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8 - The Canadian Champion. Tuesday July 1 19,97' FLWfR SuiO u C/iris Schouten Jr. Cartoonist's work hits the big screen in Anastasia First 2Oth Century Fox full-length animation feature film By STEVE LeBLANC Special ta The Champion Millions of North Americans will jam their way mbt movie theatres this faîl 10 see 201h Century Fox's first-ever ful length animated feature, Anastasia. For most, the îwo-hour sojourn will provide excitement, intrigue and general enterlainruent. For Milton native Chris Schouten Jr., bowever, il will provide an opportunily 10 catch up with old friends - ones be helped creale. The cook turned commercial artist is one of the principal designers of the $70 million flick due 10 bit the big screen November 2 1. ýMr. Schoulen bas worked on nothing else for the past 22 monîhs since being hired by 201h Century Fox Animation Studios in Phoenix, Arizona. The new division of lte movie-making giant is the tirst 10 rival Disney for bragging rigbts sud ftnanciai gain in the animated film industry. Hot on their beels are Warner Brothers and Sleven Spielberg' s DreamWorks. "The race is on 10 see wbo's going 10 dethrone Disney," said Mr. Schouîen, a graduate of Milton District Higb School. With bis work on Anastasia now finished, be's currentiy on hiatus and visiting bis parents in town. As a story board artist and character designer, Mr. Scbouten bad a big hand in deciding the look and feel of Anastasia. He worked alongside induslry icon Don Blutb 10 bring botb the key and secondary characters t0 life. "Don bad conceptualized the main characters belore production began. Tbey were created by him and polished by me. Many of the incidentai characters like Sophie, the Old Hag and Bartok the Aibino Bat were my own original designs," he said. Historical story Une Those characlers - which have undergone several stages of evolution 10 altain perfection - surround a unique and somewbat historical slory uine. baeohi rtftry lng Based on Russian folklore, Anastasia is a tale of the only sur- viving daughter of the Russian Czar wbose family was killed by revolutionaries jusl prior 10 Communism. ousy b to deresingforouraudience," Mr. Schouten pointed weli as those of main characters Vladimir, Dimitri and the evil RFox has a number of heavyweight movie stars lending Iheir vices 10 tbese personalities including Kelsey Grammer, John Cusack and Meg Ryan. "6TV animation la down and dirty. The characters go tiirough very few, changes before being anlmated. There's more of an evolution ia feature films." cm.....................L The evil Rasputin wiIl hit the big screen this fail in 208h Century Fox's Anastasia. He is one of the main charac- ters Milton native Chris Schouten helped create. "Don and t bad 10 come up witb four 10 six facial expressions for eacb character as well as design front, back and side views," Mr. Schouten explained, speaking with great entbusiasmr about bis work. "My role in the movie involved the pencil 10 paper design. Every scene was set up by me before il went to anima- tion. "I'd say there are close 10 300 people working on Anastasia, who bave done notbing else for almost two years." Unlike bis traditionai role in animation, most of Mr. Scbouten colleagues work on the more high-tech end of production - using computers for everyîbing fromn coloring and movemenl 10 musical scoring. Fox is even designing new programs 10 expand what their artista cas make characters do. Sheridan graduate While Anastasia is bis firat experience on a full-lengtb feature production of Ibis magnitude, Mr. Schoulen is anything but a rookie in the world of animation. In fact, îhere's litIle the 39-year-old artial basn'l done in bis 18- year career.Lending bis talents t0 bath lelevision and movies, be's worked consistently since graduating with high honours tram Sheridan College's animation programr - famous world-wide for producing industry leaders. Hired immediatly by Atkinson Film Arts in Ottawa, his first assigniment involved an adaptation of the Curious George novels. It was years later in the nation's capital that he would meet his second wife Gail, also part of the induslry. It wasn'l long before his profile skyrocketed with movies like Heaivy Metal and TV programns such as hispector Gadget, Tales Front Thte CrYpt, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Denis the Menace. Perhaps his biggest assigniment, prior to joining 201h Century Fox, came overseas in Tokyo, Japan where he put a new spin on a certain capped crusader in Batman, The Aniniated Series. Even his lesser viewed projects have gained the respect of bis movie-making peers. In 1987 he won two separate industry awards for his work on the television series Tin Soldier. "TV animation is down and dirty. The characters go through very few changes before being animated. Thcre's morle of an evo- lution in feature films." Former Fifth Wbeel cook While he's muade a direct heeline to success since attcnding Sheridan, Mr. Schouten said he more or less stumbled mbt ani- mation after high sehool. 1T was working full time as a cook at the Fifth Wheel. One momning after a very long night shift I bumed my hand and decided 1 wanted to do sometbing eIse. "Having always been interested in drawing, 1 applied lu Sheridan's illustration prograru. The course was full, but there were spaces still open in animation. 1 baven't looked back since.", Mr. Scbouten said an animator must be "an actor witb a pencit or computer." A sense of story-lelling, be said, is almost as essen- tial as drawing skill in order 10 make the characters believable to the audience. At least one member of that prospective audience that's been won over is Mr. Schouten's tive-year-old son Curtis wbo bas had plenty of sneak peaka at Anastasia and offered plenty of enîbusi- asm for 20tb Century Fox executives. "From what I've seen fromn Curtis, 1 tbink we've got a success on our bands. He's iaugbing and sbowing excitement in ai the rigbt places. 'mr reaiiy anxious 10 sec wbat the critics say and 10 gel audi- ence response," be said. i99TO77-2296 -1Wc>»i 874427 7TPHEEMMLýTON CHýAMBFR OF COMMERCE _]