EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
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met with several executives at STX, who presented UglyDolls to me,’ he explains. ‘Some development work had been done on the proposed movie. Basically, when I heard the opening song “It Couldn’t Get Better” and saw the very emotionally charged ending, I was hooked.’
UglyDolls is as much a music adventure as it is an animated kids fi lm, and Asbury was keen to use the music to hit both narrative and emotional notes. ‘My aim was to make UglyDolls a full-on traditional movie musical, like the ones from the 1940s and 50s,’ he explains. ‘Fun, light-hearted and emotional, where the characters express themselves through songs. Our songwriters Chris Lennertz and Glenn Slater delivered each song as a narrative guide post to reinforce a given character’s point-of-view, all while helping move the story forward.’ For a fi lm so driven by its musical numbers, Asbury knew he had to enlist singers at the top of their game who could also do voice acting. ‘Once Pitbull and then Kelly Clarkson were signed, it became apparent that most of our cast needed to be very good musical performers as much as actors,’ he says. ‘We lucked out in that the individuals we selected could also deliver a nice speaking role as well.’
While the fi lm UglyDolls is very much its own thing, UglyDolls – the toys – have existed since 2001. ‘It’s a true love story,’ says Asbury explaining the history behind the toys. ‘The original creators of the UglyDolls [David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim] did so as a means of keeping in touch during a post-college long-distance relationship. The resultant characters evolved into hand-sewn dolls, which other people wanted. Birth of a toy line!’
With so many animated kids fi lms being sequels or spin-offs, UglyDolls is an increasingly rare example of an original animation. While the toys existed before the fi lm, Asbury wanted to create a new world that felt real and that audiences could invest in. ‘For me, it is less about putting my stamp on things and more about trying to create a world that the audience believes in and cares about,’ he explains. ‘I try for sincerity and I try for the characters to genuinely exist and interact within the rules that created reality. It all must appear as if it is really happening. No winking at the audience.’ Similarly, UglyDolls is sincere in its messages of diversity, acceptance and inclusion, all of which feel particularly timely, what with current debates about social media promoting unrealistic standards of beauty. Asbury wanted audiences – both young and old – to look deeper into what perfection means and why difference should be celebrated. ‘This movie is about everyone learning to be more kind to one another; to look past our physical differences and give more of a chance to what’s inside us; to learn to look in the mirror and give ourselves a break,’ he explains. ‘To try looking beyond the physical and see the emotional. We all are more alike than meets the eye.’
Not bad for a kids animated fi lm about some cute plushy toys. And which UglyDoll does Asbury himself relate most to? ‘Gibberish Cat, as probably evidenced by my above answers!’
UglyDolls, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Sun 23 Jun.
1 Jun–31 Aug 2019 THE LIST 29