Who is Sandro????
We in the Animation industry do not ask that question anymore because we all know who he is. He so well known that when I say I know him people's eyes open wide and they ask "no way!!!". But he was actually the one who taught me how to animate.
Say WHAT??? But you have been in the animation industry for 34 years!! That's right. He has been doing this for over 35 years and I still remember the first day we met at a animation studio agency back in Brazil. They did a lot of commercials and Sandro use to sit in the back of the studio above a garage where they set up a small space for him and potentially a 2 or 3 more people. He was over there by himself, we were introduced and he gave me a scene he has worked on to train me as an inbetweener. It was a struggle at first but he taught me more and more and eventually I start to animate little things here and there.
A couple of years went by and we became really good friends. I use to go to his house, he use to go to mine and the next 3 years were great. We even started to work on our own little movie but something else came up that changed our lives.
At the end of 1989, being a huge fan of Don Bluth, he asked me if I wanted to go with him to Dublin, Ireland where the studio was set up. At first I said no because the thought of leaving my family behind was absurd but after a couple of months I said yes and on May 25th of 1990 and with couple of a thousand dollars in our pockets, we left to a strange and foreign country, barely (and I mean barely) speaking the language and trying to find our place in the world.
There is a lot to the story but so I don't make this too long (and boring), he became a household name in the animation industry, working for Disney for years and after that in many other big hit movies like Klaus, Missing Link, Angry Birds, Kung Fu Panda, Enchanted and many others, including Mary Poppins Returns where he won an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for character Animation in a live Action Production.... (well...DUH!) He also is a fantastic character designer and his work is all over the place including 5... no... 7...wait....maybe 10 books? I don't know...I lost count. But every single one is worth it.
But most of all of this, despite all his accomplishments and awards, he is my friend that took a chance on me and help me become a good animator and a good designer and a good person. Last year we celebrated 30 years since we left Brazil to pursue our dreams and I can say it worked out well. We haven't seen each other in years but he has always been there for me, even on my hardest times, and no matter how successful one is, that friendship is an award on itself.
The stories are so amazing, he even ended up marrying my best friend from childhood... but that is a story for another time. Maybe I should write a book about it one day. It would be called " Animating a Friendship" ;)
Cheers
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