Words by Mara Karniella Sugue
For more than 30 years, animator Mark Henn has been the man behind everyone’s favorite Disney animated films: The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, and even Mickey Mouse himself. This July, he got to visit the Philippines for the first time to talk about his most recent project: Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-it Ralph 2.
ALSO READ: THEN and NOW: Disney Princesses in their original films and in Wreck-It Ralph 2!
This movie, as Mark describes it, is what he calls “a true sequel to the first movie” for the filmmakers because of how they worked with the same artists who brought us the first Wreck-it-Ralph film. He also said that it was fun to go back and revisit old characters from the first film, as well as work on a whole bunch of new characters for the sequel.
As the main characters, Ralph and Vanellope, journey into the internet in Wreck-it-Ralph 2, Mark says that it was both exciting and challenging for him because even if it was easy to find inspiration for the film, the team eventually had to boil it down to what they needed for the story. But rest assured, Mark believes that Wreck-it-Ralph 2 is something will leave the audience entertained.
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-it-Ralph 2 Poster
On another note, Mark also discusses how technology has changed the animating world, saying that: “In the hand-drawn days, the worst thing that could happen was if my pencil broke. Or if I ran out of paper, I could go get new paper.
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He also believes that it’s a myth that animation is now easier because of technology. He says that with this new technology, the workflow is still the same, but now there is a whole new set of people involved with a new set of expertise. In this era of animating, Mark advises that people should at least need some computer skills if they would want to advance in this industry.
Mark Henn Photographed (L)
But even with over 30 years of work for Disney, Mark still has some milestones he wants to achieve, including a huge slate of ideas that are currently under development that he wants to be part of, even mentioning some talks about Frozen 2!
Catch Mark Henn’s work in Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-it-Ralph 2 this November in cinemas!
