Brazilian animator Carlos Saldanha presents his live-action debut in an ode to imagination

Before starting his professional career, Carlos Saldaña realized that the illustration work he loved to do since childhood would not allow him to live comfortably in Brazil, where he was born. It was for this reason that he decided to study computer science, a more popular subject that would not separate him too much from his profession.

However, his plans changed after he discovered the existence of a program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan that would make it possible for him to combine both fields, since the program was oriented toward the creation of computer-generated images.

This issue served him well as it became the necessary platform for the development of his career, leading him to direct such notable productions as “Ice Age” (and its first three sequels), “Rio” (and its sequel) and “Ferdinand”.

That’s why the upcoming “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” also from Rio de Janeiro, is so noteworthy as a sequel to a popular children’s book from the 1950s that mostly fits into the realm of live-action without completely abandoning animation.

In the original story of Crockett Johnson (1906-1975), the protagonist is a 4-year-old who has the ability to create things by using a magic pencil. In the new film, the aforementioned character, played by Zachary Levi (Shazam!, Thor: The Dark World), is an adult from an alternative reality who comes to our world in search of his creator, and once there, he is faced with the complexity of a life he neither knows nor understands.

In a Zoom interview, Saldaña connects us to the South American country where he saw his first light and filmed his second film with flesh-and-blood actors. In this story, it conveys a message of positivity and what projects he has coming up next.

Carlos, this is your first live-action film. Why did you decide to do something like this now, and why did you decide to do it through an adaptation of a classic story?

I am always eager to learn. So, going from animation to live action was a really big challenge. I knew the book from my children and I loved the message it conveyed about imagination and pictures, which was also understandable to me. It also gave me the opportunity to mix the two techniques, which made it an ideal project for me.

In Latin America, this book is not very well known, but you have lived in New York for a long time.

Yes; I have lived in the United States for 33 years and all my children were born here. When they were little, I read it to them before they went to bed, and I remember that the story was written a long time ago, but it has a very modern message and sentiment to the story, referring to the way a person can design his own life. It wants to tell us that as we grow up, we must not forget the child inside us; we must not give up our imagination, nor lose our innocence.

You’re also connected to history in terms of craft, because you do a lot of animation, and you’ve been drawing since you were a kid, although I don’t know if you still do it now.

If I always do this. This is my best way of expressing myself. If I have an idea, I will write it down on paper or on my iPad. My career is a life of painting, a life of creating worlds that don’t exist.

There have been other adaptations of the book, but this is the first time Harold appears as an adult. What attracted you to the idea?

When you become an adult, it’s easy to forget what’s inside of you because of all the problems you face. There are a lot of challenges to keep that innocence and that mindset. The biggest challenge as an adult is to keep that feeling. Also, doing this allows me to connect directly with the characters.

The whole world is in turmoil right now. Sometimes it allows you to get away from it all by using your imagination and fantasy. But you’ve also said that you’re interested in sending messages in your films. For example, “Rio” talked about protecting endangered species. “Ferdinand” talked about respect for animals, and even some conservative critics accused her of being anti-bullfighting. But this movie speaks directly from the imagination. I don’t know if anyone can be bothered with that.

Bigger people can’t handle imagination. That’s a fiction movie.

In this sense, “Harold” is a fairly innocent film, even in terms of the protagonist, entrusted to Zach Levy, who usually plays such roles. In real life, he has experienced difficulties due to some mental conditions, but on the screen he shows his boyish side very well.

I loved watching him play Shazam!, a superhero who looks like an adult but is actually still a child. The contrast between being a big shot and still being innocent seemed very interesting to me.

There are several flesh-and-blood actors in this film, which also makes it very different from the films you’ve made before. How difficult was it to direct the performers outside of the recording studio?

Well, when the actors are in the booth, you also have to direct them because they are going to perform; it’s not just about their voice. But of course, in these cases, there is no physical presence because the characters are animated. In live-action, everything is important; not only the verbal performance, but also the eye contact, the face, the whole body management.

For the director, he has to find all the possible nuances. But it’s also an equally huge challenge for the actor, because he’s completely exposed in front of the camera. A lot of work has to be done. For me, it was a very powerful discovery.

There are a lot of visual and physical jokes in your animated films, which was repeated in Harold and the Purple Crayon, but the actors were in front of the camera. This was definitely an extra challenge in terms of planning and directing on set.

In this case, all jokes have to be real, or at least look real, because in animation we can do anything, such as showing a character falling from a great height without getting hurt and many impossible things. With “real” actors, you have to create believable situations, and the effectiveness of the jokes has a lot to do with the actors’ comedic timing, their facial expressions, and the way they handle their bodies.

As you said, animation allows you to do anything crazy, even defy the laws of physics. During the filming of this new film, did you sometimes get frustrated that you couldn’t achieve something like that? Because when you talk about live action you also have to consider the budget.

Yes, it was a very big challenge because before I had full control. We stayed in the office and worked through the parts slowly together and had enough time to think and achieve what we wanted. But in this format, you have the actors, you have the camera, you have the lights, and you have to shoot.

You don’t have a lot of time to understand the situation and make the necessary changes to make things work because what’s shot is what you see on screen. But I’m lucky to have an incredible team of very skilled people.

Among them was Gabriel Beristain, the renowned Mexican director of photography who has shot many Hollywood productions. What was it like working with him?

It was incredible because this was a guy who had so much experience in everything. He was so friendly and so great to work with. I couldn’t have made this film without their help.

Right now, you’re filming a new live-action movie in Brazil called “100 Days,” which will be in Portuguese and based on a true story. Tell me a little bit about that.

It was inspired by the case of a Brazilian who rowed across the Atlantic. It’s a very beautiful story because it has a lot of emotion, but it also talks about challenges and overcoming. It’s more serious than any movie I’ve done before and, obviously, it’s completely different from Harold.

“Harold is a film about imagination, fantasy, and creating things. But it’s a story that happened, and I had to add touching moments and action moments to it. Despite the differences, they are two very interesting projects for me.

When will the filming end?

We’re only in Week 1. I think we’ll be done in August, but the film is expected to be released next year.