Writing over at ILM, Jamie Benning continues ILM Evolutions, a series looking at 50 years of the galaxy’s greatest effects house which continues with the evolution of animation in the 21st century, looking at Ultraman: Rising and Transformers One.
For decades, ILM had been at the forefront of visual-effects-based animation, but Ultraman: Rising marked a shift – embracing stylization while maintaining strong, character-driven storytelling.
Animation supervisor Mathieu Vig notes the challenge of moving from photorealistic creatures to a more expressive, feature animation style. “That was a very interesting challenge,” he tells ILM.com. “First of all, because many were eager to go back to feature animation. But a lot of people had never worked in feature animation, me included. So that was definitely a bit of a scary enterprise after all of these photoreal creatures and characters.”
Many of the animators came from big, effects-heavy projects and initially expected Ultraman to follow suit. “I think we were all expecting the movie to be about that. And we were ready for it. Then we realized it was not about that at all,” says Vig.
Meeting directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima helped align the team with the film’s more emotional and grounded tone. “They put me at ease very quickly,” notes Vig. “Because I realized how caring and how clear they were about what they wanted from me as an animation supervisor. They wanted to meet everybody. To talk to the team. They were both so clear and detailed. That way, we could focus on – does the animation feel true? Does it feel rehearsed or active?”
The directors emphasized performance-based animation first and foremost, even referencing unexpected inspirations like Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) to highlight the film’s emotional depth. “Despite the kaiju-sized spectacle, Ultraman: Rising wasn’t just about action,” Vig explains. “It was a story about family, identity, and connection. We wanted and needed to have believable characters, quite subtle acting. We wanted an interesting mix of something that looks stylized but at the same time has so much heart and groundedness. The animation reviews were always about character development. There was great trust on both sides.”
