The Disney Movie That Reminds Tony Hale Of Poupelle Of Chimney Town - Exclusive
At this point, there are certain animation houses that are easily the most influential. Between Looney Tunes and the DC Comics cartoons, Warner Bros. has held court for many decades as one of the most important studios of all time. More recently, studios like Dreamworks and Illumination have also pulled focus with franchises like "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Despicable Me" respectively.
The biggest animation house in the world remains Walt Disney Studios. From "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to "Encanto," Disney has handily crafted the most beloved animated films for nearly a century. When a new animated film from a different studio comes out, it's only natural to see comparisons with Disney properties.
The latest film from Japanese animation house Studio 4°C, "Poupelle of Chimney Town," weaves the story of a young boy and his best friend Poupelle (a man made of trash) as they try to pull their town out of darkness. Looper sat down with the film's star, Tony Hale, who had a very specific Disney movie he thinks is similar to "Poupelle of Chimney Town."
This isn't the first time Tony Hale played literal trash
In "Poupelle of Chimney Town," Tony Hale plays a mysterious character who seems to be sentient garbage formed around a kind of metallic heart. While Poupelle is largely reviled by most of the people in Chimney Town, he is very much beloved by a young boy named Lubicchi (Antonio Raul Corbo), who's been leading a solitary life after his father disappeared.
What's interesting about Tony Hale playing a man made out of trash is that this isn't technically the first time he's done that. In the fourth entry of Pixar's "Toy Story" franchise, Hale plays a character named Forky, who, as you might've guessed, is a plastic fork that becomes a toy.
"Well, it actually hit me this morning that I played Forky [in "Toy Story 4"], who loved trash, and then there's this character who's made of trash," says Hale. "So I don't know what that's saying about my inner self, but he was just ... Wasn't understood at first, and just had a real tender, hopeful heart to him. I think we can all resonate with just kind of feeling misunderstood, and somebody, this little boy, finally seeing Poupelle and who he was and that trust. And then it just really takes that one person to kind of continue on."
"Poupelle of Chimney Town" is now playing in theaters.