5 minute read
A Ringed Tale
Parenting is never easy, especially when you’re a racoon living close to the ocean in the Pacific Northwest. Director Natalie Nourigat ponders this idea and offers a poignant take on the parentchild relationship in her lush and beautifully animated Disney short Far from the Tree. Nourigat, who was a story artist on features such as Ralph Breaks the Internet, Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto and created the autobiographical graphic novel I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation, says she was inspired by her own childhood growing up close to the breath-taking beaches on the Oregon coastline.
“About three years ago, I was wrapping my first short Exchange Student for Disney’s experimental Short Circuit program, when I had this great opportunity to pitch an idea for a new short,” she tells us. “So, I looked at my old sketch books and I found three that I was fond of. Then, at the last minute, I came across one that was more personal and emotional, and I decided to go for it. It wasn’t a super solid pitch, but that was the one they picked!”
Nourigat was paired with producer Ruth Strother, who had worked with her on two of her Disney features and production began on the short in 2019. Originally, the plan was to finish the short in 12 months, but COVID shutdown added another six months to the production schedule. “We had a pretty small crew, and we all did a lot of different jobs,” says Strother. “It was small enough that we got to know everybody. We were almost done in March of 2020, but because of the pandemic, we ended up wrapping in the summer.”
— Director Natalie Nourigat
The Circle of Life: Far from the Tree observes the trials of being a protective parent as seen through the eyes of a raccoon in the Pacific Northwest. Meander Magic
One of the standout qualities of the short is how it harkens back to the glory days of 2D animation at the studio, while it takes advantage of the latest CG technology and relies on the studio’s Meander animation tool to create those 2D visuals, similar to previous award-winning Disney shorts such as Paperman and Feast. (Meander, which was first developed in 2010, is an animation toolset that allows artists to draw with on-thefly vectorization. This allows the application to perform automatic in-betweening.)
“I’m a child of the 1980s, and I come from the world of comics,” says Nourigat. “So, I love 2D animation and anything that is graphic and simplified. Today, we have so many cool tools in CG. We can create these really complex camera moves, get some really subtle acting choices for the characters and achieve this hybrid look that combines the best of both worlds.”
As the director explains, the short’s environments and characters were all modeled in CG. Then, a flat color was applied to the characters. Meander was used on top of to get that hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animated line art. “That program has been updated through the years, but it’s still a fan favorite at the studio,” notes Nourigat. “Now we can draw with multiple colors. I actually learned how to use it from Rachel Bibb [veteran Disney animator who also worked on Paperman and Feast] and animated a couple of shots with her, which was super fun.”
Nourigat mentions that she and her team originally thought they were going to use
How director Natalie Nourigat’s own childhood inspired her vision for the new Disney short Far From the Tree.
Meander only for about 10 percent of the short. “We thought we were going to use it sparingly, just like the cherry on top,” she says. “But we loved it so much that we ended up using it in 95 percent of the shots. As soon as you see a shot with Meander, you think, ‘Oh, we could use it a little bit more!’”
As she prepares for her short’s theatrical premiere with the Disney feature Encanto, the Disney artist says she is happy to have explored part of her own childhood and personal history for this project. “I knew that I wanted to make a short that spoke to that nostalgia,” she says. “I liked the idea of a multi-generational story and I have such fond memories of this place. Ruth and the rest of our development team helped me poke at this idea and find an actual story and a conflict that made it deeper. I went back to that beach with my parents a few years ago and I just saw it in a different way, from their perspective. I asked them, ‘This place is kind of dangerous with these sharp rocks, big waves and riptides that pull people out to sea … How did you feel bringing your kids here?’”
Nourigat’s parents told her that being a parent was difficult because you want your child to experience the world, but you also need to protect them and keep them safe. “You know they’re going to get hurt sooner or later,” she says. “I thought that was a good place to start, to shift from a child’s POV to a parent’s perspective and to find a sense of healing and forgiveness along the way.” The director says she hopes when audiences see Far from the Tree, it prompts them to think about their parents or children. “I’d be very happy if someone decides to call their mom or wants to talk to their dad after seeing our short,” she says. “Maybe they can let go of something from their past and get a sense of forgiveness. Maybe they’ll decide to hug their kid a little closer.” ◆
