The new CG anime film Poupelle of Chimney Town, based on the children's book by Akihiro Nishino and animated by Studio 4C, tells the story of Lubicchi, a boy living in the smoke-filled steampunk Chimney Town whose late father Bruno told him stories about the stars and worlds beyond. Alongside the mysterious Garbage Man -- a man literally made out of garbage who comes to life one Halloween -- Lubicchi sets out on a journey to prove his father's stories were true and break Chimney Town free of its oppression.
Eleven Arts is releasing Poupelle of Chimney Town in around 500 American theaters this December for an Oscar-qualifying run. English dub voice actors Antonio Raul Corbo (Lubicchi) and Stephen Root (Bruno) talked to CBR about the film's emotional impact and their experience dubbing anime for the first time.
CBR: What drew you to this film and your characters?
Stephen Root: What drew me to the film was how gorgeous it was, how beautiful the animation was, how emotionally connected the characters were, and the script was good, which is a big thing for me anyway as I pick projects in my later years. If the script doesn't move you, there's no point in doing it, and this did [move me], very much so. And all the Japanese performances were amazing, so all that.
Antonio Raul Corbo: To go off that, the original version was also just very stunning, amazing, and the first time I actually got to see it, it was very emotional. I actually found myself not even reading the subtitles because I could just resonate with the emotion coming from it, and I think that was a very big part for me to really pick up on that because it's an amazing film. It's stunning, it's gorgeous, it's different, it's not like any other animation that you would see. There's a bunch of different side stories in it, a bunch of things that people didn't see that you have to go back in the movie and look at because there's a lot of secrets and Easter eggs in there. There's a lot of different aspects to it.
Did you record any scenes together or is this your first time meeting?
SR: We met at the premiere last night [October 24, at the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles], which was great. We got to see the film for the first time in English, which was great to see, so we got to see each other a little bit there, but no, we never got to work together in the same room, obviously, because of COVID...
Yeah, but I didn't know if you ever talked to each other on Zoom or anything.
SR: No, we hadn't.
ARC: We didn't.
SR: I did mine in a separate five-hour record and Antonio did his over a few weeks in different records, so basically we met by the editor.
Stephen, this is not the only anime you're acting in this year. You also have a role in the upcoming Blade Runner: Black Lotus. Can you tell us anything about your character in that?
SR: I don't think I can give out a lot of information about that other than the fact that I always loved that series, from the beginning movie on, and it's something that when I was offered a chance to just be a little part of it, I was thrilled to do it. I, like everybody else, am excited to see the final product.
Have you always been into anime or did these two projects just speak to you in particular?
SR: Like I say, anything I think is a good script which you're gonna learn something from... I think in this movie [Poupelle of Chimney Town], I learned to dub another language, which was a very difficult process because the lip flaps are different, the whole process was different than just the regular ADR that you would do for an [American] animation film. Plus, I got to do a narrator aspect in this film that was unusual for me, and to be able to sustain that was a learning process. It all comes down to 'is the project interesting?'. Do you have an emotional connection to it? And I did to both.
ARC: I definitely think that this project's really different from anything that I've done before. The writing's amazing, everything about it was awesome. I read the description of Lubicchi when I first got it, and it really resonated with me and I think will connect with a lot of people, which I loved about the character, and I still love. So it was very amazing to do, and the script called to me like it did to you, and just all the different aspects make it different from anything you guys will see.
What parts of the movie got you the most emotional?
SR: That's hard to say. I mean, there's a lot of emotion in this movie, but for me, all the father-son stuff was the most interesting and the most fun to do, because these two have such an emotional connection, and also, tangentially, with the Garbage Man being a part of the dad, all the father-son scenes I thought were very wonderful to be able to do.
ARC: That's actually what I was gonna say because my dad's not in my life sadly. [pause] He's not dead or anything! My mom and dad are separated, so that really connected to me a lot, and especially when I watched the finished product, I could see the connection between Lubicchi and Bruno and I loved it a lot, especially the scene after he got beat up, and the connection and bond with each other, and when you give me the bracelet is definitely a really big thing.
SR: Right, and the fact we made things together, we made that bracelet together, just being in that physical connection is great.
First he played Forky in Toy Story 4, now he's the Garbage Man. Is Tony Hale actually trash or is he just typecast?
SR: [laughs] He's a wonderful human being and the emotionality he brings to this role is just ridiculous. He's so, so understated and beautiful. I was fortunate enough to work with him on an episode of Veep and he's a truly great guy.
Poupelle of Chimney Town's story involves a group of people who think they can save the world by making money crappier and causing tons of pollution to protect said crappy money. Is this about NFTs?
SR: [laughs] If I knew anything about NFTs I could maybe tell you that. Digital money is strange to me, though I think it's something that's here to stay.
The environmental impact is pretty terrifying.
SR: Well, this movie has a very ecological theme; the pollution, like you said, the smoke, that's a big part of this movie. It's a big part of a lot of Japanese movies, I think that's endemic of that culture and I'm glad it's being brought out in this movie and other movies they do.
The film's first act feels very much like a video game, there's a mine cart sequence that's basically Donkey Kong Country. Do you think this story could work as a video game?
ARC: That would be awesome. I think there's a lot of different aspects that you could come from, I mean, you could do an RPG, you could definitely try to do it 2D Donkey Kong-style. I wouldn't know where they would go with that, because they haven't talked to me about that, but I think that would be a cool one. I'm glad you brought that up, that's actually the first time I heard of something thinking of a video game adaptation.
Not counting this movie or anything else you've acted in, what's your favorite Japanese anime?
SR: That's tough because I don't have a big working knowledge of it. I've always been interested in watching it, but I have to say I'm kind of... it's not something I have a lot of background in. I don't know whether you've seen a lot of anime stuff, have you, Antonio?
ARC: I have, actually, especially with a lot of my friends. That's how we bond -- we watch a lot of anime.
SR: That's fantastic.
ARC: Recently my friends and I have been watching Darling in the Franxx, because we just finished Death Note, but the first anime I ever watched was Naruto, obviously... I think my favorite one was Death Note because that's what brought all my friends together, and even during COVID, we watched it. We were all sitting at home on Zoom on our gaming chairs just watching and I think that really connected all of us and I really liked it a lot.
SR: Beautiful. Unfortunately, my generation had no sense of that. The first animation video type of thing was probably Pac-Man, you know? So it wasn't my youth, but I certainly love where it's going.
Poupelle of Chimney Town will be released in American theaters this December.
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