Conej Steps Out

Animation is the best job in the world, but why?

Maybe it's the graphic aspect? Perhaps because it is an emotional medium? Or maybe because of its surreal nature?

It is sad to say that to this day we are still trapped by the turn this art form took in the mid-20th century. Animation is nothing but a narrative medium. A mere imitator of live-action cinema. Animation is indeed a difficult power to control. It is pure magic. Unfortunately, no one believes in magic. Imitating live-action movies is like using magical powers to pull out the coin that was hidden under your nose.

Animation is not cinema. It's much more.

With this cartoon, our team of artists has tried to give us entertainment beyond the written word. I firmly believe that animation should be a roller coaster of surrealism. We have the power to exalt human emotions and experiences and reach unimaginable heights. the emotional is not always rational. Animation is like looking at a painting, a Fred Astaire dance, or listening to a nice melody: That is what we tried to do in our first cartoon with our old pal Conej

I wish we had been able to rescue, at least for seven minutes, a minimum percentage of what the true entrepreneurial spirit of the animator symbolizes, like the masters Winsor McCay. Walt Disney. Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett. Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Dave Fleischer, and Bill Melendez, to quote a few.

It is precisely in that search, in that desire, in that effort, in that rapport, in that creative process, it is in Leyre Zapata, Aitor Olano, Bruno Santoro, Jordi Arcusa, Garazi Navas, Rosa Romay, and Inigo López where the true meaning of animation really lies, and for which I can say that I have the best job in the world.

Thank you all very much and may it be the first of many animated adventures to come.

-PABLO RÍO, Animator and Director.

Official trailer for "Conej Steps Out" in Spanish with English subtitles in a 16mm print

Full 7 minute cartoon in Spanish with English subtitles in a 35mm print.

Title screen for "Conej Steps Out"

Taking inspiration from the classic cartoons from the Golden Age of Animation, the creative team behind "Conej Steps Out" did what they used to call back in the day "No-No session" to create the story. This session consisted of artists just drawing the craziest ideas they could come up with, which were later pasted into a board and nobody was allowed to say no to anything. Afterward, director Pablo Río would gather all the ideas and create a final draft of the story with all the material. 

Charlie Chaplin used to work this way. It's better to think up the gags first and then make them fit into a narrative than the other way around. Sometimes twisted and interesting combinations show up.

Cartoons are written with drawings, not with words. The artists were interested in bringing entertainment by making situations that could not be easily explained with words. 

Screencaps from "Conej Steps Out"

Pablo Río and Leyre Zapata animated the whole cartoon in 6 months. The cartoon was animated traditionally, avoiding any kind of cheatings like tweening. Every single frame had to be redrawn all over again every time. Even if things are barely moving redrawing gives it instant life.

Effects were later added in post-production, such as making the frames look as if they were inked in cels, and also make the film look as if it was recorded in a 35mm print.

All of the backgrounds in the cartoon were painted traditionally by Aitor Olano and Bruno Santoro using gouache and watercolor paints. It was important for the team to look for authenticity.

The story takes place in a Barnyard scenery, which somehow pays homage to the setting where many of the first classics of animation took place in the late 20s and early 30s. It's very simple staging and it helps the characters read perfectly just like Pat Sullivan's Felix the cat or Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse.

Music has harmony, melody, rhythm, structure, and texture. The same goes for animation.

In the old days, animation was approached musically. it had an internal rhythm in its choreography.

Cartoonists were in essence orchestrating animation much like a musician composing a piece of music, that's why the timing in the classic cartoons feels fun and fresh, the reason is purely musical.

Animation got divorced from music a long time ago, and now it works pretty much the same as a live-action picture, it's just there to illustrate emotions from the screen.

We wanted the music to be part of the world of Conej. not only that but also sometimes the gag itself. Music was also used to punctuate, make statements, emphasize story beats, and inspire whole different ways of approaching acting for the characters.

Jordi Arcusa is a super talented composer who made the whole score for "Conej Steps Out"

Here's an extract from the score of the final sequence of the cartoon where everyone goes mad and starts dancing like crazy.

Music was preliminarily worked through prescorings, then director Pablo Río would add new ideas directly influenced by the prescorings, which would come back to Jordi with more notes until the final composition was achieved. Sometimes gags came from the boards, and other times Jordi would add his own musical gags.

It's like a tennis match between musicians and animators, pretty back and forth until the desired product is polished.

The music was played by volunteers in a colaboration between DigiPen Institute of Technology Bilbao and Musikene Higher School of Music of the Basque Country with a musical production by Garazi Navas.

Everyone worked around the clock to get the musical style of the 1930s right . It was great for a big band to participate in our cartoon because we wanted the best quality for the music and the result was just delightful. We will be eternally grateful for the amount of passion and work these people put in the cartoon.

"Conej Steps out" is the first project within the universe of “Funnie Fantasies”, which had its official premiere in February of 2023. The cartoon has been nominated in several film festivals. It was awarded with a distinction at the Animfest in Athens.

It’s nominated to the Palm Springs Animation festival in California and Annecy 2023, the most important animation festival in the world.

The handmade look is something very important in ”Funnie Fantasies” and it has proven to be something that the audience values and appreciates. By working in this way, it gives identity and seal to the production.

The goal is to continue to produce cartoons in the long run, to expand the staff so that animation can be produced regularly in Spain, not to remain in something anecdotal and to set the foundations to create a stable industry in which artists can surprise audiences with explosive proposals.

Personality is the most important thing and it’s the hooking factor for the audience. We seek to do something lasting and timeless with animation in Spain. It is extremely important to create an iconic and recognizable cast of characters with whom the audience has a connection with and that connection lasts when it comes to producing more animation, in order to create a flow between audience and artists.

We still have a lot to learn from the masters, but if we keep working we could do something big. 

Animation is a collaborative process, that’s why we want to gather a new generation of artists willing to create a new Golden Age of Animation and take the artform to new heights. This new generation of artists should respect and study the classical techniques, never underestimating the power of a single frame, in order to make new things with the digital tools. We are looking for the Termite Terrace of the 21st Century.

This cartoon has been an incredible experience for us. We pushed ourselves beyond what we thought we could do, and we can’t wait to push ourselves even more and create more magic with the power of animation.

In "Funnie Fantasies" we strongly believe that if the animation doesn't blow the audience's mind, then there's no point to animate at all. Why animating something that can be recorded with a camera? We should embrace the unreal, the magic, the unknown; that's what animation is all about.

For further information you can contact us by e-mail or by our Instagrams. Thanks for the attention!

E-mail: [email protected]

Pablo Río (Animator and director)

Aitor Olano (Background artist)

Leyre Zapata (Animator)

Bruno Santoro (Background artist)