Open the Portal’s David Braun and Aron Fromm talk about an almost fanatical attention to detail on their ‘Batman: The Animated Series’-inspired spot supporting today’s ‘Alien Elle’ episode of Adult Swim’s all-new anime series from visionary director Takashi Sano.
Open The Portal studio’s producer/creative director David Braun and producer/director Aron Fromm are two of the most clever, funny, and art-centric individuals one could ever have the pleasure of meeting. Their eclectic imaginations, which often run wild in everyday conversations – even in interviews – conjure up all sorts of obscure tales, such as Ian Cardoni neck tattoos, sad and abandoned merry-go-round horses, Mountain Dew Baja Blast bottles filled with Bacardi 151 (an outrage, to be sure) and most outlandish of all, an ergonomic chair shared between the two of them.
They are clowns… more aptly put, clown geniuses. And when Braun and Fromm, in all their insanity, pitched a Batman: The Animated Series-inspired Rick and Morty promo spot to accompany Rick and Morty: The Anime’s third episode release, Adult Swim gave them the greenlight, and possibly an enthusiastic Fallout Boy thumbs up.
The 10-episode anime series about the world of Rick and Morty, from visionary director Takashi Sano (Tower of God) and produced by Sola Entertainment, released on Adult Swim and Toonami earlier this month.
Featuring all the dark shadows and nostalgic grain of Bruce W. Timm’s 1992 Batman: The Animated Series, the spot showcases a buff Rick and agile Morty apprehending alien villains on the top of city skyscrapers. In case fans missed the bumper that aired on Adult Swim last night, promoting today’s Rick and Morty: The Anime “Alien Elle” episode debut, the spot, titled “Rick and Morty: The Animated Series” (named in homage to Timm's famed series) can be viewed right here:
AWN chatted with Fromm, known for his viral animated short Sessions With Stan (created using real audio he recorded during his time working with comic book icon Stan Lee), and Psycho Psalms’ Braun about the origins of Open The Portal, why they chose a Batman-inspired spot, how it speaks to a deteriorating industry standard, as well as Braun’s everlasting love of lightboxes.
Victoria Davis: This Batman: the Animated Series–inspired rendition of Rick and Morty - how long has it been in the works?
David Braun: We were at a screening of classic Fleischer cartoons in LA about a year ago and found ourselves seated right next to Paul Dini, one of our animation heroes from his work on Batman: The Animated Series.
Aron Fromm: Paul was nice enough to hang out and give us some words of encouragement, so when Adult Swim came to us for a new Rick and Morty promo, paying homage to Batman: TAS was top of mind. We kicked around ideas for a few weeks and then began full production a few months ago.
VD: How did Open the Portal get involved with Adult Swim on this project in the first place?
DB: We started working with Adult Swim on animated bumpers several years ago, and one of our favorite formats has been reimagining classic Adult Swim shows through the lens of other animation styles. Space Ghost in clay animation, Rick and Morty as a Czechoslovakian horror short, and then this - our favorite mashup yet!
AF: We have a new one coming out later this year for Smiling Friends that we aren’t able to talk about yet. Suffice it to say that it imagines Charlie and Pim in a style that goes back much further than Batman: The Animated Series.
VD: What made you decide on this animation style? Why an homage to Batman, outside of just your adoration for Paul? I’m guessing there’s more to the story there.
AF: Dave and I actually met because of another Batman: TAS - inspired 43 character short I directed called Ovarian Cyst!. If I had more time, I’d recite the whole thing from memory for you.
VD: We can take a raincheck on that one.
AF: Absolutely. But David and I both grew up on Batman: TAS and it’s probably one of the biggest influences on both of our work. Many a man has tried and failed to recapture the magic of the original series, and we love a challenge.
DB: I actually wrote a letter to the series’ director Bruce Timm and story editor Paul Dini when I was 10 years old, and Kids’ WB actually called my house back to tell me I had the incorrect address. I used the Batman sweepstakes address.
I’m still not over that.
But, anyway, ever since reading about the “Dark Deco” style in “TOON” magazine, I’ve always wanted to try it. Batman and Robin seemed like natural foils for Rick and Morty, so we pitched it as a bumper and were overjoyed when we heard it was greenlit.
VD: Tell me about the process of translating these modern Adult Swim characters into that classic “Dark Deco” style design? What was the translation and reconstruction process?
