'Chico' merges style with music

Published: Thu., 12 ,. 8, 2011, 4:00am PTBy 'Chico and Rita'With its ambitious sweep and epic story of affection, passion, and heartbreak occur the jazz mobile phone industry's of Cuba, NY, Paris and Vegas across several decades, "the large challenge was choosing the best method to tell the storyline, in addition to nailing the film's style and all sorts of the particulars," states co-producer Michael Rose. "The spanish language designer Javier Mariscal, who directed with Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba ("Belle Epoque") and Tono Errando, includes a very distinct style, therefore we labored hard at converting (his style) into animation. We'd a really complex script, wonderful these dance sequences and club moments, and that we stayed testing different animation techniques."Ultimately, they made the decision to visit "the costly route," using classic hands-attracted 2D animation. "You will find cheaper methods for making animated films, however, you simply do not get the standard of look and character acting all of us wanted, and CG wasn't right for the topic matter," Rose states.After that it required they a lot more than six several weeks to obtain the right artists who could "discover the poetry" in individual cels. "All of the design and development and original artwork ended at Mariscal Estudio in Barcelona," he states, "and more from the animation was captive-raised to various galleries all over the world -- however it was all controlled from Barcelona."The film, having a budget of $13 million, required seven years from beginning to end to accomplish, with physical production taking a lot more than 2 1/24 months. "We have already talked about other ideas, utilizing the same techniques," Rose states. EYE Around The Academy awards: ANIMATION Animated photos boost property valuesWhether focusing on a shoestring hands-attracted project or pushing the limits laptop or computer-produced technology, the 2011 choices transformed major challenges in getting their animated visions to screen. Here's how:'Arthur Christmas' 'Chico and Rita' 'Gnomeo and Juliet' 'Rango' 'Wrinkles' 'Rio' Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com