'One Small Step' pursuits a big dream

World
Europe

‍

Come Sunday evening in Hollywood, a group of animators with strong ties to China will be holding their collective breath when the Oscar for Best Animated Short is announced. Taiko Studios started up only two years ago with its initial funding from the city of Wuhan, China, which is why it's even more incredible that the studio's inaugural project may take home an Academy Award.

Animated short “One Small Step” is a story about following your dreams and those who support those dreams, no matter how big.

And now dreams are coming true for the film's creators at Taiko Studios in Burbank, California. Taiko founder and CEO Shaofu Zhang produced and co-wrote the 8-minute film.

"I didn't imagine that we would get to this level so quickly," says Zhang, "especially because this is our first project and this is right out of the gate."

The project was executed in 13 months by less than 30 people in Burbank and Wuhan on a very modest budget--all the more reason why the Oscar nomination is that much sweeter.

Co-director and art director of “One Small Step” Bobby Pontillas anxiously watched the moment the early morning nominations were announced.

Pontillas recalls, "When they said 'One Small Step,' I just screamed at the top of my lungs, and I just jumped onto the floor. And then I just started crying."

02:51

He then called Zhang. "I got a call from Bobby because he couldn't sleep the whole night and then he called me, and he was just yelling. I just remember hearing 'we did it, we did it, we did it, we did it,' over and over again."

And they did it by bringing Luna, the little Chinese-American girl who dreamed of being an astronaut, to life.

"We had a casting call," says Zhang playfully. "So these are the ladies that showed up, and finally we went with this kind of design."

The final version of Luna is a bright-eyed, confident young woman.

As for Papa Chiu, Luna's hardworking father, he had to be just right to embody the humility and warmth of a loving single parent.

Zhang says, "We ultimately went with something a little bit more humble, the final character that you see. Just so supportive of Luna and he's just this humble cobbler, it's the classic immigrant story."

And a story that has resonated across all physical and emotional boundaries and for that alone, Zhang and his entire team in Burbank and Wuhan feel like they've already won.

"Really, I feel like whether we win or not, it's not that important because I feel like just getting the nomination is just beyond any of my wildest dreams already. Like they say you shot for the stars, and land on the moon and it's still amazing right?"