AF: The right character design is like hardcore pornography: I know it when I see it - and it ruined my marriage. You don’t want the characters looking too much like the Rick and Morty source material, but you also don’t want them to feel like you forced them too rigidly into the Batman: TAS design template and made them generic.
I happened across an artist online named Rick Celis, who has a mastery of the Bruce Timm design technique like no one I’ve ever seen. In that style, very small facial details make all the difference, and Rick always somehow seems to pull great character likenesses within the confines of that aesthetic. After we went back and forth on some initial concept passes, I brought on Alex Hernandez - easily the best character designer I’ve ever met - to refine the characters, do some additional ones, and get everything feeling consistent. We also had some invaluable help from the legendary Kev Craven, who’s an absolute master at figuring out what makes these styles tick.
It took some tinkering, but I think we really got some authentic-looking results.
VD: You mentioned “pencil tests” in your initial email to AWN. How did they play a role in production?
DB: That’s an antiquated term I was hanging on to from the days when I learned animating on a now very rusty lightbox. It’s the part of the process where you find the proper timing and spacing of your sequence in sketch form. Back in the day, it all happened with paper and pencils. These digital days, the proper term would be “roughs.” It’s the most important stage. Everything else can be fixed later, but the foundation of performance has to get nailed down here.
Aron has a punctilious obsession with getting the details of the motion and performance absolutely perfect during this part of the process, which is why the animation he directs stands head and shoulders above almost all the work you see emulating classic, traditional style today. We would be getting texts from him sending videos with microscopic changes at 2 a.m. on the regular during production on this spot. And the final results speak for themselves.
VD: Especially in today’s, as you said, digital age, with all the modern animation software out there, it’s not always easy being able to achieve the same look and feel an animation had decades ago. How were you able to achieve the same dark and grainy quality with today’s technology?
AF: It’s not just nostalgia. Animation really was better in the ’90s. I imagine the bar to entry was much higher, skill-wise. There’s a common misconception that modern animation looks as bad as it does because of lower budgets or computers replacing paper, but the truth is much more sinister: It’s just incompetence at every level. It wouldn’t cost a dime more to make today’s cartoons feel less stiff and sterile - but current animation productions are so decentralized and bureaucratized that, creatively, they ultimately belong to no one. That’s why the reboots end up looking like botched taxidermy of a once beloved family pet.
DB: You’ve probably seen the meme that compares the shot of Marge’s swooping hair from the original opening of The Simpsons with the version reanimated for HD in 2009.
Open The Portal started out as a stop-motion studio, but once we started incorporating traditional 2D animation we knew we always wanted to aim for the good stuff, and meeting Aron unlocked a whole new world of possibilities - he hand-selects each artist that joins the team.
VD: What would you say were the biggest challenges in animation production? How did you overcome the hurdles?
AF: Keeping your characters feeling consistent and the animation feeling organic is always difficult, but luckily, we had a real dream team on this one with Pablo Navarro at the helm supervising. Getting the matte painting shot to feel right was also difficult. Luckily the brilliant Josh Shaffner stepped in and worked his magic on that.
VD: What was the most rewarding part about working on this bumper?
AF: There is no greater feeling in this earthly realm than assembling a team of your close friends, who also happen to be some of the most talented artists in the world, to pay respect to your favorite Saturday morning cartoon. Doesn’t get much better than that.
DB: Getting to see new work coming in from all these animation assassins on a daily basis was an incredible treat.
VD: What are you most looking forward to with the bumper’s release?
DB: We’re hoping to come full circle from the spark that started the idea and show the final product to Paul Dini. Shoutout to our good friend Mauricio Alvarado for making the introduction and leading the charge of preserving classic animation!
AF: I’m excited for the jealousy and pain of anyone who’s ever wronged me at the sight of my success.
VD: Both truly noble hopes, indeed. Will this bumper be the official announcement of an upcoming series? When might we expect to hear more?
AF: Unfortunately, this is just a one-off… for now. I can imagine an elaborate and gothic trailer for a spin-off series for Rick and Morty fully done in this style, focusing on the obscure character of “Pencilvester.” This is definitely something that could exist for at least 40 episodes. But you didn’t hear it from me.
DB: For anyone involved at the decision-making level on Rick and Morty or in the world of upcoming animated Batman projects, call us. Let’s make it happen!
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
