SINGAPORE: Ever wondered what’s it like working on some of Disney’s big animation movies such as Zootopia, Big Hero 6 and Frozen? One Singaporean can shed some light on the matter – literally.
For the past four years, Roger Lee has been living in Burbank, California, where he works as a lighting artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. It’s a dream job for the 38-year-old Singaporean, whose efforts can be seen in Moana, Disney’s latest production.
(Photo: Walt Disney Animation Studios)
The animated movie revolves around Moana, a teenage daughter of a chief who sets sail to an island to save her family with the help from a demigod. Based on the island cultures of the Pacific, its voice cast includes young American singer-actress Auli’i Cravalho in the titular role, Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) as her companion Maui, and Nicole Scherzinger as her mother. It also features the songs of composer-of-the-moment Lin-Manuel Miranda, who did the hit Broadway musical Hamilton.
But Lee’s role in this epic maritime adventure takes place behind the spotlight, as part of the team that makes sure everything looks seamless, lighting-wise.
“It’s a group of probably 50 to 60 of us and one of our main roles is to make sure it looks like (the movie) was lit by one person. So if you can tell that (one scene) is done by me, then it means I did a really bad job!” joked Lee, who was recently back in Singapore to promote Moana.
It’s been quite the journey for the Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate, who started off working in a post-production house before working for a year at Disney TV in Singapore, a decade ago.
“That was when Chicken Little came out. And I remember, I told my wife – who was my girlfriend back then – that Disney was going into 3D and it could be a chance for me,” he recalled.
“I remember very vividly telling her, maybe if I try and work hard, I may end up working for Disney Animation. But I knew that if I continued working for Disney TV, I wasn’t going to get a portfolio to go into the movie industry.”
(Photo: Walt Disney Animation Studios)
His game plan? He joined Lucasfilm in Singapore, where he worked on the first two seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and then Rango, which won an Oscar in 2012.
It was the perfect film to add to his CV and after finding out there was a vacancy at Disney Animation, he applied. “Within a week, I got a reply. So I had the interview—and a few hours later, I got an email telling me I got the job,” he said.
Lee added: “Before I applied, I had friends from Canada and even from the US telling me to not even bother trying (because) it was impossible. I think we are used to getting this negative feedback and don’t even bother to try. In fact, if your work is good enough, you’re going to get in.
“I’m really impressed with the studio culture (at Disney). They really respect the artist regardless of where you’re from, and give you all the credit for the work you’ve done.”
After moving to Burbank with his wife and triplets, he also realised that being part of the Disney family was really fun, too.
“Yeah, we have ping pong tables. And when Wreck-It-Ralph first came out, we had that video game in the studio. There’s also a Disney store at Disney – and I’m always there buying stuff,” he laughed.
Moana animation artist Roger Lee from Singapore (right), with producer Osnat Shurer and actress Auli’I Cravalho, who voices the character of Moana. (Photo: Yasin Rahim)
But ultimately, one of the coolest things about working at Disney has been the fact that he can bring his kids to work.
“There are always company screenings, where we can bring the family. So my kids literally grew up at the studio – they had just barely turned one when I brought them over from Singapore. So from then, they’ve been running around in the studio all the time.”
In the eyes of his three five-year-old children, that probably makes him a very cool dad, right?
“I think I’m pretty cool – I hope they think the same,” he laughed. “I hope my kids are proud of what I’m doing. Because I’m proud of it myself.”
