B&A Choreography Tool

Befores & Afters take a deep dive into the animation behind The Little Mermaid’s fantastical ‘Under the Sea’ musical number. Revealing the innovations behind this scene is Animation Supervisor, Kayn Garcia who conducted several tests before the team came up with the final solution. Taking cues from choreography performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Group, Kayn and his team set out to make hundreds of sea creatures move with grace and purpose. But how do you make an octopus sashay or a jellyfish jive?

Looking at the choreography and the way these sea creatures move in their natural habitats, the animation team created very bespoke rigs that enabled realistic dancing. The harder task was getting all 600 sea creatures dancing and singing together.

“I’ve never dealt with anything this technically or creatively challenging before,” admits Garcia.

With the team relishing the challenge, created Framestore's in-house "Choreography Tool" to become the conductor, orchestrating the movements of hundreds of characters with balletic precision.