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Q: What were some of the other ideas?

Kristina Reed: You know, I don’t know because I wasn’t involved in the short selection process, but we just went through it another time to pick a short for Zootopia, so that one’s going into production, and they’re just firing up the shorts selection process again to decide for Moana.

Q: Congrats on the Zootopia success! Question: How come there wasn't a short before it?

Byron Howard: very complex, all resources were working on the film.

Q: Do you know why there wasn't a short before Zootopia?

Byron Howard: It was a big movie to make, so all resources were involved in the movie.

Coordinating and executing Marketing and PR plans for Walt Disney Animation Studios upcoming releases, including Moana, Inner Workings and Gigantic.

In response to an inquiry to Walt Disney Animation Studios, we were told that it’s very likely that the studio will be releasing a brand new short in 2016. This is, of course, good news. However it appears that the unidentified short is currently in production and so the studio is aiming for a release alongside Moana (November 23, 2016), so we won’t be seeing a short with Zootopia which, according to the BBFC, clocks in at just over 108 minutes in length.

At the Festival, the Disney animation studios unveil new images of their new animated film VAIANA, THE LEGEND OF THE END OF THE WORLD and present exclusive world premiere their new short film InnerWorkings, Friday, June 17 at 10:30 am (Bonlieu, Great hall).


InnerWorkings preview

The director Leo Matsuda (storyboard, NEW HEROES and THE WORLDS OF RALPH) and producer Sean Lurie will also be in Annecy to present in world preview InnerWorkings, the new short film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, which tells the history of the internal struggle between a man in the Brain, pragmatic protector that calculates the slightest movement, and the Heart, adventurer who dream of limitless freedom.

The film will be available in theaters in the first part of VAIANA, THE LEGEND OF THE END OF THE WORLD.

Directed by Leo Matsuda (a story artist on Big Hero 6 and Wreck-It Ralph) and produced by Sean Lurie, the short “is the story of the internal struggle between a man’s Brain—a pragmatic protector who calculates his every move, and his Heart—a free-spirited adventurer who wants to let loose.” And boy does it cut loose, in a way that pays homage to animated Disney classics of the past like 1943’s wartime short “Reason and Emotion” and Cranium Command, the 17-minute-long attraction that appeared inside Epcot’s Wonders of Life pavilion between 1989 and 2007 … but with an entirely new spin. We can’t say too much about it besides the fact that you will love it with all your heart (and many other bodily organs), and that it is yet another inventive combination of 3D animation and traditional, hand-drawn animation.

"Inner Workings" is the story of the internal struggle between a man's pragmatic, logical side and his free-spirited, adventurous half. Created by a small team at Walt Disney Animation Studios in a unique, fast-paced style that blends CG and traditional hand-drawn animation, the short explores the importance of finding balance in daily life.

That sounds more like 1943's Reason & Emotion. Moreso than Inside Out.

Q: What roles can we expect to see you in in the near future?

Raymond Persi: There is a short that’s coming out with Moana this fall that I did some voices in the short too so I guess you’ll hear me in that. It’s a short called Inner Workings and more information on it is going to come out real soon.

The primary players of Inner Workings are the fearful brain and the good-time heart of Paul, an average Joe paper-pusher whose walk to work is filled with distractions where the two organs don’t agree on the right course of action, with the brain usually winning out. Experiencing both the monotony of work life and the fun that everybody else is having at a nearby beach, heart and mind come to an understanding, though Paul doesn’t throw all caution to the wind.

Inner Workings blends CG and traditional hand-drawn animation in its exploration of how to find balance in life.

The director cited famous directors Jacques Tati and Wes Anderson as cinematic influences on the short

And given that Inner Workings was supposed to blend CG and traditional hand-drawn animation as it told a fast-paced tale ... Well, that meant that this animated short quickly became an all-hands-on-deck situation. With not only WDAS veterans like Mark Henn & Dale Baer lending their expertise to this project but also talented newcomers like Ami Thompson. (According to Matsuda & Lurie, Thompson’s “Little Golden Books” -inspired versions of Paul’s brain visions are some of the comic high points of this new short.)

Matsuda recreated the graphical look of those layered acetate transparencies in his short along with an ’80s vibe that’s pushed and theatrical. His influences were Jacques Tati, Wes Anderson, Disney’s Ward Kimball and Bruno Bozzetto, whose “Grasshoppers” short inspired the 2D brain visions of Paul winding up dead after every imagined risk he takes.

“Inner Workings” also benefited from designer/animator Ami Thompson, a visual development apprentice on “Zooptopia,” who’s been promoted on a soon-to-be-announced Disney feature. Her character designs demonstrated great versatility, particularly with the 2D brain visions made with TVPaint software.

Meanwhile, Ludwig Goransson (“Creed”) composed the highly synthesized ’80s type score and wrote the infectious Brazilian-sounding song, “California Loco.”

In addition to overseeing character design, Thompson animated the majority of the “brain visions,” wherein the brain imagines what would happen if Paul indulges in his heart’s flights of fancy. These visions were mostly done with traditional 2D animation. Leo and I just wanted to style it more like a children’s book,” she explained, again referencing the simple style that also inspired Matsuda.“The animation was really challenging, because it’s a style I’ve never tried before,” Thompson said. “We went with an animation style that was really limited and very graphic.” Helping her with those brain visions was legendary animator Mark Henn. Of the experience, Thompson said it was “amazing.” “It was part of my biggest dream to someday work with him and I never imagined it would happen like this early,” she told me. “It was such an honor.”

We went with an animation style that was really limited and very graphic.