A Tonic DNA and National Film Board of Canada co-production • Produced in association with Crave

Coming December 1 • Available on NFB and Crave in Canada.
FROM CORDELL BARKER, THE LEGENDARY CREATOR OF THE CAT CAME BACK

AN EPIC ADVENTURE TO MEET HIS POLAR OPPOSITE
Envious of his famous northern counterpart, the Anta Claus of the South Pole sets off on an epic penguin-powered journey. Along the way, he meets a cast of lovable oddballs who may have a thing or two to teach him.

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Envious old Anta Claus finally crosses the ocean to meet his polar opposite: the beloved Santa.

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From the South Pole to Santa’s Village, an unlikely hero sets off on a penguin-powered quest for the perfect holiday.

HOLIDAY FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
A quirky holiday adventure that celebrates the misfit in all of us and promises to melt even the grouchiest of hearts. From the creator of the classic children’s animation The Cat Came Back.

Everyone knows the Claus of the North Pole is famous and generous. But what about the Claus of the South? Fed up with his bland Antarctic tundra, the usually irritable yet affable Anta Claus heads North with a prior invitation from Santa himself. On a penguin-powered ice float, he braves treacherous waves and bergs, meeting a few oddballs on the way: Humbert, a gruff bird of paradise, and Elmondo, a sniffly elephant seal. Only tiny penguin Peep is brave enough to cross the equator with him, proving that with a little support, anyone can reach the top-Claus! Though what good is all that fame without the friends who helped you get there?

A quirky, heartwarming holiday adventure celebrating imperfection, belonging and the unexpected friendships that change us. From the two-time Oscar®-nominated animator of the Canadian children’s classic The Cat Came Back, Cordell Barker, this festive tale celebrates the misfit in all of us and promises to melt even the grouchiest of hearts.

• The film’s creator Cordell Barker is a two- time Oscar®-nominated animator best known for creating acclaimed animated shorts such as The Cat Came Back and Strange Invaders.

• Dedicated to the misfits of the holidays, this subversive and hilarious film will appeal to audiences of all ages with a message of embracing imperfections.

• The film tells an original story featuring brand-new characters, expanding the Christmas universe.

• The main character is voiced by prominent Canadian actor Tyrone Benskin in English, and by comedic talent Anthony Kavanagh in French, who also voices secondary characters.

• The music is composed by celebrated Montreal composer and songwriter Martin Léon, who is known for his evocative work on My Salinger Year, The Good Lie and the Academy Award®–nominated Monsieur Lazhar.

After dreaming for two decades of creating an irreverent Christmas film for the misfits and outsiders—a reaction to the standardized picture-perfect version of the holidays—Cordell Barker’s vision has finally come to life with The Anta Claus of the South Pole. As Barker explains, “the whole film is about that polarization of ideas and people’s perspectives on things.”

Interestingly, a holiday film was the original spark that inspired Barker to become a filmmaker. He recalls: “I always loved watching A Charlie Brown Christmas when I was a kid. I think I was nine, or maybe even younger, when it first came out. I was blown away, partly because it was so naïve. It gave me a glimmer of ‘Well, I think I could do that! I could become an animator and draw like that.’”

Writer and director Cordell Barker collaborated with a team of animators at Montreal’s Tonic DNA studio to bring the 24-minute special to life. Speaking about his approach to direction, he notes: “For me, the most important thing is the timing of the actions. If the characters don’t look exactly as I would have drawn them, that’s okay. But if the timing is off, I feel it instantly. Some of what I’ve seen from the animators has blown me away—really beautiful, subtle motions, pauses and secondary actions.”

Perhaps inspired by his hometown of Winnipeg—often ranked among the coldest major cities in Canada—Barker chose the South Pole as the setting for his story. Among the film’s characters, the one closest to his heart is Elmondo, the reclusive yet lovable elephant seal, whom Barker voices himself.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the decision to pursue the film was rekindled at a Christmas party. There, an NFB producer—who would later become a co-producer on the project—approached Barker about making a holiday film. Her name? Christine Noël (the French word for Christmas). Barker recalls: “It was pure serendipity—we almost didn’t cross paths because I nearly didn’t go to the party. I was that close to bailing!”

The rest, as they say, is history.

Cordell, we’ve heard that you turned 70 this year. What’s the secret behind such a long and creative 52-year career?

