It may seem that putting cartoons in a museum is like mixing oil with water, but as DreamWorks Animation and the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore taught me, one should never judge a book by its cover.
Words Danny Lau
I’ve always been a big fan of animation and I remember fondly waking up every Saturday morning to watch my favourite cartoons. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition has an almost universal appeal. Though the studio may be a comparatively young, their animated feature films rival some of more established work out there. Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon are just a few of their movies that have captured the hearts of the young and the young-at-heart and will continue to do so for many years to come.
Overview of Character gallery © Marina Bay Sands
The exhibition, which is divided into three main galleries–Character, Story and World–takes visitors on a journey that show how an animated feature is made. While animation does involve a technical process that might boggle the minds of some people, you don’t have to worry about that here. It’s an accessible exhibition for all ages featuring drawings, sculptures and video straight from the vaults of the studio.
Madagascar character gallery © Marina Bay Sands
Want to know how the characters came to be, say, the process of creating an ogre or your favourite dragon? I certainly wanted to find out! As I entered the Character gallery I was greeted by 47 expertly carved maquettes used to understand shadow and movement, as well as in-depth video footage by the production team. I was impressed by the detail and the thought process that go into the initial stage of the animation process.
Maquette of Tigress from Kung Fu Panda © Andrew Morley
Although computer animation has replaced hand-drawn 2D animation, the tradition is still present in the initial process of creating an animated feature. In the Story gallery, you can view the storyboard of the infamous ‘Interrogating Gingy’ scene in Shrek. Though it’s a digital storyboard, it shows filmmaker Conrad Vernon acting out the storyboard for the audience to see. I’m not sure if this is common knowledge but some animators also do the voice acting in the movies and from the playback you can see how talented Conrad is as an actor.
Digital storyboard that shows Conrad Vernon pitching for Shrek’s infamous ‘Interrogating Gingy’ scene © Mark Ashkanasy
The final gallery is World, the largest section of the entire exhibition. As the name suggests, this is where visitors will be able to see how the magical worlds seen in the movies are brought to life. I saw in detail the initial stage of bringing these environments to the big screen.
World of Madagascar © Marina Bay Sands
This section also houses the gem of the exhibition called the Dragon Flight: A Dragon’s-Eye View of Berk. Fans of How to Train Your Dragon will definitely enjoy the 180-degree projection that offers a never-before-seen view of the island, designed to make you think you’re sitting on Toothless’ back as you soar through the skies of Berk. The whole experience might be a bit surreal for some, so if you do feel a bit dizzy, just lean back against the wall so you don’t lose your lunch!The projection was specifically designed for the exhibition and is definitely worth the experience.
The Dragon Flight © Mark Ashkanasy
Interactivity is incorporated extensively, so visitors don’t have to worry about it being a boring, just-look-and-read type of exhibition. In fact, I had the opportunity to create my own short movie at The Animation Desk using DreamWork’s proprietary animation software, albeit a simplified version of it.
Drawing Room © Marina Bay Sands
Other activities include creating your very own Claymation film or flip-book at the workshops for an extra $5 per person. Bring your little ones here and who knows, you might inspire them to become an animator someday. There are also special screenings of DreamWorks’ greatest hits such as Shrek, How to Train your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians on selected weekends.
Interactive component at the exhibition © Mark Ashkanasy
I found myself appreciating the art of animation even more after visiting DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition. Finally, I found a good reason to skip Saturday morning cartoons for the museum. www.marinabaysands.com/museum/dreamworks-animation.html
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION: THE EXHIBITION
ADMISSION: Singaporean – Adult SGD14, Child (2-12) SGD9, Senior Citizen SGD12; Non-Singaporean – Adult SGD21, Child (2-12) SGD 13, Senior Citizen SGD17
OPENING HOURS: 10am – 7pm (last admission: 6pm)
EXHIBITION DATES: 13 June 2015 – 27 September 2015
