Oscar-winning producer Roy Conli on what makes Disney films so beloved
SINGAPORE — Oscar-winning Disney producer Roy Conli was in Singapore last week, and Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore caught up with him for a chat.
Conli was in town for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival to represent Disneynature, which recently released Penguins.
Together with directors Don Hall and Chris Williams, Conli won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2015 for Big Hero 6. He was also producer for Tangled (2010) and Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (2017), and co-produced The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).
The veteran filmmaker shared his thoughts with us on the formula for the magic of Disney.
What are a Disney producer’s roles and responsibilities in a film?
My job as a producer is to get the director's vision on screen. I ensure that the director’s vision tells a story that touches the hearts of families and kids. I put together the writing team, the story team, the animation team, the music team. And then on top of that, I work in terms of partnering with all the different levels, the parks, consumer products, games, making sure that there's unity in the message that we're sending out. And then I'm very much involved in the marketing of the film. So I do a lot of press and marketing events.
What is your relationship with the director on a film project?
We're partners. I try to keep my ego in check. I question the director at times. I say, you told me that this is what you're looking for, and I don't see that yet. You know, the great thing about working for Disney Animation, and actually Disneynature too, is that we employ a thing called the story trust. We show all the directors and all the writers in the studio our work every 12 weeks. And then we all take notes from the story trust, we go back and re-jigger it. 12 weeks later, we show it again.
So the people in this story trust, they're not necessarily working directly on that particular project?
They’re our colleagues, our directors and writers. The story trust is an interesting organisation, because it is a brain trust of the smartest storytellers in the field of animation. And the rule of the story trust is that you never have to do anything anyone says. But you have to hear what they're saying. And then the director needs to walk away and listen, and from listening to that, recognise that this issue needs to be addressed. And then they have to come back with their own solution for that issue.
What makes Disney films so magical?
That's a good question. You know, for me, it always comes down to theme. I think it's finding and ensuring that there is an element of truth in the story that you're telling. With Big Hero 6, we really wanted to make sure that there was a story that went beyond a superhero story. The outward package is a superhero story. But the inward package is about a boy who is recovering from a great loss – and that boy learns that revenge is not the best path. If you look at a Marvel film, if you look at the Star Wars films, it's not just the action that you fall in love with. I just saw Avengers: Endgame a couple of weeks ago. But what I love about that film are the one-on-one scenes, when you have Ironman talking to Captain America, and they're having a conversation about truth. That's what makes a great Disney film, I think: a great character who you fall in love with in a world that you're fascinated with, but who ultimately is trying to say something to the world.
How did it feel to win the Oscar for Big Hero 6?
That felt pretty darn good, I tell you. It was one of the greatest days of my life. That production was such a great production. My two directors, Chris Williams and Don Hall, were amazing partners in the film. At that time, I'd been at Disney for 22 years. So you know, after a career of 22 years in filmmaking, to get that, I felt like I'd won the lottery. It was great. It was very cool.
What are your current projects?
I just released a film called Penguins in the United States, which is a Disneynature film. I have another Disneynature film that's coming out in about a year called Elephants. And it's an amazing journey of the last elephants on the planet who are free to roam from the Congo Delta up through Lake Victoria. I also have an animation project that I'm working on right now, but I can't talk about that.
