“Bloofy” & “Pouchy” from Inside Out 2 are Pixar’s First Ever 2D Animated Movie Characters. Parents who raised kids in the 90s on the now classic Nick Jr. shows Blues Clues and Dora the Explorer will have a visceral reaction to these two characters from the moment they appear on the big screen.
Bloofy The Dog, and his sidekick fanny pack which is a homage the Dora’s backpack, live in Riley’s mind in only a way that a children’s show can live with us as we grow older. It gets put into the recesses of our brains. Or in Riley’s case, her Vault of Secrets. (We all know if we were 13 and admitted to liking a “babies” show, to our friends, we would be mocked and made fun of), in Riley’s case, she watched a whole lot of ‘Bloofy’s House’.
There is something that connects with kids and these types of characters. I am sure if studied, it would come down to the unironic use of breaking the 4th wall. Think Deadpool turning to the camera, staring into it, and giving a wink to the audience. This is what was amazing about Blues Clues and Dora and the shows that have come since then, they connect directly with the kids and become a part of everyday life. You couldn’t tell my kids, that Steve or Joe weren’t real, they talked directly to them daily. ( That’s right! Read that again! I just put Deadpool and Dora the Explorer in the same Paragraph!)
Now the question is, will Pixar and Disney have the guts to make this into a true Disney Jr. show? Or maybe even an adult version shown on Disney+.
Read our Review of Inside Out 2 Here or watch the video review Here
Related: Inside Out 2 Popcorn Buckets from AMC – Regal – Cinemark
The decision to animate the beagle and his sidekick in 2D came about because of Pixar’s recent explorations into hand-drawn animation. “We weren’t sure how we were gonna do it,” director Kelsey Mann told IndieWire. “We knew it would be characters from a preschool show that Riley [Kensington Tallman] watches. Those shows have different styles: 3D, 2D. And [‘Bloofy’s House’] would have a limited budget, so it wouldn’t be as polished as the typical Pixar feature.
“Then we thought, ‘Wait a minute, we have great 2D animators,’” Mann continued. “‘What if we did the characters in 2D?’ They developed a great pipeline for 2D animation on ‘Win or Lose’ [Pixar’s first long-form series coming this year to Disney+] and learned a lot. Figuring out how those characters fit into the 3D world was really fun.” Rob Thompson, the lead draw-over artist at Pixar for nearly 20 years, was part of a 2D unit of seven artists who used their hand-drawn skills on the goofy beagle and his handy pouch. Their 2D experience on “Win or Lose” made capturing their simplicity easier. “Any time we do something different, we look at the cost, the time we have, and ask: Can we do this?” Thompson told IndieWire.
“Luckily, we had just done something similar on ‘Win or Lose,’ where all the animation is done in TVPaint, a 2D program, and then it’s projected on this 3D card that exists in the space with the other characters,” Thompson added. “We used this mix so [Bloofy and Pouchy] would move with the camera.”
The next challenge was making Bloofy (Ron Funches) and Pouchy (James Austin Johnson) look 2D. Looking at “Blue’s Clues” and “Dora the Explorer” helped with their simple animation and poses. “We needed something to aim for because what we usually do at Pixar is really high-quality; it doesn’t come quick or easy,” said Thompson.
“You put a lot of refinement into something, and those shows don’t have the luxury of time or big budgets. So it’s like: How do you make it look like that? It’s hard to do because we’re used to doing our best work. It’s not that Bloofy’s work isn’t good — it’s just a different style. You have to switch your mindset. It takes more work sometimes to make something look less refined, picking up these little mistakes that are part of that world.” Performance-wise, the focus was on Bloofy and his silly sense of optimism, asking questions to a non-existent child audience, and his broad appeal. “Dexter’s Laboratory” was a good reference. “He’s very happy and one note, but when he’s stumped or concerned, it’s a hard change,” Thompson said. “We skipped the in-between thought processes and went for big arm gestures, hands on hips, old-school Mickey Mouse style.”
“I thought we were going to animate it,” added Thompson. “I was excited because I love doing effects stuff. But we had enough on our plate. So they took it…and it totally fits.”
