Director Kevin Johnson and the scary story of "Dog Gone Trouble"

A few weeks ago, an animated film called Dog gone into trouble (Aka Trouble) rose to the top of Netflix's most viewed titles and remained in that prime position for seven consecutive days, with no advertising or fanfare behind it. The fascinating CG animated film, produced by the veteran of animation John H. Williams (Shrek, Valiant, Space Chimpanzee, Fascinating) and Danielle Sterling (Gnome alone, Fe @ rless, The Addams Family 2) and directed by Kevin Johnson (Early flowering, animator on Iron Giant), follows a spoiled little dog (voiced by Big Sean) who must learn to live in the real world as he tries to escape his former owner's greedy children. We caught up with Williams and Johnson to learn more about their dormant success:

First of all, congratulations on the success of your indie hit! Can you tell us a little about its origins and how it all came together?

John H. Williams: I was the original producer of the film and Vanguard developed the IP from a pitch and script by Jordan Katz, which was then rewritten by John Murphy and Rob Muir with our director Kevin Johnson. The story was inspired by the story of Leona Hemsley who gave her very spoiled dog $ 12 million in her will to keep the dog in the lavish lifestyle he was used to.

I knew Kevin from his previous days at Starz Animation and asked him to direct this movie almost six years ago. Kevin had a love of history and a knack for telling it, which is why he is currently on Netflix's list of 10 most viewed movies and has been since it premiered during Memorial Day Weekend.

Kevin Johnson: So, my introduction to this project came through John Williams and Jeremy Ross, where we grabbed a cup of coffee from Starbucks on Cahuenga (back in the days when you could casually do it). I had talked to a writer, Rob Muir, whom I had worked with recently and we became a team to plot the story we wanted to tell. We talked to John about the current script, where things were and what fun we wanted to inject into the story. John was enthusiastic and supportive, so Rob and I rolled up our sleeves and dove in.

What attracted you to this film?

Johnson:

1. I have three dogs of my own. I love dogs.
2. My daughter is very committed to dog rescue and has volunteered for an organization called the Hollywood Huskies, so sometimes we find our house full, breeding wayward dogs. At this point we have run no less than 50 and probably closer to 100 dogs through our home to their forever homes.
3. The basis of the story spoke to me. It's not what you have, but who you have that really matters. It basically felt right.

How many people worked on the feature with you? Where was the animation produced?

This is a good question and more suitable for a producer, but the main artists and production crew / staff were around 150 and the production was organized in Cinesite, Montreal.

Can you tell us something about the visual style and inspirations for the film?

When shooting a dog movie, choosing one look was important, because you want to find a way to separate yourself from all the other dog-centric movies that have been made and done well. Gil Rimmer, our production designer, was very helpful in defining the tone of the look, especially in terms of color. As for animation, I'm a fan of Warner Bros. 'snappier animation style, but we had to balance that with the sincerity of the heart of the film itself.

We used the characters as a compass for the animation style and chose some sequences to establish the look and tone. One sequence at the beginning that I put into production was Thurman the Animal Locator [Wilmer Valderrama] arrives at the crime scene where the dancing squirrels beat Trouble up. This helped define the comic absurdity I wanted as well as getting in and out of reality with the character. Thurman lived on a different plane than most.

The other day I was walking my dog ​​and a girl came up to me and said, "Your dog looks like the dog from that new movie. Dog gone into trouble on Netflix! " Why do you think the kids were able to find the movie without any major advertising or promotion?

Thanks for asking for this too. Short answer… I have no idea. But I guess it has something about why I chose to make this movie: because it's about "Man's Best Friend". We have really made an effort to make all dogs attractive and unique and I think we have succeeded to some degree. Designing and nailing Trouble was tough, but I think he's an all dog dog. I think the music-drenched film was also a great help. And looking at the image that Netflix featured, it was pretty attractive. We are happy that it is going well as it is.

What was the most difficult aspect of directing this indie film?

1. Keep the vision clear and at the same time make sure that external forces understand and trust the process. The animation is exciting and everyone wants to get their hands on it, and rightly so, but keeping the train on the tracks and getting there is the ultimate goal.
2. Keep everyone excited about what they are contributing. You want everyone to feel that what they do is important, because it is. from design artists to storyboard artists, from riggers to production managers, from editorial to accountants. Everyone contributes and making sure everyone feels involved is a big deal to the success of an Indie-style production.
3. Supporting artists on a personal level. Since you have limited resources and time, I have worked hard to speak and work closely with the artists on the floor every day. Everyone had something to give. And again, making sure they felt and knew that their individual contribution was important to the success of the film… As a director I became not only a visionary for the film, but also the main proponent of talent and staff on the floor.

What are you most satisfied with with this project?

It's difficult. I'm very happy with something I've had little to do with: the mash-up that Snoop Dogg does in the credits with his daughter. This was cool. Secondly (if I may have one) would be the animation style and facial elasticity that we got and that we got the performances from. Thanks, entertainers and rigging team!

What kind of advice would you give to others who would like to follow in your footsteps and solve the puzzle of Netflix's algorithms and making independent animated films?

I don't know Netflix's algorithms, but I know what story you want to tell and get the script in close proximity before moving to another country. And choose a city with good food. Montreal was great!

Things have changed a lot since the days of Fernravine, The thief and the shoemaker e Thumbelina, a film you worked on as an animator early in your career. What's your take on the wild world of animation today?

It's a new dawn in the world of animation! Yes, really wild but never ending with a lot of promise and with an ever-changing platform for the public. I am very excited about all this means'

you can take Dog gone into trouble on Netflix on www.netflix.com/title/81349324. The film is produced by 3QU Media Vanguard Animation WV Enterprises and Cinesite Studios.