Chris Sanders Interview with information about "Amrican Dog"
Nov 15, 2022 11:39:23 GMT
MantleM and awesomereesee like this
Post by Springy on Nov 15, 2022 11:39:23 GMT
Just found this interesting interview with Chris Sanders doodling around on Tvtropes. It most importantly has some plot details and details about why the higher ups at Disney disliked American Dog.
Why the higher ups disliked "American Dog":
Chris Sanders: It had a lot to do with rationalizing what this dog was. “Can he drive a car or can he not?” The answer was yes and no. He can make the car go but, no, he can’t drive. And that would become a big sticking point. In my mind, that idea wasn’t that weird, it was pretty simple; in other people’s minds at the studio, it wasn’t making any sense. Ultimately I was asked, “Does he know he’s a dog or not?” The answer I gave was, “He knows he’s a dog, but has a warped idea what a dog is and does.” That answer didn’t sit well. They wanted a “yes” or “no.” Later on I equated it to Buzz Lightyear, who did NOT know he was a toy. So the “yes,” or “no,” on that would have been a simple, resounding, “no.” Very clear. My dog was more subtle, like Stitch. And that wasn’t going to get through their system. So after a long, hard session with the exec, I was without a simple answer, and I was like, “Okay, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Plot details:
You know, it’s still something I think about making because it could still be made. The movie that came out was so not the original concept, that you could simply make that first movie and it would never be recognized. I mean, the idea being that there was a dog, he was bought at a kennel and he grew up on movie sets so his whole world is what he thinks he’s doing in these movies, and when he’s not on set he’s just in a dark cage and his life goes on hold. When they open up the cage and he’s back on set, his life picks up again where it left off. So he has a really distorted view of who he is and what the world is. The times on set have a continuity of narrative that, though odd and extreme, make sense to him. He eventually gets let loose into the real world but aside from no one yelling “cut,” or “action,” things seem pretty much the same. Maybe a bit more dull. But he continues the storyline, the narrative that he was doing on set. The fun thing about it was that, because he never failed in his scripted adventures, he assumes success in the real world. He’s got a bravery borne of ignorance, and so out here, he’s a relentless force of nature. He’s so driven to do things but has no idea he cannot do them. So he will happily jump behind the wheel of a car, but he can’t drive. He can do it on a movie set. He knows enough to push a pedal or turn a wheel but he can’t drive, so he’s gonna cause a horrible situation and you have to accept that premise and go for it. Trying to make too much sense of that premise will eventually cause it to fall apart. Interestingly, I would actually cite Cars as being one of the strangest concepts behind a movie that I have ever seen, but it works because, you know what? That’s their story and they stuck with it. Cars are the beings that inhabit this planet, we don’t know who built them but we’re not gonna ask questions. We’re gonna keep moving forward. The funny thing is that Pixar made one of the most audaciously bizarre worlds I have ever seen on film, but they committed to it, and it worked. American Dog was, I think, not nearly that extreme in its concept; nonetheless, there were things about it that they just didn’t buy.