I think my greatest skill, and the thing that fuels my longevity, is my sense of ideation. The animation itself is just a means to an end. The finding and execution of a good idea is the holy grail. Even if I were a great animator (which I am not), none of it would matter if my ideations were sub-par. As long as I have that, I can keep going. Oh, and a very close second to the ideation is timing, and I know that I’m fairly good at that, so the combination of those two things is what keeps me in the game.

So, you’re not planning on retiring or putting your pencil down any time soon?

To the question of, “Will I be putting the pencil down anytime soon?”… Well, while I was in the middle of directing, and also creating specific guide animation throughout the entire Anta Claus film, and the overall stress, I was thinking, “When this is done, I’m done!!” BUT, now that it’s over, I immediately started thinking about some of the random concepts that keep popping into my head. So, if the opportunity presents itself, I’m thinking I would like to tackle another short film, where I can just animate it all myself, with a more relaxed deadline, where I can super-micro-manage myself and do all the rough animation. In essence, I would love to work in the manner I did when I made my first film, The Cat Came Back, as I was an unknown commodity and off everyone’s radar!

It seems that a big part of your creative process is your daily morning walk. Why do you think inspiration so often comes to you while you’re in motion?

I like this question! I started going for my 5K morning walks while I was beginning my last short film, Good Luck to You All. This was probably the toughest film I’ve ever done, as it is like a pseudo-documentary. I was interviewing all kinds of people (AI specialists, philosophers, tech gurus, but also my neighbour and my incredibly smart seven-year-old niece) about their various and random views on the rise of artificial intelligence. I had to cut up the 15 hours of interviews that I recorded and assemble a nine-minute flow of semi-linking thoughts. So, on my morning walks, I would torture myself by listening to the tracks over and over again, tackling the film issues tangentially—almost like sneaking up on ideas quietly, so you don’t scare them away. I knew the film would not have the broader appeal of my other films, but I was compelled to make it anyway because I’m truly concerned about AI.

Music has always played a major role in your films, from the iconic song in The Cat Came Back to collaborating with Benoît Charest (The Triplets of Belleville) on Runaway, and now working with Martin Léon (Monsieur Lazhar) on the score for The Anta Claus of the South Pole. What role does music play in your animation universe and what’s it like working with such talented composers?

I know a bit about music, and I certainly know what I want, but it can be difficult to explain the nuances. For my early films (The Cat Came Back, Strange Invaders), I felt a bit shy expressing what I was after, and if I wanted some changes I felt like an idiot, daring to step in and opine on an art form that I had no real experience in.

The musical timing in and out of key moments, when they are scored right, is so satisfying. And all my composers have managed to do that. With The Cat Came Back, since it was structured as a song with chorus and verse, it was a much more straightforward process. I would animate to the music so that the music would hit at the exact point that was needed.  The Cat Came Back was the luckiest break in my nascent career.

I’ve been very lucky with my composer selections and collaborations. It’s always so satisfying when the music finally drops in. Martin Léon did an amazing job on The Anta Claus under a horrifically tight deadline. He was unbelievably patient and professional, in spite of all the last-moment adjustments forced upon him (by me!). I was super impressed!

Speaking of music, you’re something of a musician yourself. You play guitar and banjo, and you’ve even contributed performances to the soundtracks of films, such as The Cat Came Back and now The Anta Claus of the South Pole, including a memorable lonely elephant seal ballad. Can you tell us more about that experience?

I’m really not much of a musician. I’m a dilettante. Though, I would love to be a true musician. I admire musicians so much. I play some guitar, and I used to know how to play the banjo—clawhammer style, which was such a fun style to play. But my films and TV-commercial schedules eliminated any time to practice. But I plan to take up the banjo again, when all this typing is over!

You voiced the character of Elmondo in this film. What led you to take on this role and what drew you to this particular character?

Elmondo, the elephant seal, is the character I insisted on voicing myself because I knew how he needed to emote. There is a certain flow and intonation to his vocal dynamic that was baked into my brain.  I wanted him to be very mercurial. He had to have a very specific timing flow, between yelling and contemplative, with punctuated moments of asides and minor revelations. I love that weird flow. And I knew it would be hard to micro-direct an actor who has to remember the timing of all the little intonation shifts. Elmondo is my favourite character in this film. He’s big, he’s awkward, he’s mercurial and lonely. Who can’t relate to that? And he’s mine!

You work independently from your Winnipeg studio, but this time you directed an entire animation team based in Montreal. What was the experience like and how did it differ from your usual way of working?

