ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, APRIL 23-24, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

Film

‘Cartoon Saloon’ How Irish town became animation powerhouse By Jake Coyle he medieval town of Kilkenny in the southeast of TIreland is an unlikely home for a perennial Oscar contender. But there, among cathedral spires and cas- tle parapets, the animation studio Cartoon Saloon has carved out a factory of hand-drawn artistry and local folklore that has persisted and flourished well beyond its creators’ expectations. When Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, directors of the enchanting Oscar-nominee “Wolfwalkers,” met growing up in Kilkenny — or even after they fi nished college and were setting out as animators — any suc- cess seemed sure to be found in typical entertainment epicenters like London, New York or Los Angeles. Instead, they decided to stay in Kilkenny with the mission of making a single fi lm. (It turned out to be 2009’s Oscar-nominated “The Secret of Kells”.) Their beginning staff of 12 worked out of an old orphanage. Twelves years lat- er, there are nearly 400 work- ing for Cartoon Saloon and their sister studio, Lighthouse Studios, in the heart of Kilken- ny. The Lighthouse offi ces are housed in the secondary school Stewart Moore and Stewart once at- tended — a very sports-centric school, the directors recall. “Our teenage selves would be glowing with pride,” Stewart says. “Revenge of the nerds, I’ve always said,” adds Moore. Formed when much of the animation world was This image released by PBS shows Jessie Buckley, (left), and Josh O’Connor in a scene from Great Performances’ ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ premiering, April 23. (AP) following Pixar into computer generated animation, Cartoon Saloon is an underdog no more. “Wolfwalk- ers,” their most ambitious fi lm — one that completes Moore’s trilogy of Irish folklore begun with “The Se- cret of Kells” and continued with 2014s “Song of the Television Sea” — is expected to give Pixar’s “Soul” a run for its money at the Academy Awards later this month. “Wolfwalkers” marks the studio’s fi fth Oscar nod. The independent studio now has some very deep-pocketed backers in Apple, which released 16th century love story gets cinematic touches “Wolfwalkers” along with theatrical distributor GKIDS. Cartoon Saloon’s next fi lm, an adaptation of “My Father’s Dragon” by Cartoon Saloon co-founder Nora Twomey, is for Netfl ix. ‘Romeo & Juliet’ marks theatrical roots Founded in 1999 by Moore, Twomey and produc- er Paul Young, Cartoon Saloon has arrived at these By Mark Kennedy quite helpful,” says O’Connor, who re- are often whispered by the pair. heights by doing everything they weren’t supposed cently won a Golden Globe for playing “There were moments where Jessie he cast appears at first chatting Prince Charles in “The Crown.” and I were able to be totally intimate to — making uncompromising, authentically Irish, amiably as they enter a theater. hand-drawn animation in Moore and Stewart’s home- T The paths O’Connor and Buckley with the words. And they take a whole They’re in street clothes - hoodies, took to the play were quite different. new life,” said O’Connor. town. No one is more surprised than they are about sneakers and backpacks. They seem how it’s all turned out. He grew up going to the Royal Shake- Other changes to the play have blissfully unaware that not all will sur- speare Festival and did a few Shake- been made, including having ghosts Drawings vive the next hour or so. speare scenes in drama school but had and fl ash-forwards and giving Tamsin So begins the National Theatre’s never tackled an entire play before. Greig’s Lady Capulet some of the lines “People just told us we were mad,” says Moore, latest take on “Romeo and Juliet,” a chuckling. Dev Patel arrives at the Oscars on She was more attracted to musicals traditionally spoken by her husband. Feb 26, 2017, in Los Angeles. Patel fi lmed production that adds cinematic until taking a four-week Shakespeare There’s even a same-sex attraction be- “Once you put down even the tiniest little root in a touches to the tragic 16th century Ital- place, it’s very hard to move,” says Stewart. “There turns 31 on April 23. (AP) course that she says changed her ca- tween Mercutio and Benvolio, a brave ian love story. reer. She has since done a few of The step. was talk along the way to have an LA studio or even Starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Bard’s plays, including “The Tem- “It’s a story about love - whatever a Dublin offi ce. Instead, it just grew and grew and Buckley as the star-crossed lovers, you love, whoever you love, what- grew.” the play was originally intended for a pest.” “Wolfwalkers” is a fi tting pinnacle for Cartoon stage run in 2020 before being adapted “It’s the most muscular work out in ever you don’t let yourself love,” says Saloon because it’s set right in Kilkenny. The fi lm, for the screen because of the pandem- the world,” the Irish actor says. “You Buckley. “It’s love from every point of streaming on Apple TV+ and recently brought back ic. Yet it keeps its theatrical roots. just feel completely charged every view. I don’t think it’s brave. I think into theaters, is about Robyn, the daughter of a Brit- The play opens backstage with the time you go into it and you always feel it’s life.” ish soldier in 17th-century Ireland, who comes upon lovers fl irting beside a prop cage and like you don’t know