MPC was the lead studio on the film completing a total of 1088 shots, with over 1000 artists contributing to the project. The vast majority of shots included one or more of the 20 speaking CG animal characters. Amongst the many detailed environments, 3 were completely CG.
One of the initial challenges was to determine how to handle the performances of the characters. The result was a delightful balance between the physicality of a real animal with a personality whose expressions and dialogue made them relatable, empathetic, and entertaining to audiences. To achieve this, animators first gathered video reference of real animals be used as a guide for accurate body mechanics. Animators then recorded their own video reference acting out and lip-syncing each characters dialogue, voiced by that characters actor. One major source of inspiration came from watching videos of real animals doing actions humans can relate and empathise with. It’s not often an animator can merge the realistic attention to detail required in visual effects with the expressive dialogue performance brought by a talented voice cast.
The hero characters included Yoshi, the polar bear – the most courageous character, who required a great deal of attention to detail in both his performance as well as the technical execution behind his interaction with the environment. Once sequence required Yoshi to run, jump, and swim through debris filled water. This was a great challenge for MPC’s Tech Anim/CFX team as the movement of the wet fur in the deep blue sea had to be studied closely to achieve a photo-real look.
Polynesia – the Parrot, the distinguished leader and most outspoken CG character, was one of the director’s favourite assets. Feathers are neither simple to animate or render so all departments had to work closely together, to make sure her appearance maintained the same detail seen on a real parrot. Once technicalities such as feather intersections were completed, animation was able to freely create a powerful and entertaining performance.
The whale (Humphrey) had to be fitted with a harness that also had to look and move in a realistic way. The intense action seen in the underwater sequence was a challenge for the animation team to achieve. Characters had to move in a lifelike and believable way while delivering lines of dialogue they could never do in real life.
The diversity of all the character assets were as challenging as the techniques used to create them. Development was a lengthy process but would provide the backbone of the film. We had to create both fur and feather systems to be used amongst many animals in the same shot. The majority of shots would have multiple hero characters talking and so the render hours had to be optimized to secure a timely delivery, with no compromise to quality.
Sequences where Dolittle embarks on the ship (Water Lily) and crosses the river into the ocean were some of the most challenging sequences due to the vast environments, oceanscapes, water interaction, and multiple wet animal characters.
Another technical sequence, and highlight of the third act, was a cave entirely covered with a bioluminescent effect, as well as a raging dragon (Gingko). This sequence encompassed all of the characters and included a waterfall that takes us, like this epic voyage, into a different universe.
