The so long-awaited premier of Little Finger(Meñique), the first Cuban 3D animated film, has been alreadyannounced for next Sunday 20 at 10:00 am at the Chaplin Cinema. With an outstanding artistic quality and technology, the little hero will be accompanied by new characters as a gift for the summer by the Cuban Film InstituteAnimation Studios for children.
Directed by Ernesto Padron, this free version of the classic story by Jose Marti published in The Golden Age in 1889, taking as starting point the Poucinet by French Edouard Laboulaye.
This piece has been taken to the cinema in ananimated film that preserves the essence of the story. This version introduces new characters and recreates the epoch the story develops in with a mixture of Cuban landscapes, colonial architectonic styles, Latin American ways of dressing from that periodand humor.
In 80 minutes the film tells the story of Little Finger, a young small farmer that is trying to get his family out of poverty. His meeting with the Magic Mirror of His Better Half, who shows him the woman of his dreams, will set the plot in motion. A huge hexed oak tree leaves the king’s palace in the dark and with no water. The king promises to name Marquis and offers his daughter, Princess Denise, in matrimony to whoever succeeds in cutting down the tree and opening up a well.
Around the city there is a large shanty town inhabited by poor people. A mysterious thief steals from the palace to give money to the poor. She will also steal Little Finger’s heart in this adventure filled with action, intelligence, and love to prove that “knowledge is stronger than strength”.
It all began eight years ago, when the idea for the film started to be shaped, though it was not until 2008 when they decided to produce it in 3D, This technology has come to the national animated productions a bit late, so this film has been a school for its producers.
Long and arduous has been Little Finger’s path to share its adventures to the audience form the 70’s when Tulio Raggi caressed the idea and assigned Padron the design of the characters.
This is the first national production to use this technology in full, instead of plain drawings as it had so far. In production, 3D is understood as the use of software for animating characters and backscreens with visual volumes and depth.
In screening, 3D is the perception of these volumes through specific lenses designed especially for watching them. Even though this is a 3D film, Little Finger will be exhibited in our cinemas in 2D. Yet, the techniques implemented in its production will allow spectators to appreciate its tridimensionality without those lenses.
It has taken six years of intense work, though a production with these characteristics always takes some time as it occurred with Wall E by Pixar, which took five years and a half to be finished with a millionaire budget. Finding Nemo took four years and Shrek 1 took three.
OnCuba talked with two animation supervisors of the film, Pedro Miralles and Jerzy Pérez, and its production director, Ariel Blanco, to learn more about this little giant in Cuban animation.
Animation
How was the animation process of the characters?
Many characters contributed with the designs of the characters, as late Tulio Raggi, who gave us a lot of ideas for the film since the beginning, and Reyneiro Tamayo, among others. From the animation point of view, the characters get to us for their animation as if puppets that instead of threads use controls. It was our job to give them life, movement, personality and gestures, in accordance with their feelings, origins and style.
It was hard to reach the desired level to respect the message the director wanted to transmit. The work is not done by a single animator, not even the same character, during the whole film; in fact, scenes have been animated by different specialists. We are all different and we all work differently. The job of supervisors is for instance to make surethe character Pedroanimated resembles the character Jose animated in terms of its characteristics and identity.
We are aware that there are new characters in this version…
Jose Marti’s free version of Little Finger is so small that it could be told in just ten minutes. In order to make it a full-length film, the director and scriptwriter had to create other situations and characters to enrich the plot. Then, there are a few extra elements and there are negative characters like a witch, her son, the captain of the guard taking orders from the king, a pick, a walnut, and other magical objects with a well-defined personality.
Beyond technological difficulties, what was Little Finger’s greatest challenge?
At first, in order to achieve the director’s desired animated style –not too Disney nor too realistic– we had to find an intermediate point between both. The challenge was how to unify and communicate the idea to the rest of the team, which include more than 20 animators, and of course, to finish the film which was the hardest thing to do. It was also a challenge to make every character, despite being animated by different professionals, feel the same and coherently.
Do you think Little Finger is up to par internationally?
Little Finger portrays a unique style and the situations created by the scriptwriter are fun and interesting. The Cuban industry in terms of animation still has a lot of work to do for gaining knowledge but we are on the right track. So, we think the film is up to par for competing internationally.
Production
What would you highlight on the production of Little Finger?
Production, as well as any other process, underwent a training system. This kind of film, as it was done for the first time, demanded the improvement of our team. Although the studio had had some experience in 3D technology in a few short films, a full-length film with these characteristics is very different and complex and demands preparation. We studied a lot, we read a broad bibliography and we achieved a communication and production flow suitable to the real conditions of our studio, our connectivity and our country.
Now that the movie has been finished we realize we did make it, it worked. This film went through different complex stages during its production. Our production system was dynamic and was always subject to constant changes.
How have you planned the international distribution of the film?
Little Finger will have an intense and dynamic commercial life. If the movie is positioned as we expect it in the different events and festivals it will take part in, we will make the most of it. Anyway, the German production company Solamedia is handling its distribution in a considerable part of Europe. The film has been inserted in Spain, Portugal, Germany, and theUnited Kingdom and almost all over Latin America.
Is it true Little Finger will continue with a videogame?
Our training for producing Little Finger has provided us with knowledge that allows us to develop new projects. We are setting up new goals, experiencing new courses like videogames. We want to bring it in, we are taking the first steps but it is still very incipient though we don’t want to miss this opportunity with the knowledge gained.
We have set that strategy and we are overcoming a stage at a time to achieve a high quality videogame to be inserted in different markets as it was with the film. When you see it, you will appreciate the artistic results reached, somethingthat really pleases us and makes us proud.
Just heard about this being Cuba’s first CGI-animated feature film. I wish Mr. Padron and ICAIC all the best on this venture! It’s International English title by the way is “Tom Little and the Magic Mirror”.
About Little Finger (Meñique).
The criticism of Cecilia Crespo, journalist and art critic, uses a level of professionalism definitely international in this article, the young journalist demonstrates a remarkable capacity for descriptiveness technique, criticism targeted and amplitude cultural given his young age.
His comment on the work of the director Ernesto Padron, an interview with Jerzy Perez, Pedro Miralles and the production director Ariel Blanco was performed admirably according to the canons of the best journalistic experience
The Crespo is a new secure promise to level internacional that overlooks the world of cinema.
Silvio Ricciardetto.
His comment on the work of the director Ernesto Padron, an interview with Jerzy Perez, Pedro _ Miralles_ and the Director of produzione_ Ariel Blanco was performed admirably according to the canons of the best journalistic experience ..
The Crespo is a new promise to secure internazionale_ level that overlooks the world of cinema.
Silvio Ricciardetto.
una critica mirata e una notevole ampiezza culturale data la sua giovane età.
Il suo commento sul lavoro del regista Ernesto Padron, l’intervista a Jerzy Perez, Pedro Miralles , e al direttore di produzione, Ariel Blanco è stata eseguito mirabilmente secondo i canoni della migliore esperienza giornalistica.
La Crespo è una nuova sicura promessa a livello internazionale, che si affaccia sul mondo del cinema.
Silvio Ricciardetto.