Set in a dino-populated medieval fantasy world, writer-director Nate Smith’s film follows a grizzled knight’s journey to understand the courage and love it takes to give a child a better life, echoing the real-life adoption experiences of its creators.
As a stop-motion filmmaker, Nate Smith is a man of many passions, especially fairytales and dinosaurs. But, as a father, there is nothing Smith is more passionate about than his children.
Smith was able to combine all three passions in his latest stop-motion film project, Saurus City, which is set in a medieval-meets-prehistoric world where tiny humans live on the backs of dinosaurs. The film, produced by Suspended Animation Studios, 405 Productions Inc., and Bonfire Entertainment, follows an old, retired knight, Slade, as he helps a young woman named Sasha and her baby travel to the royal kingdom where the king and queen plan to adopt the child. As the party is hunted by the vengeful Shrouded Knight and his monstrous mechanical dino creations, the aging warrior grapples with his past and what it means for a parent to give up their child in hopes they may lead a better life.
“When we were adopting both of our children, I found a lot of things were still really misunderstood about the process and the reasons why a birth parent would choose to give up their child” shared Smith. “The story takes place through the eyes of Slade, who doesn’t understand why Sasha is doing this. He says, ‘How could you give your child away?’ And I remember hearing that myself. ‘How could someone possibly give up their child?’ They’re doing it because they love their child and want what’s best for them. It was incredible watching these birth mothers do this. And I hope people leave the theater understanding that love a bit better.”
The film, set to screen at the American Film Market in November, boasts an all-star voice cast, including Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as Slade, Emma Roberts (We’re the Millers) as Sasha, and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) as the Shrouded Knight, as well as Tim Meadows (Mean Girls), Aimee Garcia (Dexter), and Julia Ormond (Sabrina). Sabrina Martinez serves as production manager, Christopher Smith is creative director, Mark Larranaga is visual effects supervisor, Jade Martinez is set director and key animators include Justin Kohn, Derrick DeVilliers, Mayreni Senior and Liron Narunsky. Smith (The Light Before Christmas) writes and directs.
Though Smith says Saurus City didn’t come specifically from his family’s experience with adoption, he was always intent on telling a story rooted in the topics of family and belonging.
“I wanted to take those themes and wrap them up into a story that takes place in this charming world of small elvish people who live on the backs of dinosaurs,” shares Smith. “It was something so unique and something I’d never seen before.”
The idea for Saurus City began germinating for Smith back in 2008, after directing the stop-motion film, The Light Before Christmas.
“Ironically, we were working in a dinosaur museum, using that as our studio to make these series of holiday films,” remembers Smith. “It was the Museum of Ancient Life in Utah, which is five minutes from my home. We actually became an exhibit inside the museum and people could come see us working on the film. Being in that museum everyday just sparked this idea for Saurus City.”
And it was Smith’s, as well as his crew’s, experiences with adoption that refined the story.
“Two of our other producers also adopted kids,” shares Richard Joel, president of 405 Productions Inc. and a producer on Saurus City. “It’s very much a theme among the family of filmmakers on this film. And, when I first read the script, I was instantly taken in. It talks about how anyone can be part of a family, and anyone can be a hero, even a scruffy, balding retired knight.”
He adds, “I come from a large family with over 20 nieces and nephews, and I love how this film talks about the connection between not just a mother and her child, but a grandfather and their grandchild or an uncle and their niece or nephew.”
Slade becomes somewhat of a parental figure in the story, displaying great affection for the child by the end though his character certainly felt none as their journey began. The film opens with Slade trying to sell a snow cone to a young boy who keeps changing his mind about what flavor he wants. To keep his anger tempered, the knight tries counting, punching a pillow, and taking deep breaths. It’s a relatable scene for any adult who takes care of a child and, fittingly, it’s Smith’s son who voices for the indecisive snow cone customer.
“He was about six or seven at the time,” says Smith of his son. “I drew on a lot of personal experience for that scene, for sure.”
