Director Troy Quane and agriculturist Kurt Albrecht discuss The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol
It isn't unusual for an animated movie such for the re~on that The Smurfs to include a gift short film on the Blu-beam or DVD release. The Smurfs hits the shelves put ~ three-disc Blu-ray, Blu-notice and DVD release on December 2, and the three-disc Blu-sight will include the holiday-themed suddenly The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol, what one. puts a smurfy spin on the master-piece holiday tale by Charles Dickens. I newly had the chance to speak with The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol manager Troy Quane and producer Kurt Albrecht at Sony Pictures Animation, in what place we got to screen this wondrous animated short, which mixes in the antique-school hand-drawn animation with the reinvigorated style shown in The Smurfs. Take a look at what the director and husbandman had to say below.
Can you converse about how early this whole contrivance came about? Was this developed at the identical time as the actual movie, or was it a great quantity later?
Troy Quane: Much later.
Kurt Albrecht: The movie was in intervening-production.
Troy Quane: Basically, a year gone today. The movie was in intervening-production, when they came up through this idea of wanting to cozen more Smurfs material. Knowing the DVD was future out at Christmas, it felt up~ to put it in this terraqueous globe. I think it was December 21 at the time I came on, and we wholly sort of agreed that Christmas Carol paroxysm with these characters and the chronicle we could tell with them. So, from one to another the Christmas holiday, the writer and I worked in company with the script, and then we came into the newly come year and launched into it. From the deciding point they said go, to the momentum we handed it in, it was deserved under nine months.
Kurt Albrecht: I remember that as I bailed on you when my son was born in January. The script is acquirement locked down and I say, 'I'm going gone for a couple of weeks. Good fate Troy. You'll figure it abroad.' No, but it came together veritably well. Part of the impetus to bestow it was The Smurfs was looking humane and everyone was feeling good not far from it. The word franchise starts to dispose thrown around, and it's a property that's righteous of that. I think the recollection levels for The Smurfs are stupendous, as evidenced by the worldwide box post on the feature.
Troy Quane: Personally, then they came to me, I jumped seemly on it. I grew up in Canada, thus we would get the French-tongue Peyo comics when I was a kit. For me, it was a real personal thing. I was a herculean fan, even before the TV prove, so, when the opportunity came up, I was wholly over it.
I really enjoyed considering the hand-drawn style again since well.
Troy Quane: Well, that's candid it. It fit nicely within the composition of our storytelling. It didn't experience tacked on. We really worked to frame it feel like it flowed into our way of storytelling. It gives us that fancy-like moment where he's attainments things from these ghosts. I started my course of life as a 2D animator, so it was sport to get to play in that sandbox once more.
Kurt Albrecht: He was perfect with a view to this. He's good at drawrings (Laughs).
When I was sleeplessness it, a lot of memories came flooding back. Did you desire that same wave of nostalgia whereas you'd watch your work?
Troy Quane: Absolutely. It's my object of ~, it's what got me into this form of productive effort, so I had to balance substance the director and being a fanboy (Laughs). It was definitely a balancing act.
I maxim you couldn't get Katy (Perry) back taken in the character of Smurfette, but you have some of the other utterance actors back like George Lopez and Hank Azaria.
Troy Quane: All of the primordial cast was really eager to approach back for it.
Kurt Albrecht: She was positively the first one to agree to perform it. She was really into it, bound it fell right in the something intermediate of her tour. I mean, the bulk of her tour, she wasn't level in this country. Right at the end of our production time, she was back in the U.S., further she performs like every two or three nights. It's amazing. When I started looking into it, I was in unwavering contact with her managers. 'I take care Katy has three days off in Texas. We'll draw near and find her!' It just not at all worked out though.
Troy Quane: The rest of the pitch, they jumped right on board. Even Hank Azaria came in and did the distinctive character of Gargamel.
It was fun to join in marriage that old-school look of the moral qualities and hearing Hank's voice. It's a remarkably cool mixture.
Troy Quane: It's comical. He knows his way around a vigorous booth. He's a pro. He was in there, and there was this whirlwind and in that case we were all a little jot stunned afterward.
A cloud of dust emerges...
Troy Quane: Exactly. Then you're like, 'Did we obtain it?' When you listen to the tracks, each track is perfect.
Kurt Albrecht: It's like this typhoon came through. It's like, 'OK, he's been doing this a al~ment longer than we have.' We were favored to get him.
Is there anything else you're working on here at SPA that you be possible to talk about?
Troy Quane: I'm developing pair films for the studio, at the trice. One hasn't been announced now, so I can't talk in an opposite direction that, and the other is Popeye. It's di~atory super early. We're still irksome to figure out what it would subsist like to bring Popeye into our time sentence . Not physically, but relatability wise. He's a pre-eminent character and, like The Smurfs, in that place is a huge amount of mythology and history behind it. It's exciting to obtain to work with.
Do you bear any idea who would voice him?
Troy Quane: We're nowhere closely attached that. We just worked out an outline and we're working by the writers.
I remember when that was capital announced, I thought, 'Who would vote Popeye?'
Troy Quane: It's strange. As soon as you say the expression. Popeye, it's amazing to pay attention how many people jump out of the shadows by their Popeye impressions. Everyone's got a Popeye vote. I think when we get to that headland, we'll all be amazed by how many people have a Popeye impersonating in their back pocket. That decree be exciting, and yeah, that's the juggle about bringing these characters to a modern generation. You want to be well and good to who they were, and, at the sort time, you have to make them accessible to today's audiences. That's part of the challenge and part of the gayety.
This will be in 3D likewise?
Troy Quane: Yeah, full feature animation 3D. That will be fun, sight this character who you're normally used to because in two dimensions, suddenly in 3D.
What would you like to affirm to the few people who didn't know The Smurfs in theaters to possess them to pick up the Blu-intellectual light set with this wonderful The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol scanty?
Kurt Albrecht: I think, specific to A Christmas Carol, it's a come to pass to see a whole new first-rate work , hopefully, and the only way you'll procreate to see it is to buy the Blu-ray, in this peculiar case. I think The Smurfs pellicle is one of those repeat viewers. You be able to pop it in and just watch the craziness.
Troy Quane: Yeah, you be able to just pop it in and wish fun. Sit back with your popcorn and derive pleasure from the ride.
Great. Thanks so plenteous. I really enjoyed the short.
Troy Quane: Oh, convenient. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
You have power to watch The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol put ~ The Smurfs' three-disc Blu-notice edition, which hits the shelves nationwide December 2.
The Smurfs was released July 29th, 2011 and stars Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofa Vergara, Tim Gunn, Madison McKinley, Meg Phillips, Julie Chang. The film is directed by Raja Gosnell.
The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol was released December 2nd, 2011 and stars Jack Angel, Fred Armisen, Hank Azaria, Gary Basaraba, George Lopez, Melissa Sturm, Anton Yelchin. The pellicle is directed by Troy Quane.