Fil-Am, a ‘huge’ fan of Ronnie del Carmen, is also making a mark in animation

JOSIE Trinidad

LOS ANGELES—Josie Trinidad is “a huge fan of Ronnie del Carmen,” the “Pixnoy” (a Pinoy who works at Pixar) who was a nominee in the recent Oscars, but she herself is going places. The Fil-Am is the cohead of the story of “Zootopia,” Disney’s 55th animated feature film. She began as an apprentice in 2004 and rose from the ranks.

The UCLA and CalArts alumna said she was inspired by her father, Amado Fernando Trinidad, who recently passed away. “He truly influenced me the most as a creative storyteller,” Josie remarked about her father who was born and raised in San Juan, Metro Manila.

Set in a world of talking critters, “Zootopia” is being hailed for its uncanny timeliness. Featuring a lovable small town rabbit named Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), who dreams of becoming a cop, this very entertaining toon touches on race relations and explores bigotry, apropos in these times when the diversity issue is a pressing topic.

These themes are not handled with heavyhandedness, though. Credit Josie and her team, which includes directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore, for coming up with a fun, engaging movie that taps excellent actors as voices for the various characters, including Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, JK Simmons, Octavia Spencer and even singer Shakira (who also sings the catchy theme song).

Excerpts from our interview with Josie:

Can you talk about how fortuitous it is that “Zootopia” tackles diversity at a time when that topic is very much in the news?

At Disney Animation, our goal first and foremost is creating believable, complex and real characters who live in worlds that we’ve never seen before.

Rather than broadly tackling any theme, we chose to focus on our main character, Judy Hopps, and her journey from a small-town girl to fulfilling her dream of being a police officer in the big city.

That’s how we approach story at Disney—by focusing on specific characters and asking how they would respond to the situations we put them in.

How did you strike a balance between tackling prejudice and diversity and still manage to be entertaining?

We were able to strike a nice balance because telling entertaining stories with a strong emotional core is part of what we do. I credit our directors, Byron Howard and Rich Moore, for creating such an entertaining and hilarious movie. Byron directed “Bolt” and “Tangled”; Rich is a veteran from “The Simpsons” and “Futurama,” as well as “Wreck-it Ralph.”

They are uniquely funny guys who brought together two great writers, Phil Johnston (also from “Wreck-it Ralph”) and Jared Bush (also our codirector) and a wonderful story crew (many of whom I worked with on “Tangled” and “Ralph”).

In addition, we test our story out through several internal screenings over a period of roughly two years. After each screening, our Story Trust, similar to Pixar’s Brain Trust (which includes directors, story supervisors and our creative leadership—John Lasseter and Ed Catmull), give extensive notes on what worked and didn’t work, and how to improve the story.

“ZOOTOPIA” characters Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps

We also get feedback from the crew.

Speaking of diversity, as a person of color and a woman, what was your journey like in your pursuit of a career in the male-dominated world of animation?

My journey in animation began when I was accepted to the character animation program at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). This is where a lot of great artists in animation studied.

When I went to CalArts, the animation department was roughly half women and half men. Many of my classmates were from around the world, particularly Asia (Korea, Thailand and the Philippines). So where you came from and who you were (male or female) didn’t really matter. It was about how talented you were.

I admit I wasn’t a very talented animator or designer, but I knew I had a knack for story. So, that’s what I focused on while at CalArts.

Fortunately, I had the best story teachers during my time there—people who became directors and story supervisors like Steve Anderson (“Meet the Robinsons”), Mark Andrews (“The Incredibles” and “Brave”), Cody Cameron (“Shrek,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2,” “Open Season 3”) and Mark Walton.

I heard about a story apprenticeship at Disney through Mark Walton, who worked at Disney Animation at the time.

I applied, was accepted and when I first started at Disney, there were only two women in the story department including my mentor, Stevie Wermers. Stevie helped me transition from a fledgling story trainee to a capable veteran.

Have you always dreamt of a career in animation?

Not always. When I was young, I had silly dreams like working at an ice cream parlor and wanting to be a professional volleyball player, which is ridiculous since I’m very short!

I also wanted to be a teacher, a lawyer and a park ranger when I was in school. But much of my time as a child was spent watching movies and cartoons. And I always loved reading, writing and drawing.

What are your earliest memories of watching animated films?

I saw “Cinderella” in the theater when I was 5 years old. It’s my favorite Disney movie to this day—a wonderful, classic animated film with a great story and characters and fun songs.

But when I was about 10 or 11, when my best friend and I were watching “Robin Hood” on VHS, I accidentally paused it. It started playing frame by frame and at that moment, I realized those were individual drawings. That’s when the idea of my becoming an animator first started.

Can you comment on the success of several Fil-Ams in animation, including Ronnie del Carmen who was a story artist and supervisor like you?

While I don’t know him personally, I’m a huge fan of Ronnie del Carmen, and have been for a long time. I greatly admire his personal comic book series, “Paper Biscuit.”

I’ve attended his lectures on screenwriting and the story process at Pixar. I especially love his drawing style and sensibility—a perfect combination of emotion and humor.

Can you also comment on Ronnie being the first Fil-Am to be nominated for best original screenplay Oscar for “Inside Out”?

Ronnie’s nomination is a great achievement for Filipino-Americans.

Can you talk about your Filipino heritage?

I was born and raised in California. My mother is Carmencita Lazo Trinidad, born and raised in Canlubang, Laguna. And my father is Amado Fernando Trinidad, born and raised in San Juan, Metro Manila with roots in Marikina.

What are your tips to people aspiring to have careers in animation?

My advice to aspiring story artists is to build your artistic skill set. Focus on drawing, composition, editing, acting, film analysis and structure and enrich your mind through experience… because that is where your own characters and stories are going to come from.

E-mail [email protected]. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.