L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano " The animator is an artist who could have been an actor but, being very shy, decided to work behind the scenes." Says Mitja Rabar, the 40 years old Italian an- imator, whose shyness was bal- anced out by a great artistic talent and a passion for drawing and an- imation. I meet Mitja, who is from Tri- este and currently the only Italian animator working for Disney An- imation Studios, at the Burbank studios, the place he has been call- ing home for seven years. Here, after walking under the enormous Sorcerer's Hat that stands fiercely over the main entrance, he gives me a tour inside this temple of an- imation during our interview. The latest feature film that Mitja worked on is Ralph Wrecks the Internet. The animated movie, directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, tells the adventures of Wreck-It Ralph - the villain of the Fix it Felix videogame - and his friend Vanellope von Schweetz. "When I realized that my pas- sion for animation could become a job, I threw myself into it," says Mitja, who in recent years has also worked on Moana, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia: of these five movies, three are Oscar-winning. "I studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and after gradua- tion I did a workshop about 3D programs; after that, I did a lot of training in Italy doing commer- cials and video-clips. Later on, I moved to Germany and then to France where I worked on Despi- cable Me. I arrived at Disney in 2011 to work on Wreck It Ralph." What do you do exactly here at Disney? I am an animator, which means I animate the main characters. My work starts off from a storyboard that is given to me by the director, and I have to create a performance based on it. In order to do so, I am also given the dialogues and the duration of the scene and, fol- lowing the director's instructions, I animate the characters as if they were real actors, in a real movie. How many people do you work with? There are about 80 people in my team. In the past there was a tendency to give a specific char- acter to each animator, but today is no longer necessarily this way. Now, if there are more characters in a scene, the animator has to work on all of them. In this film, I worked on Shank and Vannelope, a little bit less on Ralph and Yesss. When did you realize being SILVIA GIUDICI Mitja Rabar: the Italian animator who works on Disney's Oscar-winning movies America is that despite you work long hours and under a lot of stress, there is always a positive atmosphere, it's fabulous that, even if you're tired, you're happy to come to work and see your col- leagues. The work is often very tough, it is very difficult, we work a lot, but all of us have strength, energy and dedication. There is always a sense of pride even when the work becomes tiring. Since it has become your job, do you still like to animate or draw in your free time? No! I have many hobbies, I like working with wood for ex- ample. As an animator, it is useful to have many other creative in- terests outside of work because you always learn: walking around the city and watching people talk- ing or moving their eyes. Some- times I get bad looks, because I stare at people to study the way they move. But I'm not crazy, I'm just an animator! What have you learned after all these years at Disney? I have learned to accept criti- cism, to work in a team, and to trust my supervisors. It's like be- ing part of a great orchestra where you have to understand what your role is. an animator was your call? I've always loved illustration and I thought I could start a career as a children books' illustrator. This is what, usually, those study- ing illustration at a Fine Arts Academy in Italy aspire to. What is your favorite ani- mated movie? The Sword in the Stone, which is perhaps not the best one, but it was my favorite. As a child, I also liked Dylan Dog. I used to collect comics and books. Have you ever thought you would end up working at Dis- ney one day? No, growing up and living in Italy, you wouldn't really think of working at Disney's. If you grow up in Los Angeles, you think it's possible to work in Hol- lywood, it's normal. But in Trieste it's not, so even if animation was my passion, I never thought it could become a job. Here, there are better vocational opportuni- ties, there are schools where you can learn and study animation as a real profession. The decision to leave the Academy of Fine Arts was painful but I had to do it, their approach to the subject it is mainly classic. How was the transition to Disney? did anything shock you when you came here? In a good way, it shocks me every day! First, I was in France in a medium-large company, but Disney is a 100 years old reality. The way of working in America is different.There is an ability to organize things, to focus energies, to put together money and knowl- edge. I think Disney exists be- cause we are in America. I really have to thank them. What contribution do you think you gave to your latests movie by being European? We Europeans have a greater sense of depth for certain things, but here we make American films. My extensive background helps me a lot, I know a bit about different subjects, I have a ten years long apprenticeship.The hardest thing for me is that, be- cause we make American films, and gesticulation here is not as important as it is for us Italians, there are many things that I would like to use but I cannot. There is a global language and then there is that of our country! I did try to use some of our gestures some- times, but it is a totally different language. Which movie are you at- tached to the most? Moana. Working on it was very nice and the directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, also directed Aladdin and the Little Mermaid. One of them is retired now. And then the actress who voiced Moana, Auli'i Cravalho, was a very special sixteen years old at the time, with a contagious energy, and thanks to her the char- acter of Moana truly got life. I never get tired of watching it, even after 5 or 6 times and after having worked on it for a year. What is the most difficult thing to do as an animator? To create characters that you don't know yet. But when the film is over, they become your friend, you know exactly what they would do in any situation. What is the difference be- tween working for Disney and for other places? The difference between work- ing for Disney and elsewhere is that here you can meet the sacred monsters of animation. And working with them was fantastic and special. As animators we are lucky to work in contact with the directors, we see them daily, we talk to them, we joke around. A nice thing about working in LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY Mitja Rabar, the Italian animator behind many Disney's successes. Photo: Foto: Mitja Rabar

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