A Sweet Farewell to Those Cuddly

A Sweet Farewell to Those Cuddly ‘Bros’

We Bare Bears creator Daniel Chong opens up about the show’s hugely satisfying movie, which also served as a grand fnale.

Early this month, fans of Daniel Chong’s hugely popular We Bare Bears got a big present in the form of a 70-minute-long movie that put a nice bow on the show, which debuted in July of 2015 and aired its fnal episode last April. We caught up with Chong to fnd out more about the charming movie and his plans for the future.

Animag: First of all, congrats did the idea for this movie

when Cartoon Network asked creating We Bare Bears for the cabler.] We felt quite confdent that we could do it, although we had a lot less time to do it than your average Disney or Pixar movie.

How long did it take you to make it?

We spent about eight months on the script — and that’s while we were actually producing the series, too. We boarded the movie for over a year, while still fnishing up the regular episodes for the frst half of season four. There was a lot of overlap. In reality, we didn’t know that the movie was going to serve as the fnale for the show when we wrote it. We just assumed that we were going to keep going, even after 140 episodes! But when it was determined that we were going to end the show,

on you very well-received We ‘You can’t make 140 episodes of a show without Bare Bears: The Movie. How digging into every aspect of your past and every

come about? movie and TV show that infuenced you.’ Daniel Chong: It started out — Creator Daniel Chong us to do a movie. Frankly, I had always wantHow do you feel about the movie now that it ed to do a movie with these characters. We has fnally landed on Cartoon Network, after had these compelling characters that could being available on digital download for a few easily exist in a long-form project since we months? always tried to give them emotional depth.I This show was based on the experience of behad a background in animated movies. [Chong ing a minority in America. So, I like that we worked as story artist on features such as Bolt, were able to end the series on this poetic Despicable Me, The Lorax and Inside Out, before note, which is about feeling acceptance and

the movie achieved a nice bookend quality.

ftting in and fnding your place in the world. I couldn’t have anticipated that this was the way we were going to go out, but I’m really happy that we ended with them helping others just like them and creating a utopia of sorts.

Can you talk about the message of the movie and how it’s probably even more relevant now than when you wrote it?

We wrote the movie when we were seeing all the news about ICE separating all these immigrant families. We’ve gone through a pandemic, witnessed the Black Lives Matter protests, and we know that racism is not going away. This is an ongoing battle that we have to fght. We wrote the script two years ago, but unfortunately, the themes are even more relevant now.

Did you work with the same team that was on your series?

Yes, more or less we had the same creative team. There were people coming in and out, but we had about eight or nine story artists boarding on the show. We had an extra editor on the movie. On the regular show, we clean up all the boards, then we edit it together and do all the small fxes. For the movie, we had lots of trial and error. Our board artists would do lots of roughs and story editors

Three for the Road: Daniel Chong’s We Bare Bears series was based on his popular webcomics and originally debuted in the summer of 2015.

would do scratch dialog to see how it all held up. It was easier to troubleshoot that way. We then sent the movie to Rough Draft. They also did lots of CG vehicles, fres and crowds for the movie. This movie wasn’t TV friendly, but they did a fantastic job. It was a hefty job. Outside the CG stuff, they still hand animate and draw on paper with pencil and ink. They scan and composite in Toon Boom Harmony.

Why do you think the show was such a hit with fans all over the world?

You never know exactly what it is that people are connecting with, but I really wanted people to love the bears’ personalities from the start. The bears were fawed each in their own way: Grizz is fun-loving, Panda is a bit too selfsh or Ice Bear is a bit too weird, etc. but they always had good intentions and tried to do the right thing. That’s what I wanted out of their personalities. Hopefully that was one of the aspects people were drawn to them. When I look back 10 years ago, I remember that I just wanted to make my own show. The industry was much smaller and there were very limited projects to work on. I just wasn’t connecting with a lot of the things that I was working on, so I wasn’t happy. I just didn’t think I could trust the industry to provide me with something that I would be excited about, so I had to make it myself. I had to go out there and pitch a show that I would be proud of.

What are some of the most memorable reactions you have had to your work?

You know, it’s funny, because a lot of us get removed from the process and the audience. The best way to get feedback is to go online. We don’t get to meet fans regularly. I’d say the times that I got to meet the show fans is when I travel overseas. The series does very well internationally, and it’s incredible to see how the show transcends cultural boundaries and language barriers. A few years ago, I was a guest of the Pixelatl Festival in Mexico, and these students came up to me, and they just said, “We Bare Bears” and pointed to their hearts. I could see the love in their eyes. The connection was deeply emotional. That was one of the most amazing experiences. It’s always wonderful to get these nice messages from the fans.

In the past, you’ve talked about how much you were infuenced by the work of Bristol’s Aardman Animations. Can you elaborate on that and your other inspirations?

My entry into drawing and animation came from the world of comic-strips. I adored Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side and Garfeld. I would go through all the Sunday comic pages, so I wasn’t hugely infuenced by animation when I was growing up. Once I got into animation, I really loved stop-motion. Nick Park’s The Wrong Trousers and all the other Wallace & Gromit shorts were huge. I saw them at an animation festival, and they were like nothing I had seen before. I loved the British humor and the deadpan quality. Watching that short really opened my eyes to what animation could be. [We Bare Bears was based on a webcomic that Chong had created.]

Any fnal words of advice for animation industry hopefuls who want to create their own shows?

I think everyone will tell you that we live in a time that technology has given everyone the ability to make their own things and create exposure through the internet and social media. Those things weren’t available when I was starting out. So, without question, you should take advantage of those things. What everyone neglects to mention is the importance of personal growth and development. So much of what you create is shaped by your background and the things that shaped you. The better you understand your background, the sharper your voice will become. You can’t make 140 episodes of a show without digging into every aspect of your past and every movie and TV show that infuenced you. Work on your voice, look inside and try to understand what makes you unique.

We Bare Bears: The Movie premieres on Cartoon Network on September 12. A spinoff series featuring the baby versions of the bears is also in development at the studio.