Ellian and the Spell on Netflix: behind the scenes of a musical fairy tale

In 2023 at the Annecy festival, we met director Vicky Jenson and screenwriter Brian Pimental.

Now available on Netflix, Ellian and the Spell comes a long way, since this animated film was originally supposed to be broadcast on Apple TV+. In June 2023, during the Annecy festival, the Skydance Animation feature film – where John Lasseter returned to a position as creative director after his departure from Disney and Pixar – was unveiled during a work in progress. We then learned that this “ musical fairy tale » was going to feature a princess, Ellian (voiced by Rachel Ziegler), who manages the kingdom alone since her parents (Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem) were transformed into brainless monsters (the most cartoonish aspect of the film) by a terrible fate. Since then, the young woman has been looking for a solution to return her father and mother to their human form. “ She's a teenager trying to deal with adult life. », confided to us the day after the presentation the filmmaker Vicky Jenson, known for being the co-director of Shrek and of Shark gang. “ She has so much pressure… She doesn't have the freedom to be who she wants because of this terrible fate. So his goal is to lift it to finally have the right to a normal life. »

Ellian and the Spell is a project initially developed by Ilion Animation, a Madrid studio bought in between by Skydance. And the first drafts were not necessarily to Jenson’s taste: “ The artwork seemed a bit déjà vu to me. We had English, Celtic and Viking inspirations. Since we were physically in Madrid to discover them, I told myself that we had to use the beauty of the city to rethink all that. This is how we decided to start with motifs from 16th, 17th and 18th century Spain. Visually, everything evolved from there. » The film plays the card of “ emotion and humor » (especially with parents), which required a lot of adjustments. “ It's complicated to include too many funny things, because you can quickly lose the heart of the film, which is the destiny of this young woman. But life is full of absurdities and very funny things. It's all about balance. »

Music by Alan Menken

For its first musical, Skydance Animation hired the services of gifted composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin…). “ It was both very intimidating and galvanizing », assures Jenson. “ We felt safe, because Alan has this superpower that allows him to create music that is both memorable and timeless. We were in good hands! But initially, the film was not supposed to be a musical: it was the head of the animation branch at the time, Bill Damaschke, who imposed the idea. In the musical theater world, it is said that when emotions are too strong to speak, then you have to sing. And when they are too strong to sing, you have to dance (Laughs.) Which makes complete sense with the story we are telling. »

“ And it was all the more important because our main character seems very optimistic. It's only when she sings that we understand what's going on in her head. Without songs, it would have been very complicated to express, unless it was through a monologue », adds screenwriter Brian Pimental, who also assures that the working methods put in place by John Lasseter at Skydance Animation have little to do with those of other major American studios. “ We're all around the table and everyone has a say. That's how it was at Disney when I worked there, but as soon as I started looking elsewhere, I realized that I was being told exactly what I had to do. No such thing at Skydance. »

Vicky Jenson: “ In most studios, it is possible to give feedback and give your opinion. But very few include employees in the problem-solving process. John arrived at Skydance with this concept of story trust, which allows you to show your project to other directors and screenwriters at the studio so that they can give you their opinions. It's a great tool for us, because it allows us to benefit from the expertise of all these people, while taking a step back from the film. Which is not easy when you have your nose in it all day! This allows you to avoid errors and improve your project. I've never seen this anywhere other than Skydance Animation. »

Ellian and the Spell is available on Netflix.