anything as well, Speaking of love, O’Connor and a “wolfwalker” — a human who can take the form of the knives are wooden - until they which is always a good place to go into Buckley knew they also had to show a wolf. That, naturally, comes from mythology, but become steel. As the play continues, something.” passion and do so in an intimate scene. the historical backdrop of “Wolfwalkers” is true; this “Romeo and Juliet” is, after all, the tale it opens up with costumes and set de- Streamlined is the time of Oliver Cromwell’s brutal invasion of signs appearing effortlessly. of two young people whose powerful Ireland. To get “Romeo and Juliet” down love transcends rival clans. Burton Barrett “It was going to be impossible and Set between the woodcut-styled drawings of the maybe not that interesting to try and to 90 minutes, cuts had to be made. “This is hot, raw intense life and British-controlled castle and incredibly lush, swirling create cinematic realism because we Scenes were sliced, characters were love. And it needs everything,” says forests, “Wolfwalkers” is — like Cartoon Saloon, it- can’t shoot outdoors and we only have streamlined. Juliet’s beauty no longer Buckley. Adds O’Connor: “It’s a story self — a tale of reclamation. Variety one location really and it’s a stage,” can “teach the torches to burn bright” about love. It has to be sexy.” “I defi nitely felt these three movies that I directed said O’Connor. “So initially it was and Mercutio skips the part about his The pair join an impressive list of and co-directed were about speaking back to the next like, ‘Well, let’s not shy away from fatal stab wound being “not so deep as actors who have tackled the famous generation stuff that I was afraid was going to be com- the fact that we are on a stage. Let’s a well, nor so wide as a church door.” work, one that includes Leonardo pletely lost,” Moore says by Zoom from Kilkenny, LOS ANGELES: The 200,000-plus LeVar Burton boosters who signed a celebrate that.’” Buckley, best known for “Wild DiCaprio and Claire Danes, Orlando alongside Stewart. “I had grown up being completely petition calling for him to be the new The retelling is directed by Simon Rose” and “Judy,” calls them “consid- Bloom and Condola Rashad, and immersed in Batman comics and Japanese and Ameri- “Jeopardy!” host will get to see him try Godwin and reconceived by writer erate cuts,” ones that could be made Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. can cartoons and didn’t realize this was all around the job on for size. Emily Burns for the screen. It was shot because the camera was catching tiny “Josh is one of my best mates and I me.” Burton is among the fi nal group of over 17 days in December at the Na- emotions and thoughts usually impos- love him with all my heart, and the rea- Often, their surroundings play directly into the guest hosts for the quiz show, which lost tional’s Lyttelton theater. PBS’ “Great sible on a traditional stage. son that I wanted to do this is because fi lms. On a recent day, a stroll in Kilkenny’s Millen- its longtime host Alex Trebek to cancer Performances” will air it Friday. “When you’re on fi lm, you have the he’s the only person I would want to nium Forest — planted 20 years ago with native trees last November and has put off announc- To get into character during the liberty of saying so much without say- do this with, because I know we can — had Moore, contemplating the layers of sediment ing his successor. start-and-stop nature of fi lmmaking, ing anything at all,” she says. “What- jump off the edge of the cliff,” says and history beneath him, musing about a possible Burton’s supporters seized the op- O’Connor and Buckley created a se- ever we chose to do was to enrich the Buckley. “Wolfwalkers” spinoff. portunity to launch an online petition cret playlist and shared AirPods. Be- intensity of the love and capture the “We couldn’t replicate what’s come Increasingly, they’re fi nding a fl ock of animators for the actor, who starred on “Star Trek: fore the famous balcony scene, the pair tiny, small things without having to before us, but when you have some- from across Europe eager to follow in their footsteps, The Next Generation” and “Roots,” and listened to Sigur Rós’ “Hoppipolla.” say it to the back of the stalls.” body who you utterly trust, it’s very as Ireland’s answer to Japan’s Studio Ghibli. For was the host of “Reading Rainbow,” the “The staccato nature of fi lmmaking One thing the pair noticed was that easy to just be there with them and let “Wolfwalkers,” Moore showed the storyboard art- children’s educational program. means that we had to fi nd like differ- not having to project the lines made the language and let the relationship of ists the intensely period-appropriate horror fi lm “The In his career, Burton has “inspired and shaped the minds of several generations ent ways of fi nding the swell, fi nding them somehow more direct and per- Romeo and Juliet and our friendship Witch” for inspiration. One artist got so into capturing the rhythm. And so I think music was sonal. Onscreen, Shakespeare’s words do the work.” (AP) the era that she drew constellations as they were in of trivia-loving nerds,” according to the 1650 sky. the petition that, as of Wednesday, had “When people come here, they’re taking a risk,” 246,000 and counting signers. says Young. “They’re coming to live in your small In an email, a spokeswoman for Bur- reaching for a younger demographic. “Everyone Shares (Except Cat)” and