Pride was a recurring theme as University City native Marlon West discussed the upcoming release of Disney’s “Moana,” directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, which hits theatres nationwide on Wednesday, November 23.
West served as the head of animation effects for the film that co-stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but a personal memory came to mind as he spoke on the power of seeing oneself reflected in film early on.
“‘Princess and the Frog’ was the first movie my daughter saw in the theater – and she saw a brown princess,” Marlon West said. “So I know how much this movie means for the people from the Pacific Islands.”
West was animations effects supervisor for “Princess and the Frog,” a film that also produced Disney’s first ever African-American fairy godmother – which was coincidentally portrayed by fellow St. Louisan Jenifer Lewis.
The same care and attention to detail that Disney applied to research for “Princess and The Frog” was given to “Moana.” West believes the extensive research that goes into each film, a process West says is strongly encouraged by Disney and Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, has forged a connection with the subjects.
“When people take you into their homes and show you their community, you want to do right by those people,” West said. “It informs you, but it also makes you duty-bound as far as having some authenticity. And when we went there and immersed in their culture – and when they came to the studio to teach us dance and to teach us different things for our story – I could see the pride in them.”
“Moana” explores the ancient tradition of way finding – or navigating the vast and beautiful waters of the Pacific Ocean – through the eyes of the title character, who is next in line to lead her people.
As Moana prepares to succeed her father to the throne as chief, her community is in the midst of turmoil. An upset in the spiritual realm that has rippled into the natural world – and Moana answers the call of the supernatural to save her people from becoming a casualty of the consequences.
“This is a movie from their point of view,” West said. “This is about their culture thousands of years ago before they had any interaction with Western civilization. It’s all them – and it’s all Moana.”
A storied career
“A cool adventure” is how West has described his 20-plus years at Disney. He has risen through the ranks to his current position as supervisor for animated effects and had a hand in some of the most treasured films in Disney’s modern catalog – from 1994’s “The Lion King” to the 2013 cultural phenomenon “Frozen.”
“I love when these movies go out there and touch people,” West said. “You never know how something is going to touch somebody. You’ve got to put as much heart into it as you can – but you never know.”
He said he’s been drawing for as long has he can remember, but the University City High School and Columbia College (Chicago) graduate had his professional breakthrough in animated film by way of the 1992 urban cult classic “BeBe’s Kids,” – which was derived from a bit created by the late comedian Robin Harris.
As a supervisor for the company who set and maintains the standard for animated feature films, the biggest joy of his job is giving members of his crew opportunities to succeed and better themselves as artists. He also gets a kick out of making a film that will have a lasting impact on those who see it because of the inspirational storylines.
“We are working really hard to make something special,” West said. “You don’t focus on revenge, cynicism or retribution – you focus on hope, community, love and knowing yourself and strength. Those are the things that elevate people, and those are the things our films are about. When you spend five years on a movie, you want it to be about something that sustains you.”
He shudders at the thought of working on material that doesn’t come from a happy place.
“You spend so much time looking at these images and putting these films together, that if they weren’t positive images and quality images, it would be a drag,” West said. “Every image in this movie has an effect in it that I’ve seen 30 or 40 times – every shot, and that’s no exaggeration. It’s good that these images are positive, because otherwise it would be a straight-up drag.”
He’s also thrilled that his company answered the call by audiences to reflect an array of cultures and experiences in their films.
“There’s something so universal that cuts across race and gender – and even a film like ‘Zootopia’ that cuts across species – they resonate with people and they want to share them,” West said. “They want to make sure their kids see it, and when those kids grow up, they want to make sure their kids see it. And I don’t want to jinx it, but Moana is so visually stunning and has so much detail – not clutter, but detail – that I think the people will see more than once just to take it all in.”
Disney’s “Moana” opens in theatres nationwide on Wednesday, November 23. The film is rated G with a running time of 96 minutes.
