Thursday, April 11, 1996
You probably haven’t heard of him. His films take years to make.
And computer animation steals a lot of the hype. But for
stop-motion master Henry Selick, life is just …
By Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Author Roald Dahl wrote "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,"
"The Big Friendly Giant," and a few other children’s books with
imaginations so vivid they seem drug-induced.
Director Henry Selick is a devotee of stop-motion animation, the
twisted stepchild of two-dimensional animation. He made Tim
Burton’s "Nightmare Before Christmas" a few years ago and claims
the field of stop-motion as his home base.
Selick was understandably excited when he picked up Dahl’s
"James and the Giant Peach."
"The insects and stop-motion animation were made for each
other," he smiles. "You just look at a bug and they look like
little puppets with jointed legs and segmented bodies."
It was halfway through the "Nightmare" shoot when Selick was
struck with inspiration. Burton helped him get the project lined up
this time, but this was Selick’s show. Now in L.A. to discuss his
craft and the latest arduous endeavor, Selick exudes the kind of
pent-up excitement that one must accumulate shooting only two
seconds of film a day for an entire year. As the painstaking
process of creating "James" comes to an end and he actively
searches for a new painstaking project, Selick talks about the book
his film brought to life.
"I really like Roald Dahl’s children’s books," he says, of the
works that one would place on the other end of the spectrum from
Disney productions. "They’re dark, twisted things with a wonderful
sense of humor, and they’re not like other kid’s books. They have
more value, they empower kids."
In "James and the Giant Peach," a little British kid is doomed
to a life of abuse at the hands of his wicked aunts when his
parents are devoured by a rhino a minute into the movie. But a
little magic and a big peach send him on a fantastical animated
voyage, and he hangs out with a collection of insects as they cross
the Atlantic Ocean.
Selick found a common ground with the late British author’s
storytelling and style, but points out that Dahl and Walt Disney
worked together shortly after World War II. "They were going to do
a cartoon war film of the gremlins," he says, "the fictional
characters who were responsible for plane crashes and things like
that."
Some of Dahl’s twisted world-view is almost replicated in early
Disney classics. "If you look at ‘Snow White’ or ‘Pinnochio,’ those
dark moments go all the way," says Selick. "You don’t live there,
you don’t stay there, and that’s what Roald Dahl does too."
The director says the process of converting the well-loved
children’s story into a film was slightly circuitous. "It was a
little paralyzing at first," he says. "We took the book and said,
‘there’s just a few things we need to tweak to turn it into a
movie,’ but it became apparent that was never going to work."
"We literally had to smash the book into its components and
build it again.There are some substantial changes, but the flavor
is exactly right. It’s the same as the book."
Among the substantial changes are increased exposure for James’
wicked aunts, the frightening rhino who originally ate James’
parents, and a completely new battle with pirate skeletons at the
North Pole. The latter features a special cameo by audience
favorite Jack, star of "Nightmare." "We took him out of the box,
dressed him up, and the rest is history," laughs Selick.
So far, the response to these shifts have been extremely
positive. "We had a special screening for kids who love the book to
get their reaction," he says, "and we did very well in it."
He’s also received strong endorsement from Lucy Dahl, Roald’s
daughter and spokesperson. She consented to the film after seeing
Selick’s stop-animation process, and says her dad would have loved
the movie. "There wasn’t a way to do it perfectly," says Dahl, "At
last, here was a way to do it, and do it right."
"We’ve honored the book," nods Selick.
If similarity was the name of the game in adapting "James,"
contrast has been Selick’s watchword in his recent career. He’s
worked to distinguish himself from filmmaker Tim Burton ("Once
things were set up, Tim has had nothing to do with this film"),
he’s set up his studio in San Francisco to escape Los Angeles ("A
little geographic separation keeps things more unique"), he’s
making un-Disney films for Disney, and of course, the theme of
contrast is of paramount importance in stop-motion animation.
"In animation, you work very hard to separate characters from
each other," he says. "The physical design, the way they move …
you’re always looking for archetypes with a little nuance and a
little speciality to them."
From the voices of the characters to the landscapes James and
his friends travel through, Selick says differentiation was
crucial. "Every frame of the movie we tried to put a strong visual
imprint on," he says. "I wanted it to look beautiful, unique,
unlike anything we’ve ever seen before."
… The process of converting the well-loved children’s story
into a film was slightly circuitous.
James and Miss Spider in "James and the Giant Peach," based on
Roald Dahl’s classic 1961 children’s book. Although changes were
made, director Henry Selick believes "the flavor is exactly right.
It’s the same as the book." The film opens Friday.Photo
Illustration by JANET LEE/ Daily Bruin
Left to right: "James and the Giant Peach" director Henry Selick
and storyboard coordinator Andrew Birch in a story meeting.