Close Encounter

How a personal tragedy inspired Joe Mateo to create his beautiful Skydance Animation/Apple Original short Blush.

When Joe Mateo’s beautifully crafted Blush premiered at Annecy this past June, audiences were moved by its lovely visuals and heartfelt storyline. Billed as the inaugural short by Skydance Animation and Apple Original Films, the short centers on an astronaut who crash lands on a desolate dwarf planet, but finds his life saved and forever changed by an ethereal visitor.

Mateo is an Emmy-winning writer and story artist (Prep & Landing) and a longtime animation veteran at Disney and Pixar, having worked on features such as Pocahontas, Mulan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, The Emperor’s New Groove and Treasure Planet. In addition to co-writing Meet the Robinsons (and voicing Tiny the T-Rex), Mateo served as story artist on such hits as Bolt, Tangled, Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph and Raya and the Last Dragon, and head of story on Big Hero 6. Mateo talked to us earlier this year about his labor of love:

Animag: Congratulations on all the accolades your short has received so far. Can you tell us a little bit about the origins and inspirations for Blush?

Joe Mateo: When I lost my wife about four years ago, I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what a panic attack was, and it was the first time I had it. Right after that, I felt like I wasn’t able to breathe. I had a hard time going back to work. I was at Disney at the time, and everyone was very supportive. But drawing and animation has always been my outlet. So I thought, why not channel all of this grief and experience to tell this story? That’s how it all came about. With my kids, being the new air that I breathe, I thought I should share my source of healing and hope with the world.

Did the short start at Disney or was Skydance Animation involved from the beginning?

It wasn’t supposed to be a Disney project. When I started toying with the idea of the short, I started thinking about John [Lasseter], with whom I had worked with in the past. He had started his new position at Skydance at that time. He is so good at staying with the filmmaker’s ideas and is very supportive of the true story that

‘We knew when we started the project what our message was going to be, but for me, I didn’t expect the healing to happen to me in the process of making it.’

— Director Joe Mateo the filmmaker wants to tell. So, I thought it would be awesome to have John as my mentor, because it is always scary to direct your first project. So, I made that leap and decided to tell him why I thought this film had to be made.

The design of the planet and the overall visuals of the film are quite striking. Can you tell us a little bit about them?

So, I designed the characters and I followed my own personal style, how I always do storyboards. I am really comfortable working in that style, and it fit with the tiny planet. I didn’t plan to design it, but John really liked how I did the storyboards and decided to go with it. For the look of the world, I had a lot of help from my production designer Noëlle Triaureau and my art director Julian Romero Muñoz. One thing that stands out: When we started production, we designed the planet — I had a rough drawing, and then Noëlle did this painting that served as a springboard that really got everything going. Another standout part was the design of the tree and how it grew on the planet. I know it had to be special, but the way I storyboarded it, it was just a basic mango tree growing. But Julian, our art director, came up with this spiral movement. I saw it and I knew it was perfect. It didn’t stop with the tree: It became a unifying element throughout the short. We have the spiral

image, which symbolizes life and makes total sense for us.

Where was the animation produced? Did you all work from home?

We started production here in L.A., two months before the pandemic shutdown. It was a small group of us at Skydance L.A. We also collaborated with the Skydance Madrid studio [formerly Ilion Animation Studios], which was awesome. That’s where most of the crew was based. We started with a small group and it grew from there. It took about a year and a couple of months. We all worked from home.

Love at First Sight: Joe Mateo’s personal loss inspired his poignant space fantasy Blush.

How does it feel to finally release this very personal project into the world?

It feels like you’re showing off your baby. For me, it goes back to the original intent and message of the short, which is about hope and healing, and the importance of love. We knew when we started the project what our message was going to be, but for me, I didn’t expect the healing to happen to me in the process of making it. I felt that Blush gave me and our crew who were working from home something to look forward to every morning.

When did you decide to tie in your own personal photos and images during the end credits of the short?

Initially, I went back and forth. I wasn’t sure because I wanted people to relate to the short and have a connection with it. When we were putting the storyboard reel together, we tried it both with and without it, and it was just so much more impactful with the addition, and the message really resonated with that [autobiographical] connection. It became a love letter to my wife and my family.

When you were a kid growing up in the Philippines, did you always know you wanted to work in animation?

I was a big fan of Saturday morning ’80s cartoons, shows like G.I. Joe, Transformers, etc. I think watching Disney movies really made me look into the art form. It was amazing to witness how things come to life. That’s how I got into it. I took two animation classes in college in the Philippines, but I majored in advertising. So, all my knowledge in animation came from those two classes. I was just fortunate that there was an opening position for cleanup in-between artists for Pocahontas at Disney and I learned so much on that job.

Any final words of advice for other animation hopefuls?

I never imagined being a director, but this idea for the story came along and it was so personal to me. So, my advice would be to find something that means a lot to you, and then figure out a way to tell the story in the most entertaining way. That’s it I guess! ◆

Blush is currently streaming on Apple TV+. For more info, visit skydance.com/animation.