While the script and character development came about organically, the actual crafting of character models, overseen by senior modelmakers Emma Wardle and Randy McNair, as well as set design, took quite a bit of trial and error, especially considering the scale changes in the film. There are wide shots that show not only the main characters but the whole of the city and the silicone dinosaur puppets on which the city rests.
“It was certainly a conundrum,” notes Smith. “It was a daily process where we had to constantly challenge our way of thinking about perspective and scale. We had to create two different versions of our puppets, one that was about one or two feet tall and one that was the size of a dime, which we molded and painted. Those tiny puppets were interesting to animate. There was a lot of compositing and a lot of blueprints and outlines that were just spilling over our tables. Organized chaos is usually the nature of stop-motion.”
The production was “a juggling act” according to Smith, especially when it came to creating puppets that could withstand combat sequences with as little breakage as possible.
“We hired an engineer named Scott Howard who then came in and took the basic armature design, ripped it up, and threw it away,” says Smith. “Then, he started over from the ground up with a new design made of mixed metals like aluminums and stainless steel that would be more durable and lighter weight. At first, I was kind of upset because we’re an independent film on an independent budget, but Scott ended up saving us a lot of time in the long run because we could get away with a lot more movement in shorter periods of time. It pays to have an engineer on the team. I doubt a tank could destroy his armatures.”
It also pays to have Patricia Harader Walton as the costume designer.
“I’ve been working with Patricia for like 25 years and she has an uncanny eye for how to make a costume not just look amazing, but also work well for animators,” explains Smith. “She would go and find this cloth and would lace hidden strips of bendable metal and wiring throughout the inner lining so that the animator could get precise motion out of that clothing.”
Unconventional ingenuity went into more than just the puppet’s skeletons. Sasha’s hair and her baby’s eyes were some of the more challenging character features to get right.
“Sasha’s hair has an almost candy-like translucent to it, like a Jolly Rancher,” notes Smith. “We wanted that look from the start, but the challenge was animating it. It had to blow in the wind and look animated when she was jumping or running, which she does a lot in this film. But we couldn’t put an armature in her hair strands because you could see through it, and you would see the armature. So, we worked with a company called GoEngineer to 3D print her hair with a rubber, pliable material. And we had 50 different hair piece versions that we would remove and replace every time we had to animate.”
And Sasha’s daughter’s eyes were no less challenging a task.
“We first created the eyes digitally and then 3D printed them,” explains Smith. “And around the iris, the colored portion of the eye, our character department people would individually place these tiny shards of glitter. They had to glue them on one at a time. Then, they would coat the entire eyeball with clear resin. Once the eyes were put onto the character’s face, we would move the camera and the light just right so there were these really cool light blooms around the baby’s face.”
Each of Saurus City’s main characters also had 75 individual face variations that were 3D printed to provide facial details and complex reactions not always seen in stop-motion films.
“The wrinkles, frown lines, everything was so detailed,” says Joel. “Nate wanted to make sure the authenticity was there for each character as they were acting and reacting to different lines. It was all part of that emotional connection Nate wanted the audience to have with these characters.”
Saurus City, full of beautiful sets, unique character designs, CG effects, and exacting stop-motion animation was not just made to entertain. It’s meant to educate those who have misunderstood the circumstances surrounding adoption as well as convey a greater consideration and appreciation of the adopted children themselves. Saurus City ultimately shares the understanding that they have not been cast off or forgotten, that they were (and are) deeply loved, having been given the chance for a better life.
“I wanted to show children how much their parents love them,” says Smith. “Our children’s birth moms are still involved in their lives, and we have great relationships with them. People say that’s weird or strange, but the truth is it’s beautiful. At least it has been for us and our children. There’s no mystery or stigma about where they came from.”
Joel adds, “Our film has some heavy themes. We take chances and risks. But we wanted to tell a story that hasn’t been told. And I hope it helps people to embrace these kinds of families and this kind of independent animation. We want to tell great stories, with beautiful animation, and take people on a journey that, hopefully, wows them.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
