Animation Direction: Reflection on Three Projects at Dreamwall

2026 marked an important milestone in the structuring of Dreamwall's teams. For the first time in the studio's history, animation direction was handled internally and simultaneously across three distinct productions.

This shift toward animation direction was brought to life across a variety of formats and worlds: the feature film Ploey 2 - The Legend of the Winds assigned to Marie-Aline Fabry, The Smurfs - Adventures special episodes directed by Christopher Fargier, and the feature film Brave Heart Yakari supervised by Marie-Laure Guisset.

Through this joint interview, these three specialists break down the reality of their craft, the transition from shot-by-shot work to the overall vision, and the methodological requirements specific to 3D animation production.

1. The Transition to Animation Direction: How did the shift from Lead or Animator to Animation Director come about, and how does this role change your day-to-day work?

Marie-Aline Fabry: Having worked regularly with Dreamwall for ten years as an animator and then lead, the transition happened gradually. Having already managed teams, the step up in scale translated to a shot volume three times larger. Day-to-day work requires focusing on the overall intentions of the film and the artistic vision, while relying on supervision teams and leads to relay technical feedback. My background already included solid experience in bird animation, which made taking on the project easier.

Christopher Fargier: The main change lies in stepping back to see the bigger picture. As a lead, the emphasis is on execution and hands-on guidance at the shot level. In animation direction, time is mostly spent on briefings, approvals, liaising with the director, and organizing retakes. You produce less directly, but you ensure overall consistency: the pacing, acting, and character identity across the entire episode.

Marie-Laure Guisset: On a feature film or a series, the role remains centered on guiding teams to bring characters to life. The major difference lies in managing timing and the pipeline. On a feature like Yakari, prep work is long and resembles launching a massive ship. On a series, monitoring is done through weekly deliverables where responsiveness must be immediate.

2. Overcoming Apprehension and Finding Your Footing: What was the main challenge when taking on the role, and how did you approach it?

Marie-Aline Fabry: The most demanding aspect was managing a multi-studio setup. Six studios spread across Belgium, Iceland, the Czech Republic, and Poland were involved on Ploey 2. We had to establish clear foundations right from pre-production to coordinate all the remote artists.

Christopher Fargier: My main concern was the shift in mindset: owning artistic choices that impact the entire project. Prior knowledge of The Smurfs universe and the guidance provided by Marie-Laure Guisset at the start of production allowed me to set up a structured framework and place my trust in the team.

Marie-Laure Guisset: The challenge lies in reassuring supervisors and teams. When guiding Christopher on the special episodes, my role was to ensure artistic choices stayed consistent with the existing style guide, while giving him the freedom to establish his own methodologies.

3. Feedback and Team Management: How do you adjust your feedback and maintain artistic consistency when working alongside colleagues who were recently your peers?

Marie-Aline Fabry: Working with Czech and Polish studios, communication went through the animation supervisor and leads. My approach to feedback relies heavily on drawing and visual annotations. An explanatory sketch often proves far more precise than written notes to convey a movement's intent, regardless of the working language.

Christopher Fargier: Having been a lead and knowing my teammates was a real advantage. I was familiar with each animator's sensibilities. Approval shouldn't feel top-down: it's about steering individual skills to achieve overall harmony. Every retake request must remain balanced against production constraints.

Marie-Laure Guisset: Regardless of the project, animation needs to be guided by clear rules. I ask animators to avoid unjustified continuous motion. To project empathy, a character needs holds and pauses to think, allowing the audience to catch their gaze. These acting principles are what drive our retakes.

4. Remote Tracking and Multi-Studio Collaboration: What methods and tools did you rely on to manage geographically dispersed teams?

Marie-Aline Fabry: For Ploey 2, we set up an animation library, custom pickers, and conducted a thorough pre-production overhaul of the rigs. We held three weekly meetings: a sequence briefing with video references, a recorded review session to clarify retakes, and a technical sync. On-site visits to Prague with the directors also helped align the artistic vision.

Christopher Fargier: Coordination required constant tracking between Dreamwall and external partners like Nodilus for character rigs or Blue Spirit for layout, rendering, and compositing steps. Creating a shared animation library allowed us to establish clear benchmarks for locomotion mechanics and key poses.

Marie-Laure Guisset: On Yakari 2, teams were spread across Paris, Charleroi, Angoulême, and Réunion Island. The success of this setup relied on the rigor of the production managers, targeted visits to partner studios, and direct relay through local animation leads at each site.

5. A Typical Day for an Animation Director: How do you structure your time during production?

Marie-Aline Fabry: The daily routine revolves around reviewing shots submitted by the supervisor, drawing visual retakes for poses and animation, prepping briefing meetings, and following up on rig requests with technical teams.

Christopher Fargier: Days alternate between shot validation sessions, writing feedback, regular syncs with the director and Peyo, and technical coordination across the various production departments.

Marie-Laure Guisset: A typical day varies depending on the project phase. In pre-production, time is dedicated to rig testing, establishing the animation bible, and liaising with the director. During production, days are structured around analyzing shots at the blocking, spline, and polish stages.

