Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1378252
SUMMER 2021 31 DAN HOLLAND CHARACTER DESIGNER KIPO AND THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS DREAMWORKS ANIMATION WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES KIPO AND THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS UNIQUE? One thing is the visual style of the show. The characters' design style that [show creator] Radford Sechrist created—I haven't seen anybody take a very Asian- or Japanese-inspired style and mix that with, let's say, the round and bubbly design that DreamWorks does. Kind of like Kung Fu Panda mixed with Japanese anime. That stood out to me and attracted me to want to work on the show. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE EPISODE FROM THE PAST SEASON? Besides the finale, the episode Requiem for a Dave. That episode had really strong character development and a ton of funny moments with Dave. I always take questions about Dave and Benson: Dave's back story, and how Benson and Dave became friends in that hectic, chaotic, post-apocalyptic world. I think it was really interesting and fun [to address that]. WHAT ANIMATED SHOWS INSPIRED YOUR CAREER? Growing up, when I was really young, it was Looney Tunes and anything Disney. Then anime hit the scene in America, and I watched Ninja Scroll. That changed everything. It went from these funny characters to very realistic. Then Pixar came into play [for me] and then anything by Studio Trigger. More recently it's been French animation. There's a school in France called Gobelins. I watch their shorts every year. It's always fresh and new. It went from American to Japanese to French and European, and currently Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse and Soul. Those two are pushing me to want to do new things. WHAT ANIMATED SHOW HELPED YOU GET THROUGH THE PAST YEAR? The majority of the time during the pandemic, I was at home. I would go out once a week to one of my best friend's apartment. Of course, we're all masked up and everything. We would catch up, order some food—usually Thai—and watch an episode of anime called The God of High School. That was my weekly dose of normalcy during the pandemic. DAY IS THE NEW NIGHT This year's 73rd Emmy Awards is seeing a shift when it comes to animation. From now on, children's programs— no matter what time they run—will no longer have a category in the Primetime Emmys. Since the majority of Children's Programming categories were already in the Daytime Emmys competition, the Television Academy and National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences say they hope this will streamline submissions and eliminate confusion. A contributing factor to this change is stream- ing, since programs on streaming services don't fall into a specific time slot and can be viewed at any time of day or night. Excellence in Children's Programming will con- tinue to be voted on by Daytime Programming, Children's Programming, and Animation peer groups. below: An electric fan eventually bonds Dave and Benson in Kipo and the Wonderbeasts' "Requiem for a Dave." SUMMER 2021 31