Guillermo del Toro Shades Animation Industry: 'Making Movies is Eating a Sandwich of S**t'
The director had some strong words to describe the current state of the genre.
Guillermo del Toro has made a name for himself as a visionary filmmaker over the years, creating a number of films and TV shows that have his signature, instantly recognizable style and have been praised by critics and audiences alike.
But apparently it's not all sunshine and rainbows, even for such big names in the industry as del Toro, and the director revealed the struggles creators go through, as well as his view on the current state of animation, in his speech at the Annecy Festival.
According to the creator, the animation genre has been " kidnapped by a bunch of hoodlums" and desperately needs to be freed with the help of movies like the recent Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Guillermo believes that these projects have shaken up the now stagnant genre and "moved things", allowing for the possibility to "Trojan horse" many good things into the genre.
The director also issued a warning to the animation students in the audience, saying that "making movies is eating a sandwich of s**t," with only minor improvements from time to time due to the astonishing number of obstacles creators face.
Even five of del Toro's own projects have been rejected in the last two months, so the rate of productivity against their best efforts would leave much to be desired, not least thanks to the "a**holes" the students will encounter throughout their careers.
Guillermo del Toro definitely has some strong words to describe the situation, but he is absolutely right.
The current state of mainstream animation rarely allows for risky and experimental projects, and is dominated by companies that want to play it safe.
Take Pixar for example, although their films still look great in terms of visual quality, the style itself now feels rather overused, as many other studios have tried to replicate it in one way or another, making animated films look eerily familiar.
But now, with the aforementioned three projects bringing long-awaited new and original ideas, it could be the beginning of a renaissance for the genre.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter