by If the guinea pig was a car. The stop-motion animation “Pui Pui Molcar” was born from such a free idea. From January to March of this year, he fascinated Japan and the world, such as Taiwan, but it was director Tomoki Misato who made this wonderful work. A valuable interview was realized by responding to the love call from the editorial department! It is both a car and a living thing. That’s why Molcar is interesting. When he was young, he contacted overseas animation through “Cartoon Network” and produced 2D (drawing) animation at art school. After that, I was fascinated by stop-motion animation, and my graduate-graduate animation works received high praise at various film awards. Director Tomoki Misato said that this led to the production of “Pui Pui Molcar.”
We asked the director, who says, “Time-lapse animation is suitable for me because I can make it sensuously,” about the animation and my favorite guinea pig. When did you become interested in stop-motion animation? Originally I liked drawing, so I went to art school to study it, but gradually I became interested in anime, and at a group exhibition I planned with my friends while I was in school, I had a hard time with my curly hair. I made a 2D animation with the theme of. Therefore, I was impressed by the methodology of communicating my thoughts through images, and I felt that I wanted to make more animation. Around that time, a friend of mine watched a stop-motion anime movie called “Coraline and the Button Witch” by Studio Leica, and I was so impressed that I watched it repeatedly. Tim Burton at the same timeWith the release of “Franken Winnie,” I gradually became interested in time-lapse photography. While I was in college, I wanted to make about one movie, so I made the first time-lapse animation when I was in the third grade. At that time, I used a ball of self-made wool felt doll. Since then, you have been using wool felt as a material. That’s right. I was a college student and didn’t have any money, so if I wanted to make an exemplary character with cheap materials, this would be the way to go. I also liked stuffed animals from the beginning (laughs).
Time-lapse animation shoots 24 still images, and it seems that a one-second video is finally completed. I think it’s going to be very difficult. Certainly, the process of making a doll and the time and effort of shooting one frame at a time are difficult. Still, in the animation that draws a picture, you make a character from the line and draw a picture one by one and paint it. Or, I think it takes a lot of work. In the case of time-lapse photography, if you place a set of characters and shoot it, it will be colored at that point, and the image will be quite close to completion. So for me, time-lapse animation is easier. Also, if the background becomes lonely when you look through the camera, you can add something on the spot or change the movement. I feel that controlling while shooting images according to my feeling is also suitable for me. However, Molcar had many cuts, and when I was busy shooting, I lost my mind (laughs). –Again, the model of the guinea pig is the guinea pig. Misato is known as a guinea pig lover, but when did you like it? My sister used to like guinea pigs, and when I was a college student, I started keeping them at home. Then I was crazy about the cuteness. I like the “tsundere face” that makes me want to wonder what kind of face it is and the place where I can’t read the tip of the movement. When I think I’m calm, I suddenly start running at full speed. Furthermore, the feeling of shaking sideways when running is also cute. “PUI “PUI Molcar” is a project that was born when I saw such a guinea pig and thought, “If the guinea pig is a car, it will not be frustrating even if there is a traffic jam.” Is the movement of guinea pigs, which you usually think is cute, used in guinea pigs? Okay. Since the guinea pig is a car, it has tires, but I thought that the cuteness of the guinea pig could not be expressed if it just rotated, so it is a very particular point to make it a quadrupedal movement although it is a tire. Also, there is a place where my nose is always tingling.
That movement made the animator struggle a lot (laughs). I heard that this Molcar was also handmade by the director, but how many units did you make? There are 65 in total. As expected, it was impossible to do it alone, so we asked the art staff to join us, and we all made it. Because there were four animators, including me, this time, I needed a set & Molcar for four people, not to mention the five molars of the main cast, but other than that, the number is 65. To. I think it took about half a year to make a molarWhere are the molars now? It is carefully placed in the studio. The 330 yen box I bought at Daiso, commonly known as the Molcar box, is packed tightly (laughs). I think you were making video works as so-called art when you were a student, but did you have any particular consciousness about the works being broadcast on TV? The number of viewers is overwhelmingly different between works screened at film festivals and works shown on TV. Then, I remembered that when I was in college, I learned that “videos, at worst, take away the time of the viewer.” That’s why I wanted to make a work that has not only entertainment but also a message that “it was good to see and it was useful.” Since a guinea pig is a guinea pig, it is both a living thing and a car. Their relationship with humans very much influences cars and creatures, aren’t they? But unlike just a car, a guinea pig has the intention of being a guinea pig. You can run away if you feel the danger, or you can take action on your own, for example, as Shiromo, who a robber hijacked, ran while draining the money stolen by the robbers. I wish to convey the importance of doing what I want to do without being swept away by human society. Another thing I was conscious of was the tempo.
