May 3rd, 2019 
Jackson Murphy 
He may just be the top “Director for Hire” in animation today. Over the past 17 years, Kelly Asbury had made “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” and “Shrek 2” for DreamWorks, “Gnomeo & Juliet” for Disney, “Smurfs: The Lost Village” for Sony, and now UglyDolls for newcomer STX. And his latest film is another music-driven adventure — with a message.
Jackson Murphy: We talked a little more than two years ago about “Smurfs”. How soon after that movie did you jump over to “UglyDolls”?
Kelly Asbury: It was about… almost exactly one year. I stayed at Sony for a little while, and then I took some time off and got the Smurfs out of my system. And then the UglyDolls quickly infiltrated my system. And that’s how it works. (laughs)
JM: So have you been directing this movie for a little more than a year? That seems incredible in the world of animation.
KA: It was a little over a year, maybe. But the studio had the project for about a year before I started. When we started, it was still sort of a blank slate. A lot needed to be done. There was a really good beginning and a really good ending, but we really didn’t know what was in the middle. So we had to work on getting ingredients of the sandwich put together, which was a lot of fun. It was a good team of people. We had fun, and we took the leap – and took the risk and did it. It was amazing. It was amazing that the team at Reel FX pulled it off in terms of technically and artistically – that they were able to deliver. And they did it so well.
JM: Yes. It’s such a nice vision that you see on screen. And the cast is led by a lot of popular singers: Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae, Blake Shelton, Nick Jonas. There are a lot of songs in the movie. This is a very music-driven animated film. How was it for people like Clarkson and Monae to not only do the songs in the booth but also character dialogue?
KA: Well, to tell you the truth, when Kelly came in, she really was the character [of Moxie] and she saw it herself. She came in and said, “Gosh, did you guys write this for me?” because it’s very much like her. Once we got in that groove, as we record these actors, we get them four of five times in the course of making the movie. Kelly – her personality sort of helped the character develop itself in many ways. And that was the same thing with Janelle. She’s such a kind, gentle soul, and the character of Mandy is so compassionate, that she was able to step in that doll’s shoes and be the character. I don’t think it was a big leap for either one of them to assume those roles?
JM: The UglyDolls have been around for almost 20 years. Were you and the voice actors familiar with the UglyDolls before being a part of this movie?
KA: I was only slightly familiar with them. I don’t have children, so I sort of skipped the UglyDolls era. I knew of them and had seen them before. And yeah – a few of our actors had known what they were. Some of them had them when they were kids. I think Kelly Clarkson said she had an UglyDoll. I would say it’s about half and half.
JM: I think “UglyDolls” is a great first movie for five and six year olds to come into the theater and see what can be done in terms of animation on screen – and the entire cinematic experience. A lot of it has to do with the music. Making “Shrek 2” and “Gnomeo & Juliet”, and now this, filled with songs – what has been so appealing for you about incorporating music and pairing it with animation?
KA: I love musicals. And I’ve always liked old-fashioned musicals, like “Singin’ in the Rain”, “An American in Paris” and “The Wizard of Oz”. So I was pretty much able to approach it that way. Let’s approach this like an old-fashioned, 1940s musical – not even an animated musical. Let’s see how they would structure that. So… Glenn Slater and Chris Lennertz, beautiful songwriters, they got on board with that, and they really played a big role in the structure of the story and let the songs be a guidepost. Mostly for getting to know characters and the emotions of characters. Inner dialogues were able to be put forth in a way that you can’t really do with a non-musical, not easily. It helped us get the characters’ thoughts and feelings more readily on screen in the amount of time we had.
JM: For me, the showcase song – the showcase scene – in “UglyDolls” is “Unbreakable”, the Clarkson and Monae duet. What was the process of staging the look of that sequence to match the power of that song?
KA: First of all… we developed it on storyboards and it was… intricately developed over time. And then, we gave it to our lighting people. And in the situation we were in, we had color models done, but everything was sort of done at the same time. And you never know what’s gonna transpire sometimes. It was like, “Okay – we knew the mood, we knew what we wanted.” Then the effects came in. We built it as we went, and that’s not my preferred way to do it, but we were able to get that done. And it was great.
JM: I love that sequence – seeing all the mirrors. And I think at the end of the year: we may be talking about that song when it comes to awards season. I’ve got a gut feeling about it.
