Atlanta native Stephen Wong graduated Georgia Tech in 2001 with a computer science degree but had an itch to get into movies.
So he moved to San Francisco and got a degree focused on animation at the Academy of Art University. Soon, he nabbed a coveted gig at Pixar animating classic movies such as “Ratatouille,” “WALL-E,” “Up” and “Toy Story 3.”
Now for the first time, Wong has moved up the ranks to become the directing animator of a new animated film, “Elio,” out this weekend in theaters nationwide. The film focuses on a quirky young boy named Elio whose parents have died, and, feeling alienated from fellow humans, he seeks connection with aliens.
Even in this age of digitalization and artificial intelligence, Pixar still employed more than 100 animators to create “Elio” over four years.
“Animation can be a surprisingly tedious process,” Wong said. “One animator can probably produce three or four seconds of animation in one week. An average animator will animate one or two minutes of the film.”
Wong said Pixar, which has created some of the most iconic animated films in recent history, ensures animators and creative directors work closely together.
“You get to put your own spin on a character’s performance,” he said. “Unlike a lot of other studios, the directors talk to you like an actor. They give us acting notes and performance notes, and we address them in the room daily. It’s really empowering.”
In fact, Pixar requires almost all its animators to work in the office and interact with each other in person, providing a human touch that hopefully translates on screen. “It’s crazy (that) 100 animators worked on this and you see the film and see a single living breathing character,” he said. “There is a bit of movie magic in that.”
Wong grew up in Atlanta loving films like “Gremlins,” “Star Wars” and “The Goonies.” “We looked at ‘Goonies’ references for this film,” he noted. “There’s a bit of an ‘80s vibe to it. We looked at some of the kid actors that channeled that vibe.”
Credit: Courtesy of Pixar
Credit: Courtesy of Pixar
Wong said he wanted Elio to feel lost on Earth. “Elio feels like if he got abducted, he could find his people in space.”
Elio is being parented by his aunt Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldaña), who works as an Air Force major and gave up her dreams of becoming an astronaut to care for him.
He said that was a complicated dynamic. “We had to make it honest, and hopefully people will feel it’s a real earned relationship by the end of it.”
The Elio-Olga relationship has echoes of “Lilo & Stitch,” which just came out in live action form a month ago in theaters and features a girl who lost her parents and is being cared for by her sister.
“It was not a conscious thing,” Wong said, though he does discern the parallels.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Elio’s “Stitch” equivalent is Glordon, a sweet wormlike alien he befriends in space.
“It was important for us to at least initially lean into the fact Glordon looks like a scary creature, but he’s also a kid who is trying to fit in and has no place in the world,” Wong said. “The voice actor was so appealing and so kid-like.”
They used a floppy, blubbery seal as a guide to create Glordon’s visual look and movement. And they studied films such as “E.T.” and “Stand by Me” to develop the playful interaction between the two characters. “During animation tests to get ready for this film, we explored what kids would do if their parents weren’t around,” Wong said.
One idea came from an animator: Elio hides in Glordon’s mouth to protect him from an incoming fire storm. “Those are the fun things when you let animators run wild with ideas,” Wong said. “Especially when it comes to aliens, where there are no rules.”
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
The film features multiple alien races with speaking roles, a couple of which emanated from very distinctive actors. For example, Brad Garrett of “Everybody Loves Raymond” fame plays Glordon’s dad Lord Grigon, who comes across as a mean warlord but deep down just wants acceptance.
“Brad’s voice has so much character already to it,” Wong said. “That big, gruffy, hammy character. You can lean into the caricature of it.”
And “The Good Place” British actor Jameela Jamil plays the ethereal alien ambassador Questa taking full advantage of her elegant cadence.
“She’s hilarious,” Wong said. “I saw some of the footage from her reads, and she’s amazing.”
Wong doesn’t normally get to meet the voice actors during production but Yonas Kibreab, who plays Elio, came by Pixar to meet the animators.
“Yonas ran into my office one time,” Wong said, “and said, ‘Hey! I’m Elio!’”
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
If you go
“Elio,” in area theaters starting Friday.
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