A day after the all-new Pokémon Concierge stop-motion animation series premiered on Netflix, the streaming service released a behind-the-scenes video on its official YouTube account, offering fans a glimpse of how they brought the whimsical world and its inhabitants to life.
The series sets scenes on a tropical island following Haru, the lead character, on her day-to-day as she works as a concierge for the Pokémon Resort. “When it came to the resort, we designed it to look like a fun place,” said Tadahiro Uesugi, who’s responsible for concept art and character design for the series. In the video, Uesugi notes that the team wanted to craft an appealing and relaxing world for Pokémon, and since it’s an island, the key is to “construct the facility in a fun way. “ Various Pokémon motifs are incorporated into the set and props designs, from the Mudkip-patterned curtains, Pokéball-shaped kettle, Horsea watering can, Bellsprout table lamp to the Gorebyss-shaped pillow in Haru’s room.
To get a scene where a Pokémon walks down a road, director Iku Ogawa explained during Netflix’s APAC Winter Showcase that about 4-5 seconds of footage are completed on an average workday and that that duration is wholly dependent on the complexity of the scene, and the characters’ movements. In this regard, Shuhei Harada, the show’s puppet manager explains that “Stop-motion animation is a form that considers a puppet’s movements and they operate in a setting. There are different shapes, different sizes, and different materials used. We kept that in mind as diligently examined each Pokémon. That was the most difficult part but also well worth doing.“
Director Iku Ogawa raised an example in the video, noting that “Psyduck’s body has a very simple form. It has very short legs, and its arms don’t reach its belly. Its range of movements is limited, so when it walks or runs, we wanted it to look a little dopey. We deliberately added a few pointless movements.”
Watch the making-of video above. Pokémon Concierge is now available to stream on Netflix.
