Interview with Alisdair Zhang

Synopsis: An abomination mimic creature enters the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood' and disguises itself as her, tricking the Big Bad Wolf into walking into a trap.

IAG: I love the concept of flipping an old fairy tale on its head and spinning it in a totally different direction. How did you come up with this idea? How did the project come about?

AZ: Fairy tales, with their deep roots in global culture, are universally beloved, making innovation within these stories not uncommon. My approach to animation often starts with a character or core concept, around which I then build the narrative. For example, in this work, I initially designed a mimic creature, a character that appears vulnerable but reveals terrifying power. I chose to place this character in the "Little Red Riding Hood" story, crafting a deceptive twist: the creature seems destined for harm, yet everything is meticulously planned by it.

IAG: I feel like you could make an entire series of short films on subverting fairy tales into horror stories. Have you thought about creating another film that takes this approach?

AZ: Fairy tales provide an obvious framework for the type of narrative deconstruction I am interested in. "Into The Reds Tale" is my first animation, and while it is still maturing, I plan to continue this series with short films. I aim to explore and deconstruct narratives deeply ingrained in public consciousness, not limited to fairy tales. Future works will be based on sound logic to create concise animations that blend adorable and horrifying elements effectively.

IAG: Let’s get into the technical side of the film. Pretend that you’re speaking to someone who is unfamiliar with modern animation methods. How did you create these images and animate them? What software did you use?

AZ: To someone unfamiliar with modern animation techniques, the process is a blend of art and technology, quite similar to traditional methods but executed digitally. I primarily use a digital drawing tablet, akin to traditional animators using paper. Each frame is drawn separately, whether digitally or on paper, building up to thousands of images that comprise the entire animation.

IAG: What are three films or filmmakers that have strongly influenced your work?

AZ: I respectfully decline to answer.