It’s not stunning to listen to that variety and illustration offered the inspiration for Everett Downing Jr.’s and Patrick Harpin’s upcoming Netflix animated sci-fi sequence, My Dad the Bounty Hunter, which premieres Thursday, February 9. It’s additionally not a lot of a shock that sequence manufacturing designer Yuhki Demers, recognized for his work on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, spent many hours looking at charts full of pictures of actor Taye Diggs for inspiration.
“Yuhki was tirelessly devoted to getting all of it proper,” says Downing. “He is tremendous nerdy with regards to art work and likes doing his analysis. I’m fairly positive he had a crush on Taye Diggs. He saved speaking about how stunning his pores and skin was.”
Harpin chimes in, “I imply, hey, who might blame him?”
Whereas variety performs a core function in lots of lately launched animated sequence, what is exclusive about My Dad the Bounty Hunter is its character inclusion that’s not solely pores and skin deep.
In fact, Black character and household illustration in science fiction storytelling was a driving issue for Downing Jr. and Harpin once they started placing collectively the items of their CG-animated present again in 2016. However greater than merely placing Black characters right into a present impressed by a few of their favourite sci-fi movies (reminiscent of The Fifth Component, Star Wars, and quite a few John Carpenter movies), the 2 creators noticed a chance to make use of this action-adventure medium as an example the struggles of a cut up household.
“It was a mandate for us to subvert expectations,” stated Downing. “We wished to take acquainted tropes and switch them on their head. With out entering into spoilers, there are actually emotional moments that come later, one the place Lisa and her father get into a really massive argument, and the director on that episode was undoubtedly pulling from conversations he is had together with his youngsters. Our massive factor is truth-in-storytelling, and having the ability to assess, ‘Hey, does it really feel actual? Does it really feel relatable and true?’ That was a objective from the leap, and you may see that as you watch the present.”
My Dad the Bounty Hunter follows close-knit siblings Lisa (Priah Ferguson) and Sean (JeCobi Swain), who stow away on their absentee dad’s newest work journey, hoping to lastly get some high quality time collectively amidst their dad and mom’ separation. Little do they know their dad Terry (Laz Alonso) has been retaining a secret from them – he’s really the hardest bounty hunter within the galaxy! Launched into the shock area journey of a lifetime, Lisa and Sean uncover that their seemingly common dad’s job is something however boring.
“I realized extra about my dad as I bought older, the place I came upon extra in regards to the jobs he took and was like, ‘Wait, they’d you carry a gun? You by no means informed me that,’” remembers Harpin, beforehand a narrative artist on The Emoji Film. “It’s important to be taught extra about your dad and mom as you become older. And what was fascinating for us dramatically was that dad being a bounty hunter is type of a problematic job. Who’s he catching? Does that particular person need to be captured? It’s fertile floor for battle.”
As Sean and Lisa discover themselves dodging harmful aliens, robots, and laser fights galore, household bonding time turns into way more than they bargained for as they attempt to assist their dad in pursuit of his hardest fugitive but. However together with his youngsters alongside for the journey, Terry should present up for them once they want it most, they usually’d higher make it residence earlier than mother (Yvonne Orji) finds out. The sequence is a warp-speed journey throughout the constellation of ups, downs, and moments in between that form household life.
The story started to take type for Downing, beforehand a director on the Oscar-winning brief Hair Love and Netflix’s We the Folks and a narrative artist on Vivo, throughout his personal time working lengthy hours away from his household.
“Whereas I used to be working within the animation business, I spent a lot time engaged on these films, doing additional time, that I wasn’t actually getting an opportunity to attach with my youngsters,” he shares. “So, quite a lot of it got here from the concept if my youngsters actually noticed what I did, they could respect it, however in all probability wouldn’t suppose it’s that cool. In order that’s after I thought, ‘What may very well be one thing actually cool that your dad does, that you just suppose is de facto cool?’”
On high of that, Downing’s and Harpin’s crew of writers had their very own experiences they pulled from when growth on the script formally started in 2019.
“One of many writers had a dad who really was a bounty hunter,” says Downing, who pulled one in every of Lisa’s quotes, “No person will get to select on my brother besides me,” instantly from his personal sister.
Harpin provides, “All of the writers’ room and the crew, everyone has very particular backgrounds and upbringings. In order that’s your early focus testing. Actually, try to be working one thing out in your finish if you would like it to be a compelling story. I’ve an excellent relationship with my dad and mom, however there’s undoubtedly stuff in right here the place it is like, ‘Oh, yeah, we have had that argument.’”
My Dad the Bounty Hunter was additionally a way for Downing and Harpin to highlight animators, writers, and others they knew had been being underappreciated within the business, who had been able to do greater than the roles they had been being given.
“We tried to usher in everyone we thought was gifted and was being underutilized,” says Harpin. “Most people we employed, we ended up selling them into the positions they held on our present. Numerous these individuals had been prepared for some time, it is simply nobody had put them within the recreation but. And we put them in and bought quite a lot of nice surprises.”
He continues, “Juston Gordon-Montgomery has bought a present popping out on Cartoon Community now, so he will probably be somebody individuals know quickly. However, on the time we employed him, individuals did not know him. However this man’s nice. He is a narrative artist who’s additionally an excellent author. There will not be quite a lot of these. You do not really need to look outdoors of animation if you wish to see variety. There are literally individuals in animation who possibly you have simply neglected, who’re working within the business already, and are able to go. We didn’t want well-known animators. We simply wanted those that knew animation.”
Downing says that the entire group’s funding in representing these characters correctly and doing proper by them, elevating the look of the present, and providing up their private tales to the script to make it plausible and relatable makes him “exceedingly proud,” and presents a particular thanks to Demers, in addition to artwork director Alex Konstad (an artwork division member on The Mitchell’s vs the Machines) and Andrew Chesworth as character design supervisor (beforehand an animator on Massive Hero 6).
Downing and Harpin hope that My Dad the Bounty Hunter provides some like to underappreciated creators, in addition to hope to those who are but unknown.
“The authenticity and ability behind the display screen actually come throughout, and these characters really feel extra pure and relatable due to it,” says Downing. “It’s unbelievable to see how a lot the fashion has grown since a few of the earliest photos, and we’re excited to see how, hopefully, it would proceed to evolve.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all issues anime. She’s reported on quite a few tales from activist information to leisure. Discover extra about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
