Alessandro Carloni held a
masterclass at Rome's Auditorium on Wednesday, following a
preview screening for students of the forthcoming animated film
Kung Fu Panda 3, which he codirected with Jennifer Yuh Nelson.
The film from DreamWorks Studios, where Carloni has spent
the last 10 years of his career, once again takes up the
adventures of Po, the panda bear kung fu master, and will hit
Italian theatres on March 17.
Carloni, 38, hails from Bologna and already has a number of
prize-winning short films and music videos under his belt,
including the animated music video "Che t'aggia di" featuring
Italian singers Adriano Celentano and Mina as ducks.
He told the students that his main objective as an animator
is to create characters that the public feels are like their own
friends, and that his dream is to direct a live-action film with
Roberto Benigni.
"Even though I haven't yet thought of a story, he reminds
me of a cartoon and I don't think his comic depth has fully
emerged when he acts in English. He's even funnier when he acts
in Italian," Carloni said.
The masterclass was organised by Rome's Cinema Foundation -
Cityfest, Rome Music Foundation and Alice nella Città children's
film festival, which screened the film at the Auditorium.
In this third installment of the Kung Fu Panda series, Po
faces a new enemy named Kai as well as a personal dilemma when
he finds his true father, Li Chan, who becomes jealous of Po's
adoptive father Mr. Ping, a duck who owns a noodle shop.
Carloni said his father was an illustrator and a great
source of inspiration for him, and he told any young aspiring
animators present to "think first about the characters, then
about the story".
"It's easy to have a main character who's a little by
cynical who makes people laugh and creates contrasts, but if the
audience doesn't love him the film won't work," Carloni said.
"The key for a film is teamwork. In my team sometimes I've
turned down brilliant animators because they weren't able to
work with others".
Carloni arrived at DreamWorks Studios thanks to his work on
the short film "The Shark and the Piano", which he co-directed
with Gabriele Pennacchioli.
He is currently working on four new projects, including
directing a new film for DreamWorks titled "Me and My Shadow".
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