Follow Max & Maxine's Journey into Imagination in Wholesome Animation

In this film for a prescription cancer treatment, Hornet director Peter Sluszka conveys a soul-stirring story about a grandfather and granddaughter and the power of imagination.

Following the surreal adventures of Max and Maxine - two characters who fly airplanes together, construct the world’s tallest building, and sneak into a Ladies-Only Dollhouse Opera - we’re thrust into a dreamscape world bursting with imaginative life.

The message is that imagination can be a supremely motivational life force. Especially in the face of terminal illness, it’s possible - critical really - to possess childlike wonder and a deep drive to savour the little things.

And this message is brought to life through an incredible array of artistic techniques. As Pete says: “In terms of the scope and variety of arts and crafts techniques, this project had everything and the kitchen sink.”

Pete and his team - a small but diverse crew of about a dozen artists - went all in with in-camera techniques and handcrafted stop motion. "The handcrafted aspect was always front and centre," says Pete. "All of the characters' clothes, for instance, were custom-made, nothing store-bought, all crafted. This design decision drove the look overall."

As a result, the breadth of talent and personnel just to bring one character to life required not just painstaking legwork, but an eclectic combination of talents and techniques:

• Traditional sculptors needed to mould the body features

• Seamstresses were brought in to sew miniature custom clothes

• 3D modelers created about 45 different facial increments

• Painters then very precisely painted each of these 3D-printed faces accordingly


All of this just for the characters - nevermind the various other interdisciplinary aspects of the film, like a rigging team to create a system of cameras to move the water (which was made of fabric), or the 2D paper craft kite flying section, or the trained weaver to intricately construct the Opera House scene using all natural products.

When you consider how relatively tight the budget was for this project, the resourcefulness exhibited by Peter and his team becomes all that bit more noteworthy and impressive. The creative direction couldn't afford to be anything but highly considered at every step along the way.

The whole process, as you can see in the Making Of film, is thus meticulously deliberate. Every little detail, intricately intentional. And the result is completely enthralling.

In Pete’s words: “It’s rare you get a story with such a personal bond between two characters while being able to jump between so many mediums. Visually, it’s very rich. The whole project was both challenging and incredibly rewarding.”