Sep 7, 2023

2024 Academy Award Nominee for Best Short Film: "The Brave Locomotive," directed by Andrew Chesworth

Welcome to Cartoon Brew's spotlight series highlighting animated short films that have qualified for the 2024 Academy Awards. There are several ways for a film to qualify for an award. In this edition, we will focus on films that have won an Oscar-eligible award at a festival that is eligible for the Academy Awards.

Today's short is "The Brave Locomotive" by former Disney and Netflix animator Andrew Chesworth ("Anna and the Snow Queen," "Moana," "Klaus"). The Brave Locomotive" qualified for the LA Shorts International Film Festival, where it won Best Animation.

Described by Chesworth as "a love letter to the Andrews Sisters and 1940s animation," The Brave Locomotive is a fearless little train coming face to face with a future that may not have room for it, literally, in the Old West It is a story. Chesworth began developing the idea in 2008 and recorded the original music with Tom Hambleton in 2009. As the pandemic spread and Chesworth spent more time at home, he began work on "Brave Locomotive" again.

Cartoon Brew: The film is a real throwback, from its animation to its music to its willingness to darken its narrative. What were some of the masterpieces that inspired you during the development of this film? Melody Time and Make Mine Music are among my earliest memories of animated experiences. I was captivated by the creative marriage of images and music. The singing voice of the Andrews Sisters was like magic. Creating a love letter to that particular era that triggered my passion for animation has long been on my bucket list.

Other inspirations included "Pinocchio," "Dumbo," "The Adventures of Ichabod and Toad," "Susie the Little Blue Coupe" and "Paul Bunyan." I enjoy the films that Disney made during his lifetime, which explore all kinds of emotions and strike the right balance between sincerity and satire.

I remember watching "Brave Little Toaster" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as a small child in the 1980s and being both fascinated and horrified. These films made an impression on me because they were incredibly dynamic. I loved animation like that. As an adult, I also felt an affinity for Bill Peet and Bill Watterson. Their work is introspective, entertaining, and worth revisiting.

What attracted you to this story and concept and why did you take on the role of director? The theme of obsolescence was always at the heart of the film. At the time, I felt like I was commenting on the rapid decline of hand-drawn feature animation in the United States. When I revived the project in the midst of the pandemic (after a nearly decade-long hiatus, with a "you only live once" mentality), some felt that it was commenting on the sudden arrival of A.I., and that the film was a commentary on the "new" A.I., the "new" A.I., the "new" A.I., and the "new" A.I. Westerns like True Grit, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (the R-rated live-action Melody Time), and No Country for Old Men explore cliché in ways I found interesting in echoing this family film.

In animation and in life, I appreciate the old as old and the new as new. There is beauty in what was once mainstream becoming boutique.

What have you learned about the production side, the filmmaking side, the creative side, or the subject matter through the experience of making this film? I pitched the concept to Tom Schroeder, a former animation instructor, who connected me with composer Tom Hambleton. Hambleton handled the job perfectly, from casting, to arranging, to Foley, to recording with the microphones of the day. For me, this approach to collaboration was a reason to wake up and make a short film.

Making a film with the music room mentality of the golden age of animation, as composers Frank Churchill and Lee Harline did with Walt Disney artists, was a process I always wanted to experience. Tom went with me to that place. We developed the music and the reel at the same time. That's my favorite way to work as an animated filmmaker. I get results like no other.

Also, Patlabor fit my preferred pace and temperament, making it a good fit to revive this project.

How did you develop your visual approach to this film and why did you settle on this style/method?

I wanted the film to look like a fully restored animated short from the 1940s, but I used realistic digital technology to justify the extremely limited resources other than my own time.

Instead of paper and cell, I used Photoshop and TVPaint. After Effects was used instead of a multi-plane camera. The train was animated in Maya in 2s and 1s and rendered to look like a painting. The final look was a compromise between the authenticity of the period and a tool that was feasible for a small, remote team.

We were fortunate to have amazing artists like Allie Strom and Amy Lewis leading the scenic team with beautiful digital paintings. I was also lucky to have the talented Kazimir Iskandar write the full-color script. Kaz's style is what I have affectionately described as "sarcastic Mary Blair." I was fortunate to be involved in the production of "Klaus" and to connect with some of the greatest young animators in the world.