How did you think about the tempo in the short length of 2 minutes and 40 seconds? The overseas animation that I watched on “Cartoon Network” when I was little had a proper transition within about 10 minutes, and I never got tired of the rapid development. According to the story I heard, there is a theory that it takes about 3 seconds for humans to concentrate on watching images. That’s why I try not to make still images for more than 3 seconds, and I always put in movements and developments that make the story move within 6 seconds. It’s okay to stand up, move your hands, or be casual, but it will keep the viewer from getting bored. Surely speaking, Molcar’s story is only 2 minutes and 40 seconds, so in a sense, it ends in a blink of an eye, but in reality, the story is developing unexpectedly. That’s right. That was where I was very conscious. At the same time as the broadcast, there was a lot of fuss on Twitter, etc. How did you feel about this popularity? Anyway, I was surprised that there were people who would look at me like this. It was the first corner of a program for young children at 7:30 in the morning, so I never imagined that an adult would watch it. I think it was big that it was also distributed on YouTube etc., immediately after the broadcast. Also, many fan arts was born, so I’m glad I made a character design that is easy for children to draw. As for the content, I was surprised to hear some comments that made me happy, and some people made interpretations that we didn’t imagine.
What do you mean, for example? We didn’t mean to dig too deep into the bond between Molcar and the driver, but some people poke at things like “human beings are stupid,” I see. I thought it was. Also, the fact that homage to masterpiece movies is studded has become a hot topic. That’s right! I was pleased to notice that. “fast and furious” It is done. Also, the fact that homage to masterpiece movies is studded has become a hot topic. That’s right! I was pleased to notice that. “fast and furious” It is done. Also, the fact that homage to masterpiece movies is studded has become a hot topic. That’s right! I was very happy to notice that. “fast and furious” Indiana Jones, and Mission: Impossible. A pleased-traveling car is a homage to “Back to the Future.” There are many other things, but I was pleased that the homage to “Mega Shark VS Mecha Shark” was evaluated by shark movie lovers (laughs). It’s a shark movie familiar from “Afternoon Road Show” (laughs). Did Misato originally like movies? Okay. I’m not a maniac, but I feel like watching a movie or playing a game (laughs) in my free time. By the way, I’m still wondering if there is a sequel to Molcar. In the 12 episodes I made this time, I couldn’t fully express the charm of Moller, so I hope I can continue. Also, this time I made it with stop motion animation, but I think it might be interesting to shoot it with another method next time. For example, CG likes the movie “Detective Pikachu.” In terms of theme, I would like to introduce Molcar, which has more various roles.
I think there are many possibilities for Molcar, so I’d like to make a continuation someday. Misato Tomoki was Born in Tokyo. After graduating from Musashino Art University, Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Visual Communication Design, I completed the Department of Animation, Graduate School of Imaging, Tokyo University of the Arts. Received multiple awards at domestic and international film festivals for his graduate school work “My Little Goat.” (1st photo) Parker and Abbey crying upside down with their bodies close together. This is also a brewery cut by director Misato. This is a special announcement only for those who are watching anan! NEWS1: Come to the cinema in 3D or MX4D! All 12 episodes will be screened at once, “Tobide! Break-in! “PUI PUI Molcar” will be released in theaters from July 22nd for a limited period of two weeks. Please look forward to the screenings unique to movie theaters where you can experience the world of Molcar on a large screen. In 3D, the molcars pop out. I’m curious. Some theaters will be screened in 2D. NEWS2: Enjoy it on TV again! All 12 episodes will be rebroadcast. What a TV broadcast again! From July 6th, it will be a rebroadcast every Tuesday in “Kinder TV” (TV Tokyo network) broadcast from 7:30 in the morning. It’s fun to watch on the stream, but it’s also healthy and nice to get up in the morning and watch the rear tie! It’s also fun to watch live on SNS. A recording is mandatory for sleeping boys. NEWS3: Blu-ray / DVD will be released on July 28th. I want to keep it handy and watch it whenever I want! If you like that, please have a “board.” Blu-ray (made-to-order limited production) with talks between the director and production staff, a stuffed toy multi-strand, audio commentary, etc., DVDs include trailers, PV collections, miniature poster calendars, and other benefits. I was released on July 28th.
