Behind-the-Scenes of College Humor’s “Paperman Threesome”
Earlier this month, College Humor took on the toothsome irrepressibility of Disney’s Oscar-winning short film, Paperman, with its original parody, Paperman Threesome.
Picking up where the original short left off, the urbane meet-cute of two young sweethearts brought together by a torrent of sentient paper products continues through their first date, first kiss and into the bedroom where the loose leaf matchmaker reveals ulterior motives. “Originally, the character of Paper was even more aggressive and unlikeable,” College Humor’s President of Original Content, Sam Reich told Cartoon Brew. “Paper isn’t a jerk; he just finds himself in the middle of a misunderstanding, and has to cope with his disappointment.”
Even those who turned their nose up at the cynical addendum could not help but be impressed by the level of accuracy in the aping of the source material’s groundbreaking, much debated faux hand-drawn style. This new short, produced by the Australian animation house, Studio JoHo and directed by Joe Brumm, achieved the original film’s look using Celaction, a versatile and intuitive 2D-rigged animation program that is rising in popularity in the U.K. and Australia. “They’re fans of the original piece,” says Reich “and were excited to create something that looked authentic.”
Among the factors that makes Paperman Threesome such a successful parody, Reich cites CH’s streamlined animation process that allowed them to make its timely deadline, the mutual trust between them and the animation studio, and of course, their choice to focus less on physical action and more on expressive performances. “Nothing really happens in our piece, apart from a conversation,” Reich said.
