Klay Hall, Sean Lurie on Tinker Bell - Interview
Disney Toon Studios Brings Peter Pan Character to DVD
Oct 20, 2009
The Disney Fairies line of direct-to-DVD animated films had a rough ride. Linked to the notorious 'dreck-to-video' animated sequels of the 1990's, the first Tinker Bell film was the subject of a battle between Disney Animation head John Lasseter and Disney Toon Studio president Sharon Morrill.
It was a clash between those who wanted to market it as a "feature-length commercials for toys" versus those with higher artistic ambitions.
With Morrill no longer a factor, Lasseter is attempting to rehabilitate both the Disney Fairies product line, and their associated films, by concentrating on what he feels is the most important element in any movie: story.
In this exclusive interview, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure director Klay Hall and producer Sean Lurie discuss how the 2nd movie of the series came together, and why Tinker Bell is a great heroine.
S101: How did you get involved with Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure?
Klay Hall: “I was at DreamWorks, where we had just finished up Father of the Pride. Before that, I was on The Simpsons for several years, and King of the Hill.
“I heard about Tinker Bell happening at Disney Toon Studios. I'd always loved the classics: I'd gone to Cal Arts, I grew up on classic Disney animation. So I was lucky enough to get an interview and a storyboard test. The Disney Fairy franchise came up, and they asked if I was interested in working on Tinker Bell. A great opportunity, with an iconic character: let’s give it a shot.”
S101: Did you work on the first Tinker Bell movie?
Hall: “I was a story consultant on the first film, but the two films nearly ran simultaneously. Brad (Raymond, who directed the first film) was maybe 4-6 months in front of us. So part of the process was to look for producers, and Sean and I came across each other, and joined forces.”
Sean Lurie: “It’s ironic that we’re doing a movie about fairies for little girls, because we both have 2 sons. But when Klay and I talked about it, we thought, ‘Let’s just work hard to tell the best story we possibly can.’ So we set out on that journey, and it’s been great.”
S101: What story were you trying to tell?
Hall: “The first film was the origin story. Brad set up how Tinker Bell came about, and the world of Pixie Hollow. So now we have a chance to play in Tinker Bell’s sandbox. It gave us, and me, a great opportunity to explore her character more. I wanted to hearken back to we saw of her in Peter Pan, where she’s feisty, strong-willed, independent. I wanted to bring that into this film.
“And, as Sean said, having two boys each and being guys, I love the action, drama, the genre of fun, fast, cool movies. So it led us in that direction: let’s do something a little different here, let’s explore her personality and put it in an action-packed genre.”
S101: In the original Peter Pan, there are points where Tinker Bell is antagonistic–
Hall: “Yes. She tries to kill Wendy! (everybody laughs)”
S101: How do you reconcile this aspect of her personality with the idea that you have to make her a heroine of a film marketed for little kids?
Hall: “That was a tough one. We kinda left that part out (everybody laughs).”
Lurie: “We don’t go as far as Tinker Bell trying to kill people, and she doesn’t actually kill anyone in Peter Pan (laughs). But one of the great things about Tinker Bell is that she’s relatable: who of us at some point didn’t get super-angry, or super-jealous or . . .”
Hall: “Or break something and try to fix it without telling anybody.”
Lurie: “She’s just such a great character to work with. We wanted to hold to the idea that Tinker Bell is a heroine because she’s a little bit of all of us. She works to overcome her flaws . It’s actually an important point in our film: that she grows. She’s reluctant to take responsibility for her part of the dilemma that she’s faced with and, by the end of the movie, she starts to own up to her mistakes.”
S101: What stories, other than Peter Pan, did you use for inspiration? Because this story is a real quest narrative–
Hall: “For me, it started with the chapter books. The Realm of the Never-Fairies is the bible of the fairy world; John Lasseter was on-board with that book, to get us thinking in this world. Then there was a chapter-book called North of Never-Land. It’s only 20 pages, but that gave me an idea of her going on a quest. So we had to turn a 20-page book into a 100-page movie script.
“There are so many great ‘quest’ movies out there. That genre is so cool: we watched several things, not to copy them, but to use them for inspiration.”
Lurie: “Part of what inspired us from North of Never-Land was this idea of friendship. The core story is the friendship between Tinker Bell and Terrence. Their friendship is damaged at the beginning, and comes full circle in her realization of the damaging of that friendship. And really, the important things in life are not treasures and stuff, but friendship.”
S101: A lot of stories that use that as a theme. What’s different about Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure?
“First off, just being set in the world of Pixie Hollow, and the world of the fairies. It’s certainly different from like, Lord of the Rings or Raiders of the Lost Ark. There’s also the fun we bring to it, the comedy we bring to it, like the trolls sequence and several other characters that help the film stand on its own.”
(In Part #2 of this interview, Hall and Lurie talk about working with Pixar's Story Trust, and the film's artistic influences)
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