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Teaching Wonderland
FILMINK's Jak Grimsley visited Disney Australia and caught up with one of its principals Ian Harrowell.
Ian Harrowell joined Walt Disney as an animator, first working on TV series such as Winnie the Pooh, then moving on to various video projects as an animation director. These primarily involved sequels to theatrical releases including The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and An Extremely Goofy Movie. Return to Neverland is the debut theatrical release of Walt Disney Animation Australia, led by Harrowell as unit director.
Already released in the United States, it has been so well received at the box office, it is more likely to remind us of past Disney Classics, than past sequels.
Walt Disney has such an iconic presence, both within film and culture itself, that it has become littered with stereotypes. The influence of critical and media perceptions is no more obvious than in the release of sequels. The studio itself has been called mercenary, exploiting its own audience, and capitalising on its own reputation. The relevance of insistent happy endings has been called into question. But above all, they have been accused of stagnation, refusing to explore anything new.
Harrowell speaks of none of these things. His first passion was drawing, not animation. He is more interested in teaching than in stimulus. And more concerned with the integrity of responsibility, than the restriction that duty may place on his art. In a world of simplicity and magic - he talks of realism and faith, and the necessity of light and dark.
He stumbled into animation after a friend suggested it, noticing he could draw, and everything moved on from there. ""A lot of people really passionately love the medium itself, whereas I really loved drawing, and the excitement of seeing those drawings come alive.""
Harrowell is quick to point out that Disney has the responsibility of being a babysitter to millions of children, and it is not a duty they take lightly, nor should they.
In a modern world where the relevance of fairy-tales has been called into question, the resonance of Return to Neverland is clear for Harrowell. Even though he may be intimately familiar with various scenes, he hasn't ceased to be drawn in by them. For him they have retained all of their wonder. ""The metaphor of her falling back off that mast away from Hook to me is the metaphor of faith. It's not even falling forwards; you know where you're going. It's like I'll release myself to it. She fell backwards. That's true. I can relate to the act of courage to sort of be child like again. I believe it's an act of will some times. I find this story really powerful. I think for me it's captivating that it starts in World War II. I wouldn't be surprised if this speaks more to kids now than the original in that sense.""
The reception of the film has been lukewarm, but he seems happily untouched by it. And when he says it doesn't affect him in any way, it is as though it is only because he loves the film too much to be swayed by others. ""I am so proud of what we've done, and nobody with a negative observation makes it feel less, that's just what he or she thought.""
Harrowell makes it clear that the most important thing is communicating with the audience. ""Not many people on a payroll, as a critic, are ten year old boys and girls.""
Even generally some of the critiques given to children's films surprises him, especially where it accuses the film of being 'overly-teachy'. ""I don't think the storyteller in the community was there to engage people in their boring night time hours in the village. It was passing on teaching to children, and teaching them in ways that aren't so obvious necessarily. But generally having no shame about teaching to kids. I mean after all we are the adults. I just find that over-preachy critique a strange one.""
In order to create credibility and meaning, the pursuit of realism is a necessary element, and one that he and his team spent a lot of time on. ""As far as bringing the characters to life Lianne Hughes and her team on Jane really understood her character. This is a little girl in her nightie - that's the journey. As opposed to a Manga woman who can throw star knives. So I think the onus is on us more than ever before to be true to that person. She's not a cartoon character in the same sense, she's not Goofy, she's not Aladdin, if she falls out of a window she'll get really hurt. And I think that's important because we're engaging with her as a real, real person.""
Despite the fact that this is a magical tale, Harrowell is well aware of the importance of both sides of that same magic. He not only understands the genre that he works in, but also respects it as well. ""It's just a sweet little, very believable, intense arc of a character. And some people have said it's a bit dark at the beginning. But without that, why would you care? But to start from an understanding of that dark side, and to work through it really thoroughly, it doesn't surprise me if there's happy endings. Anything's better than closet darkness.""
Return to Neverland is now showing in Melbourne and Brisbane, and opens in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth on April 11.
POQ: ""A lot of people really passionately love the medium itself, whereas I really loved drawing, and the excitement of seeing those drawings come alive.""