6. Key Takeaways and Satisfaction: What is your proudest achievement on these respective projects?

Marie-Aline Fabry: My satisfaction comes from the fact that the animators found a supportive environment for their artistic expression while meeting the feature film's demands. Achieving fluid, consistent animation across the entire film—seamlessly transitioning from action-packed scenes to more subtle moments—was our goal, and we reached it.

Christopher Fargier: It's the overall quality of the collective work delivered across all the special episodes. The sequence bringing together Papa Smurfs, Homnibus, and the new team of wizards perfectly captures this balance: successfully introducing new characters with strong personalities while honoring the universe's legacy style guide.

Marie-Laure Guisset: My biggest satisfaction is having maintained high standards for characterization. Seeing how our animation choices allow the audience to truly empathize with the characters in Yakari 2 or The Smurfs confirms that our methodology is working.

Focus: Ploey 2 – Marie-Aline Fabry

1. The Sequel Challenge

You directed the animation on Ploey 2 without having worked on the first film. How did you make the style guide and character identities your own?

Marie-Aline Fabry: When I joined, very few compiled documents existed. Studying the first film and holding a work session with the directors helped identify which elements to keep and where to make improvements. I drafted a document establishing the expected visual standards, complete with specific examples. This animation bible served as a reference guide for all artists involved across the different studios.

2. The Mechanics of Flight

The heroes of Ploey 2 are birds. How did you prepare your teams to master the mechanics of flight?

Marie-Aline Fabry: The animation library included foundational movements: flying, takeoffs, landings, and gliding. We differentiated the flight mechanics of large-wingspan birds from those of smaller species. We also drew on the technical work of Brendan Body (lead animator on Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole), which breaks down the physics of flight applied to 3D animation.

3. Expressing Emotion Without Arms

Birds don't have upper limbs to express themselves. How did you adapt the acting?

Marie-Aline Fabry: The directors wanted the birds to adopt humanoid behavior once on the ground. As a result, knee articulation was inverted compared to real anatomy to match human physionomy. Wings act as arms, and feather tips were manipulated like fingers. Rigs featured a quick toggle between a "flight" mode and a "hand" mode.

4. Specific Constraints and a New Character

What other animation challenges did you encounter?

Marie-Aline Fabry: A bird's beak limits the clarity of lip sync and facial expressions. We had to constantly adjust camera angles to ensure performance intent remained clear.

Additionally, the film introduced a new character: Fluffy, a snake that behaves like a dog. I requested an animatable center of rotation from the rigging department to isolate upper body movements from the lower half. Its locomotion was built around bouncing principles to give it a playful feel.

Focus: The Smurfs (Special Episodes) – Christopher Fargier

1. TV Series vs. Special Episodes

These two special episodes adopt a longer format. How does this shift the approach to animation compared to the standard TV series?

Christopher Fargier: In a standard TV series, quotas demand high narrative efficiency. The special format allows for a broader timeframe. We had more room to build emotion, push the acting, and refine performance details. Action sequences also benefited from more breathing room in the pacing to enhance movement clarity.

2. Preserving the Smurf DNA and Technical Choices

How do you maintain Peyo’s style guide while introducing technical evolutions on these specials?

Christopher Fargier: Honoring the universe means mastering its rules: dynamic rhythm breaks, high energy, and sharp, graphic poses. At the suggestion of director Robert Briggs, we used the multi-exposure technique. Holding keyframes for two frames (akin to 2D or stop-motion) gave the project a distinctive visual texture. We switched back to a step-by-step, single-frame exposure during very rapid movements or shots requiring a high level of detail.

Focus: Yakari 2 & The Smurfs – Marie-Laure Guisset

1. The Art of Continuity on Yakari 2

How do you balance respecting a classic comic book while renewing the franchise for the big screen?

Marie-Laure Guisset: The visual continuity of the characters created by Derib is guaranteed by the style guide. The modernization came through the rendering: we moved from a cel-shaded 3D look on the first installment to a volumetric 3D render featuring advanced work on lighting and camera setup. For the animation, the focus was placed on characterization and finding expressive held poses close to the original comic book style.

2. Translating The Smurfs Comic Book into 3D

How do you adapt 2D drawing constraints to a 3D model without distorting the original work?

Marie-Laure Guisset: This work required close collaboration with director William Renaud and the Peyo estate. To capture a Smurf’s signature pose (bent knees, three-quarter head turn), we had to adapt and sometimes deform the 3D models so they looked right on camera, even if it meant breaking the rig's symmetry. We also incorporated 2D cartoon deformations (smears, multi-limbs) tailored to 3D space.

3. Precision to the Last Detail

What method is used to validate the anatomical or technical elements of the characters?

Marie-Laure Guisset: Design requires answering very specific questions. During development, we had to define the physical consistency of a Smurf and its hat to figure out how to animate them. We opted for a highly elastic material. This flexibility allowed us to push visual deformations during gags, fully approved by the rights holders.

4. The Smurfs Season 4

What is the main challenge when producing a fourth season?

Marie-Laure Guisset: The main challenge is avoiding routine. The tools, the team, and the pipeline are well-oiled. The goal is to maintain constant vigilance over animation quality, leveraging fresh story lines and direction to continually renew technical challenges.