The film from Lux Animation is a striking blend of oil-paint-style visuals and ispired design, with notable attention to detail from multiple angles, where every movement seems to breathe life into even the smallest moments. Incorporating 3D animatios, this project is perhaps the most advanced of its kind, pi a unique fusion no other team has dared to attempt. At the helm is Anna Szymańska, a recipient of the Annie Award for Best Animation a Produ. She now serves as the lead producer for El Músico, a film she co-created with Guillermo Lorentz.

  So, what is El Músico? This creative iment was born from Guillermo’s idea and brought to life through Anna’s vision. It’s a film that delves intedy, drama, and romah touches of magical realism, starkly trasting to more lighthearted animated projects. Set during the era of the USSR, it follows a Yugosvian violinist named Edén who earns his living hiding from the Reds, witnessing the misery left by World War II. He brings joy to orphaned childreute elders, and the sick by pying his violin, a small gesture in a bleak world overshadowed by the KGB’s omnipresence.

  What makes it truly pelling? The violinist’s ability t happiness ahe Devil himself, who proposes a musical duel. If Edén wins, the Devil will grant him his deepest desire. But as clever as the Devil is, he has a trick up his sleeve, ensuring that even i, he stands to gain something.

  The battle will be decided by the public, as the two embark on a fierce musical war across Europe's great cities. They eventually arrive at a grand Austriaer, where Edén pys with his heart, drawing on memories of his youth and his itment to helping others. However, just before the final note is pyed, the KGB closes in on him—an underhanded move by the Devil, who knows he will lose the duel. Yet Edén, knowing this, asks a friend t the vote, ensuring the Devil’s defeat. His wish: is that the Devil ceases to corrupt the hearts of humanity and is bao the depths of the earth.

  Despite its unventional premise, the film is stunningly beautiful, with a deep aionally resonant narrative that stands apart from traditional animated films. It is, in every sense, an animated feature for adults. Billy Carson fully backed the project, famously deg, "If this doesn’t make mohat’s my problem—I just want you to create the art you believe in." His statemehe creators both fttered aermio craft somethiraordinary.

  -It’s truly remarkable—simply perfect, - remarked Jeffrey Katzenberg, as he toured Lux Animation’s bustling offices. Employees worked at diverse desks of various shapes and sizes, with soda maes and fy couches scattered throughout the studio. The third floor was filling up for the first time sis creation, and while it was still 300 employees shy of full capacity, the fourth floor was designated for produ and future animation teams. On the sed floor sat the broadcasting equipment, plete with a t metal antenna secured behind protective feng.

  -This is where we take everything to the level. For now, we’re focused on produg what Billy creates, which has been incredible so far, but the challenge is always to surpass what we’ve done before, - Anna expined.

  Katzenberg nodded, impressed by how swiftly they had reached this point, w if something simir could be applied at DreamWorks. However, it was challenging to lead such a dynamid fast-paced team with so many diverse projects.

  -It’s astounding how far you’ve e in such a short time, - Katzenberg ented, uain about how to proceed. While DreamWorks was w on its first film, The Prince of Egypt, and early in the process for Antz, nothing seemed as advanced as what Lux Animation was doing.

  -And here’s the final product, - Anna said, leading Katzenberg into a sing room. On the s, a soldier marched with a group of children, and even a few animals followed along. As the soldier sighem to stop, he smiled and pulled out a violin, pying a melody that transformed the 2D animation into a ic-book style. Flowers swayed, the children's faces lit up with joy, and even the vilins paused, questioning how something so beautiful could be wrong.

  -What do you think? - Anna asked.

  -It’s fantastic. The first fifteen minutes are wonderful. But how do you work so quickly? - Katzenberg inquired.

  -It’s simple—teology. We use a variety rams that help us bypass tedious steps. What traditional animators might aplish in a week, we do in a day, - Anna expiheir 2D drawing system included various software tools: the 2.0 version of Pixard Art, along with software from Pixar and ID Software that brought characters to life by trag patterns, and movements, and replig video footage.

  -RenderMan, Ring 2.0, FIVZ, Menv, Houdini—these Pixar tools save us a ton of time. Soon, we’ll have Massive, a character that animate ses using motion capture, - Anna tinued, further surprising Katzenberg.

  -So, Billy is lightyears ahead of the industry standard, - Katzenberg said, sweating at the thought of the cost savings. But rather than cutting expenses, Billy was using these advas to make more films iime.

  -More than that—Billy is buying the patents from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and Robert Abel and Associates. The goal is to develop RenderMan further with teiques like path trag, enhanced global illumination, and more effit rendering. We’re talking about advas of five to ten years. And with Houdini handling fluid simutions and procedural animation, we might be 15 years ahead in terms of teology. It's impossible to calcute exactly, but by the decade, we’ll be developing tools to make movies faster. Right now, we're only limited by processing power and digital memory, - Anna said, as she thoughtfully rested her on her hand.

  Katzenberg sighed heavily, wanting to shout the news from the rooftops. He bit his nails, knowing that in the years to e, no one would be able to pete with Billy Carson. Even those who tried would o purchase their products, expining why Lux Animation’s costs were so low. Iy, they weren’t low—Lux could just make a movie i months.

  -Is that why they need me?- he wondered.

  -Thank you for sharing all this. Everything looks magnifit. I believe it’s time for me to sit down with Billy and hash out the finer details. We o have a discussion as soon as possible, - Katzenberg said.

  -We’re looking forward to it. Just remember, Billy has a simple approach: 'Make a film for me, and I’ll let you make one for yourself—however you want—as long as you vince me.' It’s bold, risky, even a little crazy, but Billy bets oion, - Anna said, smiling.

  ...

  Jeffrey didn’t have to wait long. Billy was on the sed floor, rec voiceovers for the film, pying the part of the Devil. A 19-year-old newer, who had passed several rounds of auditions with an outstanding performance, was voig the protagonist. Though the cast wasn’t filled with household names, many animators were enced to take voice-ag csses at a local uy, where they could earween 1,000 and 15,000 per episode depending on the character and the number of lines.

  -So, what do you think? - Billy asked as he walked out of the rec studio.

  -It’s incredible. You have a serious edge over every produ team in the business. Your work will be the turning point in Ameri animation. That’s why it’s time we talk about how we work together,- Katzenberg said.

  -I agree. First, we o establish a tral studio: DreamWorks Studios. From there, we branto DreamWorks Music, DreamWorks Animation, DreamWames, and DreamWorks Inc. I’ll retain ownership of DreamWames, as I’m already formalizing that process. But my passion is animation, so I propose a 50/50 partnership. I’ll hahe teology and finang, and you mahe creative aspects. However, we o be mindful of the budget. For the five years, none of our films should exceed 45 million in produ costs, - Billy expined. He had already set aside a signifit iment for produ, but he imposed a rule: the producers o be more financially disciplined.

  ving high-profile actors to participate in voice work would be tricky, but Billy’s rationale was simple: even Disney doesn’t spend that mu voice talent. To keep things in the green and create more magical films, moderation was key, at least for the first few projects. Wheime was right, the big-budget blockbuster would e.

  -In one year, in 1997, we’ll start produ,- Katzenberg said. With the teology in their hands, budget straints would no longer be an issue.

  ...