Big-picture thinking serves artist, Oscar nominee well

Ever since she could hold a crayon or a pencil, Brenda Chapman was drawing something.

Drawing would become a career for Chapman, a story artist and director on animated features that include "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King." But more than that — maybe even more than the Oscar she might win tonight for her work on "Brave" — it’s a passion that links her to her mother. And to her daughter.

Chapman’s mother was often nearby when she drew as a child, growing up in tiny Beason, Ill., (population: 250). And Chapman’s only child, Emma Lima, is the strong-willed daughter who inspired the story of "Brave."

"My mom was very artistic, but she got squelched when she was younger and so she encouraged me," the 50-year-old Chapman said in a phone call from San Francisco. "We drew together all the time when I was little."

Chapman, whose skill took her to Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar Animation Studios and now LucasFilm, will be in Hono­lulu next month to give a free talk about writing and animated features. The talk will be from 7 to 9 p.m. March 12 in Ohia 118 at Kapiolani Community College.

Chapman was the first woman to direct a major animated feature (DreamWorks’ "The Prince of Egypt"). She learned early on to view the big picture when it came to story.

As a story artist, she created the blueprint for the features she worked on, not the frame-by-frame animation. Her job was to create the story and the look. The process taught her to envision the whole film in her head.

"It’s like doing a comic book version of the film," she said. "This is about character and an emotional arc and about humor and staging."

As a director it becomes even more intense as she scrutinizes the look of a character’s hair and the way grass blows in the wind.

"We have to look at blank palette and create the entire world," she said.

WHEN she started in 1987 as a trainee at Disney, story artists worked on heavy 4-by-8-foot-tall drawing boards, Chapman said. Those have been replaced in the past decade by touch-screen devices that allow the artist to retain portions of a scene for other drawings.

It’s easier, but some of the charm is gone, she said.

"You don’t have to draw the background; you can save it," she said. "But at the same time you don’t have those wonderful big boards with all those drawings in the hallways where you can see the film. It’s all in a computer, and I think that’s kind of a bummer."

"Brave" took eight years to complete, with Chapman signing on as writer and director. The story’s main character, Princess Merida, wants to seek her own path in life and defies her mother. The princess was inspired by her daughter, who was 5 when it all started. Merida was Pixar’s first female protagonist.

"She was sort of fearless in standing up for herself," Chapman said. "I had a different upbringing. I was very submissive to my parents in a lot of ways and never thought of challenging them in the way my daughter challenges me. It overtook my psyche at work, and I sort of channeled that into a story idea."

In 2010, though, the studio replaced Chapman with Mark Andrews. Chapman cited "creative differences" as the reason for her departure. But both she and Andrews share directing credits as well as the Golden Globe the film won in January for best animated feature. If "Brave" wins that category tonight, Chapman will share that as well.

"I feel like my movie is very much there," she said. "Mark did a really good job of trying to maintain my vision, and I appreciate that. And I’m still proud of the film."

But if it doesn’t, Chapman has already received something more precious than a gold-plated statue.

"My daughter still feels it is our movie," Chapman said. "When we watched it together, she kept hitting me with her elbow and saying, ‘That’s us.’"

AND that’s a wrap …

Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.