Dominates This Years Annie Awards

How to Train Your Dragon 3 Plot & Cast Unveiled

DreamWorks Soars at Annie Awards

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Grabs 6 Annie Awards

In Praise of How to Train Your Dragon 2

Annie Awards Pick How to Train Your Dragon 2

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Wins Annie Awards Top Honor

Dragon 2, Mickey Dominate 42nd Annie Awards

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Tops 42nd Annual Annie Awards

America Ferrera Talks Dragon 2

Contenders: Sound Mixing

Animators Roundtable at Variety Studio Full Video

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Anatomy of a Contender)

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Contenders: Animated Feature

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Dragon 2 A Smooth Ride

Animation Contenders 2014

Animated Features Are A Vital Addition

Artists Get Into Character

Contenders: Animation Roundtable

LA TIMES THE ENVELOPE

LA TIMES THE ENVELOPE

Dragon 2 Director DeBlois Animates Whistler Fest Scene

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Producer on Casting Cate Blanchett

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

The Animation Rountable

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon 2 Breaking Records and Misconceptions

Crowded Competish, Without Pixar, Feature Race is Open but Confusing

DreamWorks Animation Panel Carmel Film Festival