Director RUOLIN LI goes in-depth in this exclusive interview talking about making magic with the new DreamWorks Animation series ABOMINABLE AND THE INVISIBLE CITY.
With a strong background in animation and art, RUOLIN LI is a perfect choice as one of the directors involved with ABOMINABLE AND THE INVISIBLE. Having a keen eye and sensibility for character, culture, color, and emotion, Ruolin brings authenticity to the fore with her episodic direction.
SYNOPSIS: A comedy adventure series that continues the wild and wooly fun of DreamWorks Animation’s “Abominable”. Through Everest the yeti, Yi, Jin, and Peng know that there’s a whole magical world out there, and now it’s even closer than they think! When they discover that their surroundings are teeming with magical creatures in need of their help, the kids will set out on extraordinary and heartfelt adventures throughout their city and beyond.
An animated delight, ABOMINABLE AND THE INVISIBLE CITY is executive produced by Jim Schumann and Katherine Nolfi, with Tiffany Lo and Ethel Lung serving as writers and story editors. Over the course of the 10-episode series from DreamWorks Animation, several directors take the helm, among them RUOLIN LI, Jim Schumann, and Kevin Wotton. Voice actors include Chloe Bennet as “Yi”, Tenzing Trainor as “Jin”, Ethan Loh as “Peng”, Michelle Wong as “Mei”, Karen Huie as “Nai Nai”, Darin De Paul as “Everest”, Alan Cumming as “Burnish”.
Over the course of this 10-episode first season, we are reintroduced to our heroes Yi, Jin, Peng, and of course, Everest, while meeting new characters and different magical creatures in each episode, building story for a climactic two-part finale with episodes 9 and 10. ABOMINABLE AND THE INVISIBLE CITY boasts strong storylines, engaging characters, and wonderful cultural diversity, all brought together under the umbrella of beauteous animation, superb voice performances, and musical scoring by composer George Shaw. Tasked with some of the more important transformative episodes, Ruolin’s work is standout in episodes 2, 5, and 8 which build on her own work with storyboards in Episode 1.
An interesting conversation with RUOLIN LI as she discusses picking up the mantle of a franchise following a successful and beloved feature film, bringing her own Asian culture and perceptions to each episode, being authentic with cultural representations, finding emotional and character balance within each episode, and more.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 09/28/2022
Season 1 of ABOMINABLE AND THE INVISIBLE CITY is currently streaming on Peaock and Hulu.
