Part of what makes a great movie, is the research that goes into making that movie as accurate as possible. It’s easy to think “Oh, it’s just an animated movie, all it entails are people to draw and voice the characters”. Nothing could be further from the truth…at least where Disney is concerned. I shared with you all about The Art of Story and how I attempted to draw Dipper, from Disney’s Planes: Fire and Rescue. Today I am going to share a bit about the research that goes into their movies.
We had the chance to sit down with Jeff Howard and Paul Gerard and it was absolutely amazing to see just how much research went into Planes: Fire and Rescue. When you see the movie, after reading this post, you will be amazed at how many hours truly went into making it. It was really cool to learn that that some of the team went on a flight with Chuck Aaron, to learn more about helicopter aerobatics, which you’ll see in the movie.
Some of the Disney team, went on a ride with the phenomenal Chuck Aaron. He is the only person certified in North America for this type of flying, as well as the only guy who is allowed to do this any place in the world. Can you imagine being on a flight like this for research:
Disney has either some truly committed researchers or some adrenaline junkies! Maybe they are both, but I am sure glad they do their research, because having seen the movie, before the interviews, it was awesome to realize just how certain scenes were inspired. They also met with real park rangers, smoke jumpers, pilots and many more people who helped make the movie as true to life as possible.
Because they want everything from the elements to the characters to be, as close to real life, as possible, they do a lot of research. They headed to The Old Faithful Lodge, which became their inspiration for The Grand Fusel, you’ll see in the movie. Getting to climb to the top of the lodge, they were able to get a “vision” of how the area should look in the movie. They did not disappoint. The team would show clips to real life firefighters, pilots, essentially all the “people” you will see in the film. They clips would be improved upon according to notes given by those watching them, and the Disney team would go back and make the changes.
When you head to theaters, July 18, when Planes: Fire and Rescue releases, take a moment to think about all the research and work that went into making it. When you see the characters, the fire, the water, and everything else, pay attention to the detail and know that Disney did their research to make the movie the best it could be!
This adventure was part of a press trip. Most expenses were covered. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
Toni Patton
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