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Costumes & Characters
The imaginative costume and make-up design of Drawn to Life reflect both a real and
animated world, as there are real characters—like Julie—alongside pencils, paintbrushes,
crumpled paper and other inanimate objects that come alive. The design of many costumes
represents the line sketchings of animations and showcase their movement when set in
motion. Make-up must connect seamlessly to the costume for each look to be complete.
One of the more vexing challenges was creating a moving character onto which
animation actually projects. The sizable Comforting Sheets needed to appear as
weightless pieces of paper, yielding to the puppeteering of the artist inside them.
The character of Miss Hésitation called for a costume of crumpled paper–making trash
fashionable–yet designed for fluid movement of the performer.
As with any Cirque du Soleil show, facial make-up completes each costume and helps
portray the emotions of the characters—especially the non-human ones. Exaggerated
lines, highlights, and shadows showcase movement that nods to certain principles
of animation. Make-up artists had to take their designs to the extreme. Waku Waku
are a piece of paper, the first pencil sketches of the animator. The face had to fit
the costume. Miss Hésitation’s painted face had to reflect beauty and boldness -
against a body of discarded paper.
Julie & Petit Oreiller
Drawn to Life tells the story of Julie. The courageous and determined
twelve-year old shared a passion for Disney Animation with her artist father,
who has recently passed. Julie values animated Disney characters and their
life lessons as central to her well-being and clings to them as tightly as
her favorite pillow, Petit Oreiller. Her transition into wonderment—as
characters and tools of the animator’s craft come to life—becomes
ife-changing.
Mr. Pencil & Mainamie
Mr. Pencil has a point: heart matters. Julie’s father entrusted her to the
care of a lucky pencil that sketched great moments in his life. Mr. Pencil
comes alive, takes Julie under his wing and becomes her trusted and fun-loving
friend who guides her through her quest. A welcoming Mainamie, the comforting
white gloved hand, further reassures Julie and gives her strength on her
adventure.
Miss Hésitation & The Doubtovskis
A bulbous ball of crumpled paper comprised of Julie’s crinkled, rejected
drawings, Miss Hésitation feeds Julie’s self-doubt, the inner voice holding
her back. Her pint-sized helpers, the Doubtovskis, skit about with waste paper
baskets, feeding off the balled-up mistakes of people and animators–the
crumpled, castoff objects of hesitation that can lead to fear of failure. Miss
Hésitation is not what she seems. Under her villainous veneer is a soul of
compassion, warmth - and one confession: Miss Hésitation is only a villain
in training who may not be so evil after all.
The Animators
Four animators—Cirque du Soleil’s bow to Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men, icons
of Disney Animation—befriend Julie on her journey. They guide her through the
principles of animation, teaching her how to complete her father’s unfinished
drawing. A female animator pays tribute to Disney Legend Mary Blair who created
concept art for Disney Animation classics such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan
and Cinderella. Seen throughout the show, each animator brings humor and physical
comedy into Julie’s world.
Comforting Sheets & Horse Table
Five sheets of animation paper feel compassion and empathy, knowing just
what Julie needs and what brightens her life. Together they come alive with
projections of the characters and moments from Disney Animation that she was
raised with, bringing her peace and joy and helping her dream. Iconic Disney
Animator Eric Goldberg hand-drew never-before-seen animations of beloved Disney
Animation characters to be projected upon the Comforting Sheets. In the world
of Julie’s anthropomorphic dreams, an animator’s desk comes alive with the
bucking energy of a horse to be lassoed, yet it is also a best friend beckoning
the animator to put pencil to paper. The horse table perfectly exemplifies a
show about life and movement.
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