for the Soul Kids and Babies series,” town. You better have work for the when they get ton said he believes the petition drive and Chicken Soup for the Soul has reached “Everyone Says Please (Except Cat)” Amy Newmark, editor-in-chief and his social media interactions with fans a partnership with the children’s pub- and the picture books “The Sunshine publisher of Chicken Soup for the Soul, here.” were factors in the invitation for him to lisher Charlesbridge for two new series Squad: Discovering What Makes You said in a statement. “They impart values With a now teeming staff, the earlier, scrappier days be a guest host. of books, the two publishers announced Special” and “Sophie and the Tiny in such a delightful way. How great is it of Cartoon Saloon are still vivid to the founders. When There was no immediate reply to a Tuesday. Chicken Soup for the Soul Dognapping: A Book About Doing the that kids will be amused and entertained their fi rst Oscar nomination was announced, for “The request for comment from producer Sony Babies will be for babies and toddlers, up Right Thing,” while they absorb the life lessons their Secret of Kells,” they were in a meeting working out Pictures Television. (AP) to age 3, and Chicken Soup for the Soul “When we decided it was time to work parents and grandparents want to share how to stay fi nancial afl oat for the next two months. ❑ ❑ ❑ Kids will be for ages 4-7. with a children’s publisher, Charles- with them!” Freedom The new project launches Sept. bridge was my fi rst choice. I’m thrilled Charlesbridge publisher Yolanda COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Kate Schnei- 21 with four books: the board books with the fi rst books in the Chicken Soup Scott said the two companies share com- “We survived, but it was tough times,” recalls der from Ireland has been named the mon goals. (AP) Young. “At the early stage, the mistake we made was new Mrs. World after the reigning title- ❑ ❑ ❑ thinking: If we’ve got money, we’re hiring artists. I holder resigned following an on-stage think what we needed was a few more account-types.” fracas in which she pulled the crown off NEW YORK: Supreme Court Justice Twomey, who directed the studio’s Afghanistan-set the head of the winner of the Mrs. Sri Amy Coney Barrett has a book deal 2017 feature “The Breadwinner,” disagrees. “But if Lanka beauty pageant, organizers said. with a Penguin Random House imprint, Mrs. World Inc. said it has received The Associated Press has learned. we did, they would have defi nitely told us that there’s Adrian Zackheim, who heads the no money in independent fi lm. It doesn’t make any the resignation of Caroline Jurie and that the fi rst runner-up, Mrs. Ireland conservative Sentinel imprint, con- sense. You should try to be like the big studios. And Kate Schneider, therefore will be the fi rmed Monday that he has an agree- we would have lost all our freedom,” she says. “I’m new Mrs. World 2020. ment with Barrett. Zackheim declined glad our hearts were in the right place, and our hands The website of Mrs. World, a beauty to provide any additional details be- were in the right place.” pageant for married women, published yond saying that the book would not be Stewart, art director on “Kells,” a concept artist for a photo of Schneider with the title Mrs. out this year. Coney Barrett, 49, was Laika’s “ParaNorman” and a painter, always believed World. approved last fall by the Republican- hand-drawn animation had more potential. Unlike Jurie relinquished her title earlier this led Senate just weeks after the death digital technology, it doesn’t age. In “Wolfwalkers,” month, while defending her decision of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. you can often see pencil lines have deliberately been to remove the crown from the head of She was the third justice selected by left in. Moore wanted to be even more experimental this year’s Mrs. Sri Lanka title holder, then-President Donald Trump and she on “Wolfwalkers,” playing with aspect ratios and per- Pushpika De Silva, who she claimed replaced Ginsburg, the court’s most spectives. was unqualifi ed to take part in the April 4 prominent liberal, gave the court a 6-3 “We kind of decided we didn’t want to do more af- contest because she was divorced. conservative majority. ter this. We wanted to take a break and refl ect. Defi - De Silva said she is separated, but not Politico reported earlier Monday that nitely for me, anyway,” he says. “So I said, ‘Let’s try divorced, from her husband. Barrett had a deal for a book about how “Being apart is one. Divorce is some- judges should avoid letting their deci- everything that we said we were going to do and either sions be shaped by personal feelings, couldn’t afford to do, didn’t know how to pull it off or thing else,” she said on Facebook. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ This image released by PBS shows Greta Thunberg, the subject of the docu- but did not identify the publisher. Other were wary of.’ And I don’t think we even scratched series ‘Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World.’ The three-part se- Supreme Court justices who have re- the surface. There’s still so much more.” (AP) NEW YORK: The multimillion-selling ries, a co-production between PBS and BBC Studios premieres Thursday. (AP) leased books in recent years include Neil Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise is — Details on Page 12 Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor. (AP)