Before the Academy Awards nominations came out earlier this week, Hero Complex talked to Guillermo del Toro, who advised on the pair of DreamWorks movies that received Best Animated Feature nods Puss In Boots and Kung Fu Panda 2. The filmmaker explained his experience working on those two movies and the amount of input he had on them:
With Puss, I was really feeling like part of the team creating it. With Panda, I was very involved but I also came in late enough in the process that a lot of the decisions had been made. On Puss in Boots, I felt like one of the many parents that the movie has. Every experience I’ve had at DreamWorks has been really rewarding in terms of how they connect with the audience. Following Kung Fu Panda 2, all of the audience test screenings and seeing it get a really strong foothold and then Puss also getting the CinemaScore [grade of A-] that it got and getting the critical consensus that it got — all of that is hugely satisfying. With both there was the requisite notions of a sequel — or a prequel — but we wanted in both cases to some degree to establish the personality of the movie individually.
Del Toro went on to discuss how things like digital filming, special effects and 3D have facilitated the creative process for some of his fellow directors. He also had good things to say about seeing images and trailers for The Hobbit, which he was attached to at one point, noting that he was not emotionally conflicted.
You know, not really, not at this stage. I’m very happy the movie is in the right hands and I’m very to happy see — I’m actually elated to see images. I think it’s great to see the trailer. Think about it, I’m so fully immersed now in Pacific Rim. I’m 47 and I never in my life have had as good an experience making a movie as Pacific Rim has been. It’s been a joy every morning from every point of view and I cannot tell you how much I’m enjoying it because I have nothing to compare it to. Part of it is how involved and invested the guys from ILM have been. It’s been amazing.
Del Toro's next film Pacific Rim is an action-adventure starring Idris Elba, Ron Perlman and Charlie Day that pits giant piloted robots against giant monsters in the vein of Godzilla. That film is set to open on May 10, 2013.