The Dam Keeper

The Dam Keeper (2014)

In a desolate future, one small town has survived because of a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out pollution. The dam's operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning and protect the town, despite abuse from classmates and an indifferent public. When a new student joins Pig's class, nothing will be the same again.

Date of release
2014-02-06
TMDB
7.5 / 10 (49)
Runtime
18m
Genres
Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Director
Robert Kondo, Daisuke 'Dice' Tsutsumi

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 2 · Nominations: 1. Including: NYICFF Audience Award; CICFF Youth Jury Award for Best Animated Short Film

The Dam Keeper is a 2014 American animated short film directed by Robert Kondo and Daisuke Tsutsumi. It tells the story of Pig, an introverted youth who lives in a windmill and keeps a dark fog from engulfing his town. Although socially rejected by his peers, he is befriended by the artistic Fox.

Production

The Dam Keeper was produced as part of a co-op program at Pixar, under which employees are allowed to develop their own films without the use of studio resources. Directors Robert Kondo and Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi were both art directors at Pixar. They had worked together on Toy Story 3 and Monsters University. Partially facilitated by having their offices located next to one another's, a friendship quickly formed between the two of them.

Shortly after the completion of Sketchtravel, Tsutsumi turned to Kondo with the idea of collaborating on a new short film. This was during the "heat of production" for Monsters University, a time after which, as Kondo explained, most animators normally consider taking time off.

Once their duties on Monsters University were complete, Kondo and Tsutsumi took a three-month sabbatical to begin production on their project. They began without any clear intentions - the film would simply be an experiment to see "how far [they] could go". The two co-directors rented a windowless studio right across the street from Pixar. At first, they were unsure of how to approach production.

The two directors refused to pressure themselves into striving for perfection; they just wanted to get the film done. Recognizing the process as a "learning experience", and choosing to extend this opportunity to the rest of the crew, they hired animators who were predominantly young and had just graduated from school. "Growth was a big part of...who we selected to bring on", Kondo said.

For guidance, Kondo and Tsutsumi turned to Erick Oh, one of their Pixar co-workers, who already held experience as an independent filmmaker. Oh was happy to oblige. As he grew more involved with the film, he moved beyond his mere advisory role to become the film's supervising animator.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended