If you haven’t yet seen “Flow,” Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis‘ wordless, instant-classic animated film about a group of animals dealing with a world-changing flood, you haven’t seen the best animated film of the year — and one of the best movies of 2024, full-stop. This is a movie that transcends all language and cultural barriers in a uniquely universal way.
And now, in an exclusive video from distributors Sideshow and Janus available only on IndieWire, Zilbalodis talks through his vision and how it came to be, from the lush CGI virtual environments he created on his computer-created film sets to his “casting” process for the animals. Watch the video above.
“I just create these sets in 3D and take a virtual camera,” Zilbalodis said. “And almost like a live-action location scout, I discover ideas and I can place the camera while still adjusting the set. I do that instead of drawing storyboards. CG animation gives me very complicated camera moves that would be impossible to do in live action.”
“Flow” centers on an adorable black cat, whose movements are stunningly naturalistic. He also meets a capybara, a lemur, a secretarybird, and several dogs, who all have to learn to live together in a small boat that’s like a mini ark for them after a great flood alters their world.
“It was almost like a casting process,” Zilbalodis said of choosing what animals to include. “Where I was looking at different animals and considering how they might interact. It was important that they are both distinct visually and in terms of their voices. But I wanted none of them to be antagonists. I wanted them to be relatable. The characters were chosen thinking about the theme, which is looking for a group where you belong.
“We used real animal voices. It’s not humans mimicking animals,” the filmmaker said. “The only animal where we did take some artistic liberties is the capybara, because the voice was so high-pitched and unpleasant and this character is very calm and peaceful. We needed something deeper, so the capybara’s voice is a baby camel.” Read Sarah Shachat’s interview with Zilbalodis and sound designer Gurwal Coïc-Gallas to learn more about the movie’s unique aural textures.
Watching the cat in particular, animation aficionados will be reminded of the close study Disney’s animators gave to real animals and their movements when they animated the cute critters of “Pinocchio” and “Bambi.” The cat’s slinky-like stretches call to mind the cat Figaro from “Pinocchio,” in particular, which was a high point of animating an animal in an expressive way, but still letting him be an animal and not overly assigning him human characteristics. (Figaro alone is part of the reason IndieWire chose “Pinocchio” as the greatest Disney Animated Movie of all time.)
Zilbalodis doesn’t invoke Disney in the video, but his animators clearly used a similar process. “All credit goes to our animators,” he said of the animals’ realistic movements. “Our approach I’d say is naturalism rather than realism. So we are studying real life. Everything is animated by hand from these artists who studied these animals and interpreted their movement.”
“Flow” is now playing in theaters nationwide.