I’m used to working completely alone in my home studio in Winnipeg and taking my time on each project. Working on a project this size, which is two-and-a-half times the length of my average short film, was incredibly daunting. Especially when I found out that the production schedule was approximately eight months. That really freaked me out. My short films took years to make. I knew I had a whole crew of animators backing me up, but that has its own set of concerns; I don’t like telling someone that their work needs to be re-done, if I have a specific visual in my head, with a certain idea of what the timing for an action should be. Although I have to say the animation team was amazing!

Working remotely generated a fair bit of stress. I normally just sit in my room, come up with an idea and then execute that idea—without having to talk to a single person.

I did animate certain shots that I knew would be tough to describe and might require too many iterations from the animator. But those were few and usually necessary because I had in mind very specific timing of action that I was precious about. Overall, the process worked surprisingly well, considering the crazy deadline.

This story has been in the back of your mind for many years. Tell us about the film’s premise and message.

This film has been on my mind since 2003, approximately. I loved holiday specials as a kid and always had the thought, in the back of my mind, of making a slightly off-kilter version of them. In fact, I was thinking in terms of a character who was a type of polar opposite of Santa. That thought triggered the idea of literal “polar opposites.” If there is a famous character at the North Pole, why isn’t there one at the South Pole? It just seemed so obvious that there should be equal representation at both poles—so I invented the character. It seemed logical that they should also be polar opposites in their character types. Happy and generous at the festive North Pole; and miserable, selfish and petulant at the South Pole. A perfect balance! The story writes itself!

And the story is about expectations versus reality. Sometimes that old low-rent reality is exactly what you wanted all along; you just didn’t know it until you were forced to see it in a new light. You don’t appreciate home until you come back home.

It feels like something of a full-circle moment for you. It was another Christmas film, A Charlie Brown Christmas, that first sparked your interest in animation, right?

I saw A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965, when I was nine years old. I loved the music. It was a jazz track by Vince Guaraldi. It was such a perfect pairing of jazz music and charmingly naïve animation. In fact, the animation was so naïve, I felt like even I could do it someday. And eight years later, I walked into Kenn Perkins Animation Studio in Winnipeg and was hired on the spot, even though I had zero training. Pure luck! $2.05 per hour. I didn’t care.

What is your personal connection to Christmas?

I’m fine with it. Since I’m not a kid anymore, it doesn’t have the same impact. I’m not religious at all. I just like the potential of what the holiday season can trigger in terms of human behaviour. The reaching for perfection but seeing how you react if you don’t quite achieve it. And perfection can be fleeting, and fickle. But in spite of that, I was a big fan of holiday movies like Elf, The Santa Clause and that old 1951classic A Christmas Carol, but especially A Christmas Story. That last film is probably my absolute favourite. It was so quirky and, like my holiday film, full of awkwardness, bad luck and small victories.

I think it’s my lack of religious conviction that triggered my desire to do a South Pole perspective on the festive season. And after all, I think my South Pole holiday special is actually more inclusive than your traditional North Pole versions.

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?!

You like to challenge yourself by exploring different animation and storytelling styles from one project to the next. What creative challenges or opportunities did The Anta Claus of the South Pole offer?

I do like changing styles of characters and filmmaking and tone, but especially the storytelling style. The Anta Claus offered up the biggest shift of all. I liked the idea of tackling a full traditional story with multiple characters who all have various goals and interact with each other with actual dialogue. With so many key characters, who I set up to have differing paths, if I adjusted a goal, it could (and usually did) have a knock-on effect that led to a lot of rewrites. But that’s just part of the process.

I do like the challenge of the chess-like process, even though it is very difficult. If I do it right, though, the final film will seem simple and hopefully satisfying.

So, I wanted this holiday film to be accessible for both kids and adults. Audiences can identify far more with a flawed but redeeming character like Anta Claus than with a perfect creature like Santa Claus. There’s no fun in the latter.

At its heart, Anta Claus is a story about celebrating the oddballs in our lives and embracing the imperfect, chaotic nature of the holidays. Why do you think it’s important for children, as well as older audiences, to hear this message?

Even kids know the world isn’t perfect, and I don’t see any merit in creating films that don’t tap into the raw reality of life—even in a semi-goofy cartoon. You need to see the characters scrape the bottom a bit, so that they have somewhere to rise up to.

To explore Cordell Barker’s impressive filmography and watch his acclaimed films, visit:
A Cat, a Strange Visitor, a Cow, a Frog and a Little Girl: The World of Cordell Barker