When a monstrous creature escapes from a melting iceberg, a self-doubting teenage humpback whale must face his greatest fears and dive into the darkest depths with his friends, to discover the mystical song that can save the oceans from destruction.
Just in time for the school holidays, The Last Whale Singer is a new animated family adventure about taking care of the environment, finding your identity through music, and being confident in yourself. Before the film hits cinemas on September 24, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the film’s director/co-writer Reza Memari about the formative films from his childhood, how hundreds of hours of documentary footage helped his animation team create the underwater world, and how music works into the films emotional core.
Nick: I’d love to know what some of the formative films were for you growing up?
Reza Memari: I mean, how many hours do you have?! I have many films, and not even just animation to be honest with you. E.T. came right to mind. The Lion King was a huge influence. Finding Nemo which was obviously an influence on this film. And many classics like The Sword in the Stone, Cinderella, lots of Disney films. I also have to say Don Bluff films like The Land Before Time were a huge influence with how movies have lots of heart, but also dealt with trauma and would scare me. It was an animated film that really pushed the limit.
Nick: That leads perfectly into my next question, because The Last Whale Singer also deals with some pretty heavy themes like grief, identity, and purpose. I’m curious to know how you navigate these themes in a way that feels sincere, but also is accessible for younger audiences?
RM: Yeah, it’s a good question. I think for me, I literally put myself into the shoes of my inner child when I write. And coming from those films that were so formative for me, it really gave me a sense and education about life. Those movies from that era really challenged you way further than most family films do these days. So I wanted this film to not just feel like it was for children, but it was also entertaining and moving for grown-ups too. I find nothing more annoying than parents who are bored while they’re kids are watching a movie, almost rolling their eyes at the movie. I really wanted to make something that everybody likes. I had lots of help from broadcast editors and dramaturge script editors who basically kept pushing me to go deeper. I think they were just as excited to explore these themes. I also feel like the whales themselves bring that sort of depth to the themes of the film.
Nick: A commonality between all of your films is exploring those human themes through the lens of animals. What makes animals such an interesting vessel to explore those sorts of themes for you as a filmmaker?
RM: I think they’re just so universal, you know? As soon as you have a human in your story, you have to start thinking about clothing, and how buildings look, the historic background of the people. You’re immediately put into a certain place and a certain time. I feel like animals are so great because they allow us to let go of all kinds of identity stuff, and just enjoy the characters for who they are and what they are going to go through. That to me has always been interesting. Having said that, I am doing a movie exploring human stories through animation. So I am also growing into that.
Nick: I’d love to ask about the animation in particular. There is so much detail within this film, like the air bubbles that emerge as the whales move their tails, or the way light shines through the water, or the barnacles on the bottom of the animals. How important was it for you and your team to really knuckle down on those finer details during the animation process?
RM: In this film, the whole team and I really wanted to do the ocean and whales justice. I didn’t want to stylise the world unnecessarily, but I wanted to present the ocean in it’s full glory. One thing I think we heightened was the colour and the light, because of course, when you’re underwater, it becomes muted and dark really quickly. So we did have a lot of light and colour everywhere. But in terms of the finer details and textures, we were studying real animals and were trying to keep it as close as we could as to how they look and how they behave and move. Our animation team – I mean God bless them – they had hundreds of hours of documentaries and clips to watch because there is a big cast of characters. We have so many animals. Our rigging department – who basically create the “skeletons” inside the 3D models – were going insane because there were so many different skeletons. With humans, it’s all the same skeleton. But with animals, you have jellyfish, a giant squid, whales, walrus, fish with gills and all of that. But what they did with our budget was amazing.
Nick: On the flip side of the realism, there is also such a wonderful magical component to this film. I’m curious to know what creative freedom animation gives you when you’re writing a story like this?
RM: I mean it’s why I am so drawn to animation, and kind of why I am sticking with it. You can literally come up with anything you want. It’s not impossible to at least try and achieve something. And that’s what is so wonderful about it. You can just dream. You can be a kid. You can just come up with whatever. At the same time, I’m looking at this explosion of AI animation, where people prompt whatever they want. Which is amazing, but it’s scary because now it feels even more limitless. And now it’s even more challenging. It’s harder to surprise viewers with things that feel fresh.
Nick: What was the creative process like in creating the original songs with Asgier?
RM: Yeah, when I first pitched the film years ago, everybody was like, “Oh, so it’s a musical, right?” And I’m like, “No, it’s not a musical. But everyone will be singing pop songs! Oh, and it’ll be humpback whales singing pop songs” [laughs]. But, in all honesty, humpback whales are very majestic animals. I take them very seriously. And I wanted the best music to represent that. We thought opera might be something that fit, and we actually did that for Vincent’s father’s song when he was healing the reef the first time. But with Vincent, as you said, we got Asgier, and that was amazing. That was a dream come true in a way because I wanted some kind of Icelandic influence. I really love Icelandic composers. It’s an island surrounded by ocean, so it felt right. This was the first time Asgier has worked on a movie in this way, and used his voice in a kind of acting capacity. He has the most angelic voice. He’s an amazing artist.
Nick: Was there a memory or moment where you first remember how impactful music can be in films?
RM: Oh, wow. I have to think. I would honestly say Star Wars. John Williams. I don’t know how old I was, maybe five or six, when I watched Star Wars. It just burns into your soul. But also, it’s so rare in animation to work on the score as I was writing the script, but that’s what our composer, Daniel Bjarnason, did. We started writing music four years before production, and I really wanted to take Daniel on the ride because I wanted his music to feed into my writing. I wanted to openly be able to discuss how the film was going to sound because it was so important to me. He’s an amazing composer and conductor. He really went on this journey with us.
Nick: As we close out our chat, there is an element of this film where Vincent has to overcome an immense amount of self doubt to pursue something amazing. As a filmmaker, how much can you relate to the idea of having to overcome self doubt in order to create art that resonates so emotionally well with audiences?
RM: That is very interesting because I came up with this story when I was co-directing a film called Richard the Stork, about a little sparrow who thinks he is a stork. He’s basically the smallest bird with the largest amount of courage. While I was making that, I saw a documentary about humpback whales and how they sing in their groups. I was blown away. But I also wondered why no one had made a singing humpback whale film before? The first thing that came to my mind was a story about someone who lacked self-esteem and self-confidence. That was the key to the whole story. But, this was my first solo directing gig, so I felt a lot like I was finding my voice and style while making this film. We were figuring out what kind of studio Telescope Animation was going to be. What kind of movies we are going to make. A lot of those feelings were fed into the film. Any artist that gets anything made needs to be applauded because we are putting ourselves out there for people to either love it or not. It’s courageous to open your mouth and stand up for something. It takes guts!
Thank you so much to Reza for his time, and to Icon Films for organising the interview. The Last Whale Singer is in Australian cinemas September 24.
