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FEATURE Spoiler Alert! ILLUMINATION ARTISTS TRANSFORM THE STORY OF THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS INTO A FULL-LENGTH CG FEATURE FILM BY KAREN MOLTENBREY hen Chris Meledandri ry,” says Yarrow Cheney, who co-directed set out to create the CG The Grinch along with Scott Mosier. animated feature The Grinch based on the popular Every Who Down in Whoville Liked holiday tale, his artists and Christmas a lot...But the Grinch, Who Wanimators at Illumination went by the book lived just north of Whoville, Did NOT! – Dr. Seuss’ children’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” that is. Illumination expanded on the Dr. Seuss Meledandri and his longtime co-producer, design language for the characters, loca- Janet Healy, along with his talented crew at tions, and main story points: The people Illumination, were heading into familiar ter- of Whoville embrace and celebrate the ritory for this project. First, they have found spirit, joy, and togetherness of the holiday great success with endearing antisocial-like season, but Grinch, who lives atop Mt. characters via their Despicable Me franchise. Crumpet outside of the town, detests Second, they were breathing new life into a the holiday and everything associated well-known story that started with a book with it, and enlists the help of his loyal in the late ’50s, followed by a traditionally dog, Max, to steal the Whos’ presents and animated TV special that still airs yearly decorations, and quell the holiday spirit in during the Christmas season, and, later, by Whoville once and for all. a live-action film. In addition, this project For the feature-length Grinch, the marks Illumination founder/CEO Mele- filmmakers extended what was essentially dandri’s third go at adapting the uniquely a one-act play into a three-act structure, styled Seuss books into CG features (2008’s delving deeper into some characters, Horton Hears a Who! while at Fox and 2012’s especially Grinch and his backstory, while The Lorax at Illumination). retaining the book’s timeless elements. In On the other hand, they would have the the film, Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) daunting task of expanding a 69-page is a complex character, more mischievous book filled with unique visuals and rhym- and cranky than cruel. He lives in isolation ing verse. “I grew up with the wonderful with his best friend, a dog named Max, but Chuck Jones [TV special]. That design was he does see the townsfolk time to time so wonderful. We didn’t want to just do an when he has to venture into Whoville for iteration of that. So, we went back to the supplies. Like every year, Christmastime book and used that as the starting point, strikes a nerve with him, and when he the DNA, of how we would expand the sto- learns that the Whos are planning a bigger, Images ©2018 Universal Studios. ©2018 Universal Images EDITION 4, 2018 | CGW 13 brighter, and louder celebration this year, have loved it for years and years,” Mosier When designing the unique characters, well, he reaches his breaking point and says. “I was excited and terrified all at the the artists avoided using straight lines, hatches a plan to steal Christmas. same time, though. This is the kind according to Meledandri. “Everywhere we Of course, an expanded story means of thing you cannot screw up.” could replace a straight line with a curve, we more characters and environments that In a nutshell, they had to keep the tale did, because these were motifs from [Dr. are new to the tale while seamlessly relevant for a new, modern audience, while Seuss’] work,” he adds. fitting within the original world. “We set maintaining the essence of what made it Illumination’s films are stylized but ground- out to create the most spectacular sort a beloved classic. That involved translat- ed in reality, enabling a full range of emotion of Seuss-like world,” says Mosier. We visit ing the visual style of the book’s drawings for the characters. “Our goal isn’t to simulate inside Grinch’s expansive cave, complete using cutting-edge computer graphics – real life; it is to make things feel real while also with its Seussian-like inventions. We no simple task. However, Illumination em- supporting the stylization and performance are introduced to Bricklebaum (Kenan braced the challenge, immersing viewers in aspects in the scenes,” explains Cheney. “We Thompson), Grinch’s perpetually cheery this unique world while giving it an Illumi- try to capture emotion and subtlety when neighbor who resides at the bottom of the nationesque-Seussian aesthetic. the scene calls for it, but we don’t hold back mountain, and Fred, a