Canadian animator makes Oscar splash
TORONTO — Animator Alan Barillaro has contributed to some of Pixar’s biggest hits including A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc. and WALL-E, but the Ontario native managed to soar to solo success at the helm of his Oscar-nominated debut film Piper.
Barillaro’s animated short about an adorable baby sandpiper searching for food on the beach landed a coveted spot in theatres where it screened with Pixar’s feature-length smash Finding Dory — 2016’s top-grossing film.
“It started with this idea of seeing these little shorebirds on the beach that run away from the waves — it felt like such a character to me,” Barillaro said from Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif., where he has worked for nearly two decades.
“I thought that was so compelling that where this bird has to eat is also something that they look — to me — frightened of.”
Barillaro’s six-minute film is one of three projects from Canadian animators in contention for an Oscar on Sunday. Pear Cider and Cigarettes directed by Vancouver’s Robert Valley, and Blind Vaysha by Montreal’s Theodore Ushev are also in the running.
“There’s a legacy of great animation from Canada that you feel really proud to be a part of,” said Barillaro, a graduate of Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont.
Barillaro grew up in Chippawa, Ont., with a love of drawing. During high school, he interned at Animation House in Toronto where he became “hooked” on the craft.
Barillaro said one of his most meaningful teachers was Sheridan instructor Charlie Bonifacio, whose son, Evan, also works at Pixar and helped animate Piper.
Barillaro made a conscious decision not to have any dialogue in Piper, leaving sounds of chirping birds, crashing waves and other staples of beach life punctuated by a whimsical score to help convey the story.
“I think that’s what makes animation really special. It’s always exciting to me as a medium,” said Barillaro. “To me, it’s like you’re in this collaboration of artists all trying to express something kind of delicate and personal. It’s like a painting where everything has to be right for it to work.”
Even after years devoted to helping bring other acclaimed animated projects to the screen, Barillaro said the Oscar nod for his first foray into direction was “surreal.”
“It’s humbling,” he said. “When you start these films, you’re just trying to convey something very personal to the audience.
“It’s all quite an honour, and a little overwhelming.”