Fil-Am animator Mikee Sevilla on his second Disney project, 'Encanto'

LOS ANGELES — Filipino-American animator Mikee Sevilla is pinching himself.

After landing his first project with Disney with "Raya and the Last Dragon," the charming long-haired animator got involved this time with Disney's "Encanto."

Calling Manila his hometown, Mikee said that he has a special affinity for Disney films all his life and still cannot believe that he is working for his favorite studio which he joined in March 2020.

"I hoped that one day I would create art at the studio that has brought so much wonder and magic to people's lives, including my own," said Mikee, who has a bachelor's degree in animation but credits online mentorship as a big factor of his break into the industry.

"I applied through their website and when you apply at a company, you put together a portfolio for them. So, I've been working on a personal project that was inspired by Filipino culture and you could see it. I posted it online, but it's about the Bakunawa, (the moon eating dragon of Philippine mythology) which is like a sea serpent dragon. And the title was in Baybayin. It really caught their attention. So, I guess that was probably my ticket into Disney somehow."

Mikee said he was inspired by the works of the legendary animator Glen Keane.

"I just love how expressive his drawings are and his passion with storytelling and animation. So, I've learned so much from him. I met him once at another company, but it's incredible. He's just so kind and I I'm so excited that I was able to meet him in person," he said.

"Encanto," the story of a young Colombian girl, Mirabel, who has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers, features the voices of Stephanie Beatriz as Mirabel, John Leguizamo as Bruno, and Maria Cecilia Botero as Abuela Alma. The animated feature was co-directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith.

Mikee, who animated Mirabel and the whole family, said that he is now working on his next Disney project, but he cannot reveal it yet.

To those who want to follow Mikee's footsteps, he advises them to keep on learning and take advantage of the resources available for free online.

"Just keep hanging on and when it feels like a struggle when you feel like giving up that it won't matter," he said. "That that feeling of self-doubt, I feel like it's only temporary, but if you think about it long-term, I feel like it would be so worth it once you achieve your goal."

We were able to chat with Mikee again and below are excerpts of our conversation with him:

What did you work on in Encanto?

I worked on the whole family. There's a lot of characters, so we were given the chance to animate everyone. Well, at least for me, I got the chance to animate everybody. I feel like most of my work on Encanto consisted of Mirabel and Abuela.

What are the challenges of creating this family, characters?

I feel like the most challenging and the most fun part is each family member has their own personality and the challenge as an animator is trying to make every character for authentic and real and themselves. That was really fun.

What kind of research did you do? Most of the time they send animators to that country, like Colombia.

Well, luckily, we have Colombian cultural consultants on this film, so they were super helpful and informative and a great resource for Colombian culture. Things that are specific to that area or region.

Were you able to relate to the family in this movie, considering your roots in the Philippines?

Yes. I definitely was able to relate to Mirabel a lot. When I see her singing in pain and I just want to give her a big hug and I relate so much to how she feels and her longing to belong in her family. Definitely I can relate to Mirabel.

I know Colombia has their Encanto and the Philippines is very rich in Encantos, as well.

I guess that's a different Encanto, right?

Did you have any experiences in the Philippines like that? Encantos in the Philippines?

I personally, no. I just heard stories about mythical creatures. But I haven't experienced any myself.

If you had a superpower yourself, what kind of superpower would you like to have?

I would definitely choose shape shifting. I'm cheating there because if you wanted to fly, you could turn into a bird. If you wanted to be invisible, you could turn into like a really tiny animal. So, you're getting different powers with one power, if that makes sense.

You mentioned about the singing of Mirabel. How do you find the songs of Lin-Manuel Miranda?

Oh, they're so good. I've been singing all the songs in my shower for the past year. And I got the chance to animate on "Waiting on a Miracle." I heard Lin-Manuel Miranda's demo on that song, and I said, "I have to be on this sequence. This is such a great song." So, I'm very grateful that my supervisors at Disney, they gave me the opportunity to animate on that song, which was a dream come true since I've never animated on a Disney musical before. So, this is very exciting for me.

—MGP, GMA News