portly, lackadaisi- “Stylistically, we tried to honor the when there is opportunity for fun and humor. cal reindeer that Grinch needs to pull his source material and take all of that won- When the Grinch tries to steal Christmas, the getaway sleigh. Meanwhile, the tiny hamlet derful stylization and apply it to a three- team went more broad, a bit more cartoony of Whoville has been turned into a bustling dimensional world where you really feel with his motions and physics.” city filled with shops and restaurants, a immersed,” says Cheney. “We wanted you town square, and so forth – a place view- to almost feel the snow crunch under your Then he slid down the chimney. A rather ers would want to visit, Mosier adds. feet and smell the waffles at the waffle tight pinch. But, if Santa could do it, And, we learn more about the Whos – stand. We wanted to evoke all the good then so could the Grinch. inhabitants with real-life struggles. Take things about the holidays that we can all Cindy-Lou (Cameron Seely), whose role has relate to.” The characters have rather basic been extended far beyond her previous few shapes, but their rigs are more complex in minutes on Christmas Eve. In this version, Characters Big and Small order to achieve a wide range of emotion she is still a child, but now older than a The artists used a combination of through an entire physical performance, toddler “not more than two.” She and her commercial and proprietary software to not just with facial expressions. According friends plan to corner Santa as he makes his create the film’s CG characters, including to Bruno Chauffard, CG supervisor, the rounds and ask him not for more toys, but to Autodesk’s Maya along with Pixologic’s animators started with a generic rig that help her overworked, single mother, Donna. ZBrush for modeling, Maya for animation, is already fairly extensive, then pushed “It was time to bring this story back in-house software for rendering and light- it rather strongly in terms of elasticity to for a new generation and for people who ing, and Foundry’s Nuke for compositing. meet the animation director’s requests. CINDY-LOU WHO AND HER FRIENDS PLAN TO TRAP SANTA, BUT HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS. 14 CGW | EDITION 4, 2018 “[The characters] should be able to but the Santa-disguised Grinch required look natural, but the tuft at the top of his emote and support an emotional idea some complex simulations to make sure his head… it has a very iconic shape; it points from any pose we put them in,” adds beard behaved realistically through extreme up and out. And, it had to look and react Cheney. “At the same time, we are doing deformations. In addition, his telescopic naturally in the wind and snow.” a Seuss film with a very elegant, stylized shoes had to expand to huge proportions, Once the artists captured the silhouette feel that permeates everything. To do that, deform extensively, and then fit back into for Grinch and the other characters, it you cannot take control away from the his shoes within a single shot. became a matter of defining the details, animator. You actually have to give them Moreover, Grinch has the biggest role, which are a little bit different in CGI, espe- more control over the silhouette. Some- experiences just about every emotion, cially the fur, Mosier points out. times you need to bend things that don’t and is covered head to toe in fur that had According to Chauffard, the group used naturally bend in order to have a line on a to feel like a Dr. Seuss drawing. “There’s a numerous texture maps to precisely drive silhouette be elegant.” style Dr. Seuss used in his illustrations that every attribute of the studio’s hair systems The silhouette of Grinch in the movie is we tried to incorporate into the shapes (length, density, clumping, noise, curli- the same as it is in the book and the TV of the fur as well as his overall design and ness). For Grinch, they mixed as many as a special. In traditional animation, this is his face,” Cheney says. “The artists had to dozen types of hair for the final result. easy to do by drawing lines and poses that make the fur on his face fall downward to To make it Seuss-like, the artists aren’t necessarily realistic in order to con- vey a certain attitude or emotion. But in 3D, that’s more difficult, since CGI follows certain rules. “For this film, more than others, we need the artistry that goes into the pos- es,” adds Cheney. THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA! I know just what to do!” The Grinch laughed in his throat. And he made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat. In Cheney’s opinion, Grinch was the most technically challenging character in the film.