A young boy with selective mutism and a grieving 80-year-old school volunteer discover a way to communicate and form a special bond in director (and co-writer/co-producer) Daniel Neiden and celebrated indie animator/co-producer Bill Plympton’s acclaimed new short, Whale 52. We recently had the chance to chat with the creators of the project, which is qualified for Oscar consideration through exhibition. Here is what they told us:
A big congrats to you on the recent success of your new short. Can you tell us a little bit about the beginnings of the project and how you ended up working together?
Daniel Neiden: In 2021, co-writer Edward Jordon and I formed International Originals, an indie film production company with a mission to bring our passion projects to the screen. With champagne taste — and a beer budget — we decided that our inaugural effort would be Whale 52 inspired by Edward’s life as an educator and as a once-closeted gay man.
Edward Jordon: (Co-Writer/Co-Producer): An early draft of our script for Whale 52 – Suite for Man, Boy, and Whale won several international screenwriting awards for unproduced scripts; the operative word being ‘unproduced.’ Despite the praise, Whale seemed destined to join other award-winning scripts somewhere in the cloud, until Daniel posed the idea of pivoting from live action to animation. I was hesitant until he brought the project to the ‘god of indie animation,’ Oscar-nominee, Bill Plympton. What a thrill it was when Bill said, “yes!”
Bill Plympton (Co-Producer): Daniel and Edward told me the story with such emotion that I spontaneously generated what was my first conceptual drawing of the man, boy, and even the whale! One drawing led to another and a thousand drawings later, Whale 52 was ready for all the other collaborative artists to bring their talents to the project — musicians Scott Li and Qiujiang Levi Lu, Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey, Broadway conductor Charles Czarnecki, editor/producer Owen Andrejco, animation interns, and more.
With every new project, my vision, along with Owen’s, at Plymptoons, is to hopefully attract a team of creatives who bring the best of themselves to the projects we’ve chosen to do, and this group did not disappoint. By the time we animated the boards, added test voiceovers, SFX, and our then-unedited music, we were stunned to discover that we had something very special on our hands.
Bill, you have worked on over 100 projects throughout your amazing career in animation. What was it about this story that inspired you to bring it to animated life?
Bill: Its raw emotions spoke to me in a wave of minimalist imagery I haven’t felt since Your Face (1987).Minimalist in terms of decor with no background. The more I concentrated on accenting the emotional, the more beautiful the film became.
How long did it take to make?
Bill: When I make my films I usually make them in one and two months. Daniel’s perfectionist push for more details and his commitment to telling Edward’s story, added up to a year and a half, but that precision became exactly what he wanted to see, and the exciting product of what we now have. Whales are magical beings, bigger than a house, but personal and delicate. And it amazes me how they attract our attention. I guess at its most basic, I’m incredibly fond of whales and they’re so darn fun to draw!
How did the different elements come together (voice, music, effects)?
Daniel: My daughter Dora introduced me to Warp Duo (Scott Li and Qiujiang Levi Lu) and it only took one listen to know this was the music the film wanted. She also introduced me to her bandmate, Jacob Clements who bathed the film in exquisite SFX. Bruce Vilanch’s voice found us and fit perfectly into the film as the stymied volunteer, looking for any way in, to draw out such a complicated young child. Bruce embodies the film’s message that an open mind equals an open heart. He was such a pleasure to direct.
What do you love most about the final results?
Edward: Our genre is magical realism. I love how Bill, as animator, and Daniel, as director, brought their magic to the project to tell a story inspired by real-life events. We added an Educational Consultant and Transgender Consultant to help keep it real — while retaining its residency in the world of magical realism where Bill, Daniel, and I seem to thrive.
What would you say was the toughest aspect of the project?
Bill: The toughest aspects usually end up being my favorites, and the push to meet such high demands has ended up creating and helping to forge the special kind of film we’ve made, and probably the type of films I should keep on trying to make. Those same demands ended up being the most fun. It might seem like an outdated word, but if the process isn’t fun, it’s just not gonna work. For me, it always boils down to the audience. We love our work, but it’s more important that audiences love our work. We’re so proud— and grateful — that audiences have embraced our Whale 52 so far in screenings.
What do you hope audiences will take away from Whale 52?
Edward: I hope audiences take away a little bit of whatever it is they need when they enter the theater. That would be incredibly gratifying.
Daniel: I love to hear the catch-breaths of the audience at certain points in the film, which conjures a definite sense that we are, all of us, at some point in our lives, Whale 52.
Bill: I’m in the communication business. I really identify with Whale’s young character, Enam, in that we are both looking for a way to communicate. Communication with other beings makes you feel alive, and it is what can give you the gift of a listening heart, just like in the movie.
Watch the trailer below:
For more info, visit plymptoons.com
