Every animator’s dream is to be hired by reputable and respected animation studios such as Pixar, but oftentimes it’s much harder to achieve this than most realise.
However, a Malaysian animator was able to live out his lifelong dream of being employed at Pixar and even had a hand in the box office hit ‘Inside Out 2’.
Dreamt of working at Pixar
Speaking to Oriental Daily in an interview, 26-year-old Huang Hongyun (transliteration), said he was a huge fan of animated films ever since he was a child.
“When I was young, I really enjoyed watching animated films and loved drawing dinosaurs, robots, and other characters. Gradually, I developed a strong interest in the field of animation.
“After completing my diploma in Kuala Lumpur, I went to San Francisco in 2019 to further my studies and pursue my animation education,” he said.
However, it wasn’t until 2015 when Huang watched ‘Inside Out’ for the first time, where he so moved by the scenes that he vowed to land a job at Pixar in the future.
M’sian gets hired as animator by Pixar after 3 failed attempts
Determined to make his dream a reality, Huang submitted his resume to Pixar in hopes of landing an internship position but was rejected three times.
However, he didn’t let that setback deter him and pressed on, where he was finally rewarded with a position as an animator.
After graduating, I found out that I had been accepted and I really couldn’t believe it. My first project as a newly-hired animator at Pixar was ‘Inside Out 2’, something which I believe was fate.
“At Pixar, my main tasks as an animator was providing movements for the characters, handling storyboards, and working on backgrounds. Whenever I work on these tasks, I always look forward to seeing the final product,” he added.
Huang also revealed that there are 10 Malaysian animators working for Pixar, all of whom are veterans in the field.
‘All my hard work was worth it’
Although Huang played a minor role in the making of ‘Inside Out 2’, his contributions were nevertheless integral to the film’s booming success, where it became one of the top 10 highest-grossing films globally, beating ‘Frozen 2’ as a result.
Huang said he was deeply moved to see many discussing the film at length on different platforms, adding that it made him feel that all the hard work he had poured into the project “was worth it”.
When asked what his favourite ‘Inside Out 2’ emotion was, Huang said it was Anxiety as he resonated deeply with it.
“I like the character Anxiety. As we grow older, we need to learn to embrace this emotion and live with it. ‘Inside Out 2’ is about adolescence, something which everyone experiences, and anxiety is especially common during this period,” he explained.
Huang also said that he hopes to create a fully Malaysian production to present to the audience in the future.
“If you’re a young person looking to join the animation industry, don’t give up on that dream and keep pursuing it as you will eventually achieve it one day,” he added.
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