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A Nona You Can’t Help But Love Director Louis Gonzales talks about remarkable grandmas, wrestling and animation.
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ne of the wonderful aspects of Pixar’s Gonzales wanted the central grandmother figSparkShorts program is how often it al- ure in the short to be a supervisor or the manager lows the creators to reach back to their of her apartment building. “She’s very good with own life history for inspiration. The program’s her hands and she likes to fix things,” he explains. 10th short, Nona, which premiered on Disney+ last “So, already I have a grandma that I kind of like, lio together.’ I did, and I got a job at Warner Bros. month, is another outstanding example of the ini- because she’s not like typical grandmas I see on Feature Animation. Funny thing was, in that same tiative’s uncanny ability to tap into the directors’ TV. She’s more like the grandmas I know. I also year, I also got married, bought my first house and special talents and experiences. Inspired by some had this granddaughter character who is really had my first child. Two beautiful things happening of the people in writer-director Louis Gonzales’ quiet and sweet, but as soon as you turn your at once. Right?” Then, he got a call from Pixar. Gonzales recalls, life, Nona centers on a one-of-a-kind grandmother back, she’s a big ball of energy.” The main character reminds Gonzales of his “They said, ‘Hey, you know, we’d love for you to who is caught between keeping an eye on her mischievous granddaughter and watching her fa- own grandmother. “She had this big personality. I come in and interview.’ So, I went up and interloved her to death. I was really kind of afraid of viewed. Surprisingly, it worked out great and they vorite wrestling match on TV! “When the Spark opportuhired me. And I’m ‘Nona kicked my butt and told me, “Hey, why aren’t you doing more?” there now, working nity came along, they asked me if I had a story that I was So, now I have a lot of stories in my head ... It’s time to move!’ on my career. My caburning to tell,” recalls Gonreer is blossoming, — Writer-director Louis Gonzales and so is my family. I zalez. “Well, I had a hundred stories I was burning to tell, but I had these two her when I was young because I was a shy kid. But moved up here with two sons and added a daughcentral characters that I wanted to explore be- here’s the important part: she loved wrestling! We ter to the mix as well!” The passionate artist says Nona gave a whole cause this grandma character was so fascinating really bonded when she was like, ‘You love wresto me, and having this granddaughter in the mix tling? I love wrestling, too.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my new push to his career. “It gave me something to really love again. I was at a point in my career was a fun thing to bring in a little bit of the old goodness. I have the coolest grandma!’” world with the new.” The animation veteran, who has worked on where I didn’t feel like I was moving up. I had choAfter taking several side steps, Gonzales and many TV shows and movies as a layout and story- sen not to pursue my own career for my kids, and the short’s producer Courtney Casper Kent decid- board artist, including Monsters, Inc., Brave and now my kids were off pursuing their own careers, ed to really zero in on the characters. “They always Incredibles 2, says as a kid growing up in Southern and I was thinking, ‘Hey, can I still do say, ‘write what you know,’ so I started looking at California’s San Fernando Valley he loved four this?’ Nona proved to me that I could. As a matter my own family for inspiration about how they things: comics, cartoons, wrestling and drawing. of fact, not only did it prove that to me, it also kicked my butt and told me, ‘Hey, why aren’t you move, how they talk, how they gesture,” Gonzales “That love for drawing never stopped,” he says. Gonzales then set out to do what he loved as a doing more?’ So, now I have a lot of stories in my recalls. “Before I knew it, I had most of my own grandma Pearl in there, my daughter, my nieces. living. He says, “I didn’t have the greatest grades, head. I have a lot percolating in my head! It’s time You have to bring yourself into the project, be- so I didn’t make it into these colleges that train to move!” ◆ cause that’s how you’re going to find a story that for animation. Instead, I met a guy who worked at Disney and he said, ‘Hey, I’ll help you put a portfo- Nona is currently streaming on Disney+. works on various levels.” www.animationmagazine.net 48
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