Now, the production company is hoping to continue its hot streak with its next film,Sing.
He decides his best option is to stage a singing competition.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How much work do you have left on the film?
Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
GARTH JENNINGS:Were finally emerging from the end of the movie-making process.
You literally have called within 30 seconds of being done, so this is fun.
I use to do a lot of animated films when I was at art school.
Where did you find the inspiration to create this entirely new world and these new characters?
That was the fun.
The world itself was less interesting to me.
We set it in the real world, and the focus is entirely on the characters.
So theres no big deal, he just happens to be driving a very nice Ferrari.
And the world itself really is inside the theater; that is its own sort of world.
It was very important that that world felt entirely believable and realistic and magical like it should be.
How did you go about selecting the songs that your characters sing in the film?
We have over 104 licensed songs in there, and its this huge music melting pot.
How did you decide which animals your characters would be?
I just love them, I do.
Ever since I sawBabe, I thought pigs were flipping marvelous.
And Buster, for instance, is a koala.
And some people thought, Oh, is he Australian or something like that?
It was just quite easy to imagine an animal that would fit that role.
And it just sort of sticks.
Its like naming people; once a name feels right, you just go with it.
How did you decide on that name?
It was always Mr.
I always loved the idea of Mr.
Moon and the Moon Theater; that just felt right.
Zero Mostel, those kind of names.
Like who the hell is named Zero Mostel anymore?
What was it about McConaughey that convinced you that he was the one that could carry this movie?
He has the most lyrical voice; its quite musical.
Its a very tuneful voice, distinctive.
And theres that energy with him and those are key, key ingredients for any animated film.
Obviously if you were watchingTrue Detective, you wouldnt be going, Theres my koala.
Besides Matthew, you have an A-list cast with Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, and others.
But they all had to have the ability to sing.
Recording pop songs with people like Scarlett and Reese is about as good as it gets.
How did you go about matching actors to their characters?
It would come down to tone and energy a lot of the time.
When I heard her sing, she could nail it; she has a really great husky tone.
What would you tell audiences that they can expect from your film?
Singwill be released in theaters on Dec. 21.
