Damián Perea, director and producer of Animayo Gran Canaria, has revealed the name of the surprise guest for its 19th edition: John Musker, the celebrated director known for films like The Little Mermaid, Hercules, Aladdin and Moana, who boasts a 40-year legacy at Walt Disney Animation Studios as an animator, writer, director and producer. This will mark Musker’s first festival appearance in Spain.
The animation icon will preside over the Animayo Gran Canaria 2024 International Jury, give a drawing workshop and a master class on writing and directing animated feature films. In addition, Animayo will host the Spanish premiere of his short film, I’m Hip, followed by an exclusive master class in which Musker will explain the how he made this animated musical, which has was selected for the Annecy screenings and made the short list of the latest Academy Awards.
John Musker currently lives in La Cañada, California, with his wife Gale, a former Disney researcher. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois, as part of a large Irish Catholic family. He pursued English Literature at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, with two years at CalArts as part of the new Character Animation Program in the mid-1970s. There he not only learned from Disney and Chouinard veterans like Elmer Plummer, Bill Moore and Ken O’Connor, but also from classmates such as Brad Bird, Henry Selick, John Lasseter, Tim Burton and Chris Buck. At Disney, his mentor was Eric Larson, one of the legendary “Nine Old Men,” known for animating the cat Figaro in Pinocchio, among other distinguished characters.
Musker became an animator on The Fox and the Hound (1981), and later teamed up with Ron Clements to direct The Great Mouse Detective (1986) alongside Disney veterans Burny Mattinson and Dave Michener. Clements and Musker went on to write and direct The Little Mermaid (1989), which Musker co-produced with Howard Ashman. They also wrote and directed several subsequent animated films including Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002) and The Princess and the Frog (2009). Musker’s most recent feature project was Moana (2016), once again directed with Clements, along with co-directors Don Hall and Chris Williams.
In spring 2018, Musker retired from Disney Feature Animation and in spring 2023 completed the hand-drawn animation for his own short film, I’m Hip, which was then shortlisted for the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at this year’s Academy Awards.
Musker joins more than 30 star guest speakers for this 19th edition of Animayo, International Festival of Animation, Visual Effects and Video Games, which will be held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from May 8-11. Outstanding guests “come to share their knowledge, transmit their experiences in a close way, to teach and motivate new generations, professionals who mingle and interact with the public at the Festival, participating in autograph signings,” says Perea.
Musker’s first appearance will be on Wednesday, May 8 at 6 p.m., with free entry until full capacity is reached, at the CICCA space where he will take part in the live presentation of this edition’s guests and where his Spanish premiere short film I’m Hip will be screened, followed by his exclusive master class on how this animated piece was made. The film features a cat absorbed in a jazz song and dance, humorously proclaiming his “modernity” to the world, who is less convinced than he is.
The following day, Thursday, May 9, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., Musker will conduct the animated drawing workshop ‘Three Wishes,’ and on Saturday, May 11, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM, he will deliver his master class ‘Bringing Dreams to Screens’ focusing on the writing and direction of animated feature films.
As noted above, Musker will serve as the president of the International Jury at Animayo Gran Canaria 2024, whose winning piece in this category will get a direct pass to the Academy Awards pre-selection (Animayo is the first and only animation festival in Spain to qualify for the Oscars animated short category). Joining Musker on this jury will be Shuzo Shiota (Japan), Elena ø Alexa (Denmark), Patrick O’Keefe (Los Angeles, U.S.A.) and Sara Koppel (Denmark and U.S.A.).
Since 2022, Animayo is also the only festival of its kind that qualifies the best animated work in its Spanish-language competition, “animación con Ñ,” so it will grant a second direct pass to the Oscar pre-selection to the winning piece determined by the jury for this section, which will be made up of: Gisela Prunés (Los Angeles and Barcelona), Lucía Peralta (Madrid, Spain), Gustavo Sánchez Pérez (Toronto, Canada), Ramón Rosa (Madrid, Spain) and Mercedes Delgado (Toronto, Canada).These jurors will also judge the Cinematics, VFX and Music Videos contenders.
The Official Animayo Palmarés, comprises five official international competition sections, include the ‘My First Festival’ section for children. The selection of short films is chosen from more than 2,000 entries of 2D animation, 3D animation, visual effects, experimental cinema, advertising pieces, animation spots, music videos, video game cinematics and virtual reality; shorts from more than 80 countries such as Spain, the United States, Germany, Norway, France, Hong Kong, Poland, Argentina, Uruguay, or Australia. Approximately 50 pre-selected short films will be screened at the Guiniguada Theater in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria during the physical phase of the Festival.
Animayo Gran Canaria 2024 will present 14 face-to-face master classes have been designed, covering topics such as animation, production, VFX or leadership, among others; four workshops focused on practical learning of skills and abilities in areas of animation, matte painting, illustration and artificial intelligence; in addition to 15 educational talks, five premieres and screenings, three author presentations, five school stands, 20 talent stands, two exclusive exhibitions including the European premiere of the exhibition of the art behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by Sony Pictures Animation, and 12 hours of recruitments, portfolio reviews and signings with more than 15 participating companies such as Platige Image, one of Europe’s leading video game cinematic studios, creators, among others, of the series The Witcher (filmed in the Canary Islands).
With both in-person and online formats, Animayo, from Gran Canaria, extends its programming to other cities and countries, in its “Animayo Itinerant” version, touring in Los Angeles, Madrid, Barcelona, Lanzarote, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Brussels, Chicago, Mumbai, Prague, Colombia, Belgrade and Korea, among others.
