Rango, a quirky, delightfully unique and inspired animated film, was released in cinemas back in March where it made quite the impression, grossing an estimated $242M worldwide and kick-starting this years awards buzz.

Gore Verbinksi’s quirky, delightfully unique and inspired animation film, featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and Ray Winstone, hit DVD/Blu-ray in the UK on July 25.

A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Maia Kayser, one of the lead animators of the film. During our phone chat, we talked Rango, animation techniques, blockbusters, 2D vs 3D, how Jurassic Park inspired her career choice and what she’s up to next.

HeyUGuys: Firstly, I’d like to say how impressed with Rango I was. Congratulations on a terrific film.

Maia Kayser: Thank you. That’s great to hear.

What was your inspiration behind the character of Beans?

Generally, a lot of the inspiration came from Holly Hunter from the movie Raising Arizona. Gore [Verbinski] always liked that kind of feistiness in the actress, so we were kind of going for the feeling in Beans. Also, I have to say, as far as reference for Beans, a lot of it was from Isla [Fisher], because she put so much power in her voice for Beans, which really helped us as animators. We also got great reference from her, so we used a lot of cues and guidelines from her and that was really helpful to have to interpret Beans in that way. Along with those, as well as references from Gore himself, we were able to build up Beans’ character.

So it was very much a collaborative effort then?

Oh, definitely. The whole movie was a collaborative effort between a ton of artists, the director and the cast. It was basically like an entire team collaboratively working on everything.

Were you able to bring any of your individual traits to the character of Beans?

We definitely used a lot of Isla’s work, because we had great references clips from her. Sometimes we would shoot our own reference, and subconsciously there’s always something that we put in about ourselves so we can recognise our own work, mannerisms, etc. But it’s usually just a little bit here and there.

Obviously you’ve worked with Gore [Verbinski] before on the Pirates of the Caribbean films animating Davy Jones. What was it like to work with him on a full animation film?

Well, it was different in the sense that it was a full collaborative effort, rather than the animators coming in towards the end, like we did with the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Did avoiding 3D offer any advantages of disadvantages in the overall animation process?

I think that 3D is still a developing technology, that’s continuing to improve and to evolve, and it is an exciting time for film media. It’s great when it’s used effectively, it can be a very exciting experience. That said, I’ve also seen a lot of 2D animated films that felt a lot more dimensional and rich than some 3D films. 3D, it can be a tricky thing. I mean, if you don’t get it right or the film isn’t designed with the format in mind, it could be distracting, so I don’t necessary think that filming in 2D took away from the movie.

Has there been any talk of a sequel? Obviously the first film was very successful, and there’s even been some talk of an Oscar nomination down the line.

I have no idea. I mean, we’re all hoping. We all loved working on this this project, so we’re definitely all hoping. But I have no idea what’s in the works with ILM and in the future, with regards to a sequel.

Is there anything, in terms of animation, that you’d like to try in the future?

I’ve done visual effects now for ten years, so this was a very different and new experience for me. But I love the whole creating a character from scratch and making that character come alive. So this experience was really amazing because that’s all we were doing. We had all these great designs that we all loved, so that was definitely a very exciting process. I would love to continue doing that. Beans was a neat experience because I’d never animated a female character before.

Do you have any projects currently in the works?

I just finished up with Transformers: Dark of the Moon this week, and I’m just about to start on a new project, but I’m not allowed to talk about that one yet.

Do you prefer to work on a more contained film or a big-budget blockbuster?

It ultimately depends on the story and the designs that makes one project more appealing than another.

Is there any animation films in particular that you like or wish you’d been a part of?

There’s definitely a lot of movies that really fascinate me, or somehow inspire me. One of the movies that really inspired me was Jurassic Park, because I really loved the idea of creating this whole world from scratch. I also enjoy other animated features that have realistic characters, for example Up.

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Thanks to Maia for her time. Rango is on sale now!

This week marks one of America’s big national holidays.  Thanksgiving.  Every year, on the fourth Thursday of November, America engages in a tradition of food, family, football (in some cases), maybe some games, then more food. 

Most of the people I know look forward to Thanksgiving.  Most however, do not look forward to the actual dinner event.  As with every major holiday gathering that involves family, one can be overcome with a sense of dread.  There are boatloads of movies that cover all aspects of the Christmas holiday, but there aren’t too many that cover Thanksgiving.  The one I can name off the top of my head that is by far the best holiday family gathering movie is Home for the Holidays.

Released in 1995, the film was directed by Jodie Foster and starred Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Steve Guttenberg and Clare Danes.  Quite a cast wouldn’t you say?

Holly Hunter plays Claudia Larson.  She’s a single mother, who right before she leaves for holidays, loses her job, makes out her boss, and finds out her daughter is most likely going to lose her virginity over the holiday weekend.  Not that she has enough to deal with, she has to deal with a flight back to her hometown to spend the holiday with her nerve wracking parents, Henry and Adele (Durning and Bancroft).  Upon arrival at the airport, she sees her parents waiting for her at gate and you begin to feel the sense of dread she is experiencing at that given moment.  One of the things I enjoyed the most about this movie are the little nuances it has.  There is a scene that takes place on the drive home from the airport where Claudia, while stuck in the car with her parents rambling on and on, she looks over at the car next to them and there is a grown man stuck in the exact situation she’s in.  He looks over at her as if to say “My God, someone help me!!” and the looks she gives back is full of sympathy and understanding.  Those are the moments that really make this movie work.  As you watch it, you can’t help but think of how you know exactly what these people are going through.

After arriving at her parents house, Claudia seems to run on auto pilot just going through the motions.  That is until her brother Tommy shows up.  The relationship between brother and sister that is portrayed in this movie is something that anyone with a sibling can relate to.  He’s infuriating and irritating, but the sibling love is apparent.

Robert Downey Jr. of course, delivers.  It’s amazing he was able to pull this role off since he has spoken of using black tar heroine during the filming (see this part of his interview on Inside the Actor’s Studio here).  He also gets some of the best lines in the movie as well.

After going rounds with her brother, her sister, her parents, her crazy aunt and the friend her brother brought home, Claudia manages to make it through the weekend no worse for wear, but with a little more insight into the craziness that is her family.  As she leaves her parents at the airport, you can tell she is grateful to be going home, but also a little sad as well.

Home for the Holidays is an entertaining look into a holiday family gathering.  You watch the movie thinking “Thank God I don’t have to deal with that!” and then you get to your own family gathering.  Even if you don’t have to deal with the level of drama or crazy that Claudia endures, everyone has at least one family holiday gathering story they can tell.

I think the greatest thing about this movie is that it shows what family really is. Infuriating, irritating and lovely all served with most likely, dry turkey.  So for anyone who has a gathering on their calendar, I suggest watching Home for the Holidays.  I watch it every year and am thankful that my family isn’t quite that crazy.