Interview with Nacho Subirats - Assistant Director of ‘Robot Dreams’
Recently, sci-fi auteur and director of the acclaimed Dune reboot, Denis Villeneuve, went on record saying he hates dialogue in movies. I wonder if Villenueve had a chance to see Robot Dreams, the Oscar-nominated Best Animated Feature directed by Pablo Berger. The film fits all of his criteria: strong images and pure sounds of friendship, longing for connection, summer in New York City. And absolutely no dialogue.
Adapted from Sara Varon’s graphic novel of the same name, the movie follows the protagonist, Dog, who lives alone in 1980s New York City. Though not our New York; it’s a fantastical version full of anthropomorphic animals with whimsical character designs. The very human interactions that these animals have with each other and their world give the film a unique, yet familiar feeling. Dog seeks connection all around as he wallows in his apartment, vegging out on TV and Atari. That is until he sees a commercial for a robot companion and orders one right away. Becoming fast friends, Dog and Robot have many adventures, from exploring the subway and watching an octopus drum, to roller skating in Central Park – soundtracked to “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire.
To trace the story of how Robot Dreams made its way from the page to the screen, we spoke to Nacho Subirats, the assistant director. Nacho is an artist and animator from Madrid, Spain. Having previously worked on short films, Nacho was eager to jump at the chance to work with director Pablo Berger and his first feature-length film. “I heard [from a] friend that they were doing a film called Robot Dreams, and I applied for the character designer position. So, I met [with Pablo] at the ‘Camarote,’ which is [what] Pablo calls his little office in Madrid.” While Nacho, Pablo and producer Jose Luis Agreda got along well during their first meeting, he did not get the job he applied for.
“I thought, ‘Oh, man, this is a film I must be in.’ So, I told them that I did a lot of things like animation and character design, also background design. I had directed two short films, so they knew my background as an artist.” Eventually Berger needed more assistance and new positions on the crew opened up. Nacho re-applied and had more luck this time around. Seeing his previous experience and dedication, Berger offered Nacho a much larger role: assistant director. “I was… just blown away. And I thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be tough because I’ve been working [on] small projects, but this is a good and great opportunity, so I cannot let it pass.’”
Nacho has been drawing since he was a kid. “I always loved drawing and I always loved watching animated movies like Disney or [Studio] Ghibli. But [at] that time, I didn’t know it was a job…” He studied art and graphic design at ESDIP Escula de Arte in Madrid. “I studied there for three years and I loved it. And [found out that] this can be a job, and I can make a living with my drawings. So I started studying animation, especially 2D animation, and I loved it.” In 2011, he directed his first short film, Yaku, about a little boy who has his harmonica stolen while riding the subway and is whisked away on a journey beyond his wildest dreams. It was hand-drawn, something that was new to Nacho. “It was made [on] paper and I had to fight against tools, against things that I didn’t know.” Despite the challenge, he continued perfecting his craft as an artist and illustrator.
Not only did Nacho’s determination bring him to work on the film. It was also his desire to share the experience with his son. “I have a five-year-old kid, and I wanted to show him something special, something unique. Like, I love to work in all the movies, such as in Disney or whatever, but this has something special, like something more indie or more personal.”
As assistant director, Nacho had to teach Pablo how to work in animation. “When I first came into the studio, I had to study the film because there was an animatic,” — think pre-viz for live action — “and there were some character designers doing some secondary characters and also the main characters, but it was in progress. So, I had to learn it from scratch. And also we had to make a good pipeline to say to Pablo, ‘... as you don’t know how animation works, this is what is going to happen. These are the stages that we are going to go through.”
“Pablo is used to [working] with actors and with really crazy schedules and really…short periods of time.” Working with animation director Benoit Feroumont, Nacho was able to streamline processes. Each day brought different challenges, but despite that, they made it through. “Pablo is a good listener. He trusted me a lot and I was really thankful for that.” One of the biggest challenges the team faced while working on Robot Dreams was the COVID-19 pandemic. “[S]ometimes if someone was not in the studio, it was difficult.” Masking requirements really hindered communication in the studio, especially trying to make a movie over Zoom. “So I think sometimes that was the hardest part. But everybody in the studio was super easy to work with and we made a small family there.”
The film makes two big changes from the graphic novel, The first being to settle on where the story takes place. In the book, the city is unnamed. So how did the team decide on New York City being the place for their film to unfold? “For Pablo, it was always New York. Like, he saw the novel … it was an American city, but it was not a specific one. But Pablo lived there for almost 10 years. And he loved that city.” Which definitely explains why the animated city feels so lived in. It evokes a very specific image of a New York City from the past, though not wholly different from the one we know today. “So it’s like a love letter for that city for them. Like, they knew it has to happen in New York. Because also, they knew the city very well. It’s like, if I’m doing a movie about Madrid, I know the city really well. So they wanted to put that love into the movie.”
The other change was bringing in Earth, Wind, and Fire’s hit “September” as the central music cue. Pairing the nostalgia of ‘80s New York with those opening lyrics of the song, Nacho knew he had to get the music rights. “I think, because at the end of the graphic novel… a robot plays a song, but it’s not a specific one. But for Pablo, the main theme of the movie is the memory. Like, all these memories we have, and ‘September’ starts with, ‘Do you remember?’”
When Robot Dreams hits theaters in May, people are bound to be confused by its lack of dialogue. This is a colorful, whimsical cartoon about a dog and a robot, surely they should be voiced by the likes of Paul Rudd or Awkwafina, right? Not according to Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve, who says movies do not need to have long stretches of dialogue in order to be memorable. “I love Denis Villeneuve, by the way. So I think it’s true, like… my two short films, they have no [dialogue], and everybody can’t understand it. I think it happens the same with the film. Like, we tell a lot with the look, with how people smile, or how a girl reacts to a boy with only one look.”
With the rise of streaming services and the second screen experience, perhaps a return to silent film could be necessary to keep audiences engaged with what they’re watching. People come out of movies not understanding what they’ve just seen and need explainer articles to spell out the basic plot to them.Why watch a movie when you can just look up the ending with a few clicks on your phone? “I think we have to be patient, because in this world, in this crazy world we’re living in, like everybody’s super fast. Everything is super fast.” Silent films slow you down. You really have to focus and pay attention to facial expressions and gestures to understand what’s happening. Sometimes such actions portray more than what could be said. And that’s exactly the case in Robot Dreams. “Like, okay, what are the characters telling me? Ah, okay, oh, this is a micro gesture that tells me something more than just a sentence.”
