Exclusive Interview with Disney Director Kelly Asbury!

I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down for an interview today with Kelly Asbury, director of Disney's newest 3D animated movie, Gnomeo & Juliet, coming out in theaters this weekend. Besides being surprisingly friendly and personable, he was nice enough to let me in on, among many other things, how the age-old adage of never judging a gnome by the color of his hat helped him to craft one of the best animated movies of the year. Come in and check it out!

I think one of the first things that's going to strike people about Gnomeo & Juliet is the uniqueness of the adaptation. How did the idea come about to turn the classic story of Romeo & Juliet into an animated movie starring garden gnomes?

I wasn’t around when the idea came about, it was brought to me. It had been in development for several years at Disney, and they called me in 2005 and asked me to direct it. The original idea came from Rob Sprackling and John R. Smith, and when the opportunity to direct was presented to me I was intrigued because I liked the challenge, the pairing of very different ideas, and the possibilities of telling the classic Romeo & Juliet story in 3D and with modern music from Elton John and Chris Bacon and James [Newton] Howard. I was excited about the opportunity to take such a well-known story and see what I could do with it as a filmmaker. So we started from scratch and basically just assembled team to help make it in a way that I think animated films should be made. It had a moderate budget compared to a lot of the bigger films that I’ve worked on in the past, but we were able to effectively make the movie in the same time and with less money.

After the screening I attended, I overheard a woman leaving the theater insisting that this was NOT a children's movie. Did you anticipate this kind of backlash during production, and if so, how did it affect the creative process for you?

Well, I don’t really think you can ever very accurately predict that kind of thing. But I didn’t set out to make a  children’s movie. I never really have, and none of my colleagues do, either. When I make a movie, I only set out to make a movie that I think is going to entertain people, that it will appeal to different audiences and have things that will entertain the adults and the kids in the audience, people of different levels. Sometimes kids will think something’s funny that adults didn’t get, and vise versa. I think every movie runs the risk of bothering people in one way or another and I just hope people come out of it feeling like they got their money’s worth and that they find something they can connect with. I just set out to make movies that will entertain people.

I’ve noticed over the last few years that a lot of animated films have been criticized for being too mature, or too scary. You have a long history in the animation world. Do you think there’s any kind of fundamental change that’s taking place in animated movies today as compared to those of 20 years ago?

Not necessarily. I think that if anything, some of the CG aspects are making things more realistic than people are used to, and that can intensify the effect of it. But even in some of the most classic animated features, going back to Snow White, for example, there are a lot of pretty intense scenes. A lot of the best animated features have always had some intense stuff going on, even going back to The Wizard of Oz. Or you remember in 101 Dalmations, Cruella DeVille wanted to skin the puppies! It’s a tradition in movies that good overcomes evil and there are moments when the protagonist is in trouble, so I think that kind of scariness is inevitable in a lot of ways. Scariness and other more mature themes in animation date way back, and I think maybe the 3D and CG just enhance the intensity of it all.

What was the biggest challenge in adapting a Shakespearean romance into a 3D family movie?

Keeping it going, keeping the story going, keeping it entertaining and making sure the characters keep the audience interesting. I think we had a premise to work with that started out with a lot of interest already, but we still had to develop a story and create characters that people would care about, which is the same challenge you have to overcome when you’re working with a totally original idea. Gnomeo & Juliet is an adaptation of a widely-known work of art, but it’s still just one take on that story. People seem to forget how many other movies have different endings from original material.

One of my favorite things about the movie is the unusual combination of talent in the cast. How did you choose your actors?

When Gail Stevens, my casting director, sent me the voice clips I asked her to hide from me the actors behind the voices because I wanted to focus on combining the right voice with the right character. I didn’t want an actors identity to get in the way of fitting them with the character who’s personality best matches their voice.

What’s your favorite scene?

I really like the scene when Gnomeo and Juliet first meet. I love the kind of tete-a-tete they have in the garden with Elton John and Lady Gaga singing “Hello Hello.” I think it’s just a great moment of the two characters falling in love and I think the setting and music give it an atmosphere that really makes it special.

What do you think is the most important overarching theme?

Love conquers all! (laughs) That’s the most obvious one, but as far as this adaptation, I think the most important theme is that you should never judge a gnome by the color of his hat!

Gnomeo & Juliet will be released in theaters on February 11, 2011. Enjoy!