KA: Well I appreciate you saying that.
JM: One of the main themes of “UglyDolls” is that there’s no such thing as ideal perfection. But yet – as a director, is it tough to then expect perfection from your animators and your voice actors?
KA: Well, certainly we all strive for that. Artists and actors, in general, strive for that, too. And I think all of us know it’s kind of an impossible endeavor in some ways. But we strive for it. We do the best we can in the time we’ve got. And sometimes you just say, “Okay – you know what? I think that’s as perfect as we’re gonna get… for this movie.” And we just move forward. It’s a matter of choosing your battles – choosing your decisions of what details are more important than others. What things can we do to make an audience feel what we’re wanting, but under a certain constraint of time and budget, how can find a way to convey that creatively? How can we find a creative way to work within those limitations? And that’s always a challenge with any film, and I enjoy that aspect of making animated movies: trying to maximize what you have at hand to create what you want.
JM: Your secret weapon in all of this… is Pitbull. He voices UglyDog and is a producer. I saw him “Kelly and Ryan” about a week ago, and he was not only pitching “UglyDolls”, but he was preaching this movie’s message. He was saying that Ugly actually stands for “U Gotta Love Yourself”. He must’ve been fantastic to work with.
KA: That’s the best way to describe it. You answered the question for me. Everything you described right there is what he gave us. He’s a 100% showman, and a 1000% professional. And we were thrilled and blessed to have him, frankly. And he did take on this movie pretty much as a cause.
JM: I love that you voice Gibberish Cat. Did you want to do that right out of the gate?
KA: I recorded Gibberish Cat as a quick idea. And I did it on my phone – just one take. And we put it in and everyone laughed. It sounded good enough. Our sound guys said, “You know what? It’s clear enough.” And that one, little piece of noise that he makes twice in the film – is one recording I did on my phone one day. I might’ve even been driving when I did it – because we put it together so quickly. And then it got the reaction it got. So we said, “Don’t tamper with that!” (laughs) So that’s how I got that part.
JM: I’m glad it made it in! It sounds great. Kelly, you receive Special Thanks on another big animated movie coming out later this year, “The Addams Family”. What was your involvement with that?
KA: The director, Conrad Vernon, and I are really close friends. We worked together as co-directors on “Shrek 2”. We’ve known each other for years. I just was sitting around twiddling my thumbs last year and just called him and said, “Hey…” I love “The Addams Family”. I was actually jealous that he had it, as a director. It’s a project I would’ve loved to have directed. And I said, “I’d love to contribute something.” So I storyboarded two or three sequences. I’m not even sure if they ended up in the film. But it was a joy, and I loved doing it, and I love Charles Addams. And it was fun to participate in that movie.
JM: Cool. I love the look of those characters. I’m looking forward to it.
KA: I think they’ve done a good job.
JM: So going from DreamWorks to Disney to Sony to STX… how have you been able to direct different projects at different studios and kind of stay independent throughout your career?
KA: Well, I worked at Disney for about 12 years, and then I was at DreamWorks for 12 years. When I went to “Gnomeo & Juliet”, it was really just at a time when it was an opportunity to work with some really exciting people, like Elton John. And that’s when the ball started rolling, where I just have sort of bounced around and found projects that have interested me – that aren’t necessarily made at the same studio under any kind of format. And I’ve been lucky enough on particularly “Gnomeo & Juliet” and “UglyDolls” to really be given a lot of leeway because the studio themselves needed someone to sort of guide them. My producer, Jane Hartwell, and I have known each other. We were able to show them how to make an animated feature, to a large degree. So it was actually kind of gratifying and freeing in that way.
JM: So Kelly, do you think I’ll be talking with you in another two years about another animated movie, or is it time for a little R and R?
KA: Well, it’s both. It’s time for a little R and R, but I have every intention of being back. Two or three years, who knows? But I don’t think I’ll ever do it again quite in a year. (laughs) But if I can make it back, I will for sure.
JM: Do you have passion projects for animated movies you’d like to make?
KA: Absolutely. I’ve got projects stacked up like firewood. It’s hard to get an independent, original idea made into a film. But I also have some existing properties I’d like to option and then see about which ones. I’m talking to people about them. We’ll see where that goes.
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