Annecy Gets A Taste of Skydance Animation’s First Feature “Luck”

variety.com:

Lise Pedersen An enthusiastic crowd took a sneak peek at Skydance Animation’s first feature length film, “Luck,” showcased as part of the Annecy International Animation Festival’s Work in Progress section on Tuesday.The panel was composed of the film’s director Peggy Holmes (“The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning,” “The Pirate Fairy”), screenwriter Kiel Murray (“Cars,” “Finding Nemo,” “Ratatouille”), producer David Eisenmann (“Pearl,” “Son of Jaguar”), director of animation Yuriko Senoo (“Tangled,” “The Pirate Fairy”) and VFX supervisor Javier Romero (“Wonder Park,” “Planet 51”).“Luck” tells the story of Sam Greenfield, probably the unluckiest girl in the world, who one day finds a lucky penny.

She decides she wants to give the penny to her best friend Hazel, but her bad luck means she loses the coin. Sam sets out to find a new one and, in her quest, she crosses the path of Bob, a lucky black cat, who inadvertently leads her to the Land of Luck.Much of the film’s comedic quality lies in the physicality of Sam’s bad luck.

Senoo explained how the team turned to the likes of Lucile Ball, Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton for inspiration to create authentic characters and understand the style they were going for.“[These] great comedians, amazing storytellers make us laugh without saying a word, just with their faces and bodies, they can pull off amazing stunts but they also know when to pause for comedy.

That’s why their timing is so rhythmic. We were drawn to deadpan comedy – it’s the concept of less is more,” she said, underlining how this concept was the red line throughout the filmmaking.“Rhythm is so important in this film, especially in the Land of Luck: everything had to be perfect, easy, worry-free and synchronized:.