Maca Gil was 15 years old when he decided to devote himself to animation. It happened thanks to the book mixed artThe film tells how Disney has been researching Rapunzel’s story for over 65 years and how it brought it to the big screen in 2010. “I always knew I wanted to draw, but I didn’t understand how to work on it. When I saw “cartoons I didn’t understand, I realized how what you drew turned out on the screen, and this book is about animation.” “It was my first contact with something that explained the different parts of it,” he says. artist storyboard (early sketches hinting at the idea of an animated film) In an interview with El Periódico de España of the Prensa Ibérica group.
The Madrid-based cartoonist, who has now doubled his age, is celebrating the completion of his last film in the coming days. Robot Dreams, they nominated him for everything: the Oscars, the Annies, The production, which is among the most important animation awards, has already received the European Film Award for Europe’s best animated film and the best original score, in the same category as Gaudí. It will be clear whether Pablo Berger’s movie will be released this Saturday (Snow White, Torremolinos 73) takes one of the four Goyas he chooses.
“We’re not going to the Oscars because it’s too much, but a few of us from the film crew are going. Robot Dreams To Goya and Annie,” says Maca Gil, who will sit at the Valladolid Fair tonight with a mixture of “lots of emotion and some stress.” He studied with Berger and José Luis Águeda. the art director is sure that “something fell through.”
“I’m having a hard time taking Annie because Miyazaki was nominated along with me (Spirited Away Dear Totoro and in 2023, boy and heron), is very loved by the animation community, but I am very happy that they have already named me. It seems brutal to me. I hope they give it to one of my colleagues. “Maybe we can win in the independent film category at Annie or the animated film category at Goya.” They compete in this category Hanna and the monsters, They shot the pianist, mummies And sultan’s dream.
Narration without dialogue
Robot Dreams is the story of the friendship between Dog, a lonely dog living in Manhattan, and the android Robot he developed to be his adventure companion. A graphic novel of the same name by American illustrator Sara Varon. There is no dialogue in both the book and the film, and all expressive power is provided by the characters’ gestures, accompanied by the music of Alfonso de Vilallonga, who preferred Goya for the film’s soundtrack.
“One of the things that stood out to me the most was that it was a film without dialogue, which represented quite a challenge during the making of the film. storyboard, but for the better. I was thrilled to be able to tell the story in a completely visual way without relying on dialogue. Great fun for one person storyboard writer Express emotions and feelings solely through the characters’ body language and expressions,” says Gil.
“As I told their stories, I fell in love with the characters and felt like they were mine.”
Maca Gil says that this film “seems to be born from a very childish story” but is “very touching” Topics that greatly affect the adult audience: “It tells about the loneliness of a big city (New York), the disintegration of a friendship and the opening of a new page.”
Maca Gil had to adapt drawings from Sara Varon’s comic book into the film. Both drawing inspiration from something previously created and inventing your own drawings come with “complexities, advantages and disadvantages.” “It was a pleasure for me to draw Sara Varon’s characters, they have a cute style, they look childish but they have the ability to express so much. Daniel Fernández Casas, He’s nominated for another Annie and we’re going to Los Angeles together in February. “I started drawing by focusing on Sara Varon’s drawings, but I did them in my own way, and the details of the design, Dog, Robot and other characters were not done until Dani came,” this artist admits. “As I told their stories, I connected to the characters and felt like they were mine.”
Pablo Berger and José Luis Agreda
Maca Gil met the film’s art director José Luis Ágreda at the animation studio Cartoon Saloon, where the film was originally shot. Robot Dreams. “The pandemic came, everything had to be moved, and instead of the Cartoon Hall, there was a pop up studio. “A studio was set up when the movie started to be made, and it was disbanded as soon as it was finished,” he explains. This cartoonist worked on projects at Cartoon Saloon, such as: My Father’s Dragon or in The one and only Marcie For Apple TV.
“Pablo Berger called me through his contacts at the Cartoon Saloon. He had just returned to Madrid and I fell in love with the project because of the way Pablo talked about it. so passionately. I had been working with José Luis and Pablo for a year and a half. cabinThat’s what they call Pablo’s studio in Gran Vía.”
After working with Águeda and Berger, what made them stand out was the attention they showed to their work from the beginning. “I was able to keep the director and art director very close throughout this process. storyboard and improving animation”. “In other productions it’s more hierarchical and maybe the director talks to the art director and doesn’t comment directly on the notes. I thought it was very cool that the director was so on top, able to perfectly understand his vision and his intentions for each shot,” he maintains.
José Luis Águeda assisted Pablo Berger in the first approaches. storyboard “They came up with some good plans,” says Maca Gil. “I feel very lucky because it is not very common in the animation world to be called upon for such special projects. Robot Dreams eIt is unique in its kind. It doesn’t have the typical Hollywood format where everything has to move super fast; There are three very distinct acts. Boss Baby or any film intended for a very broad audience. This was done with the very heart of the story in mind, and I think it’s so unique that it works so well.” he declares.
The cartoonist from Madrid reflects on the nominations he received: Robot Dreams“The animation industry is sending a message: “they want smaller, 2D movies.” “We haven’t seen two 2D movies nominated together for the Oscars in a long time,” he recalls, “and this year they overlapped.” Robot Dreams And boy and heronWritten by Miyazaki.”
studied in Spain
Maca Gil’s dream was to study animation at the most famous universities in California, but he had to rethink his future. “They were out of my reach, they were too expensive, and they weren’t for me. I had to borrow $200,000 to go, and my dad told me it wasn’t possible.”
This cartoonist was part of the school’s first group of students. Degree in Animation from U-tad University Center (Madrid) He completed this degree in 2016. “There was a matter storyboard, I learned a little more about its existence, but it was there that I saw that it fit me and could be for me. Sketching is what I enjoy, while others are more interested in focusing on details and manipulating the drawings. I like to move quickly through sketches, capture ideas quickly and go for it.”
Currently, Maca Gil has been and continues to be working for Marvel on an unannounced comic book that will be published next year. story boards like freelance for animated movies. He also previously worked in DC. Spain is the fifth country in Europe in animated film production and directly employs more than 8,500 workers.
Maca Gil dreams of “working on interesting projects that I’m passionate about and that the people who develop them are also passionate about” and “being able to create original things with my friends” and emphasizes that she “was there in Madrid.” “He is a complete animation professional.”