'Puss In Boots: The Last Wish' co-director Januel Mercado on working on his first feature film

As a kid, Januel Mercado already loved to draw with his crayons from Batman to Superman, to Ninja Turtles.

"I even got into trouble when I drew the Batman logo on my desk and the teacher was asking who drew it. Although I kept quiet, it was very obvious that it was me since I was also wearing a Batman t-shirt," the 38-year-old Mercado recalled laughing when we interviewed him by Zoom.

Now, Mercado, a graduate of San Jose State University where he studied animation and illustration, is the co-director of "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish," his first animated feature film at DreamWorks.

Born and raised in Stockton, California, Mercado, who started as a storyboard artist, rose from the ranks and has worked in such films as "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011), "Penguins of Madagascar" (2014), "The Lego Ninjago Movie" (2017), and "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" (2019).

Photo courtesy of Janet Susan R. Nepales

Mercado described his friendship with "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish" co-director Joel Crawford, who happens to be married to a Filipina.

He said they have been friends since he started at DreamWorks in 2008 in story training.

"He's one of the first friends that I met and the first movie I went on to was 'Kung Fu Panda 2' and he became my office mate. We were like roommates and we became closer friends," he said. "We just have similar sensibilities and a good dynamic. We trust each other and we're always riffing on each other. Even when we have on different shows, we always rely on each other to help us out."

"So fast forward later in our careers, Joel had this opportunity to direct his first feature 'The Croods: A New Age' and he brought me on as the Head of Story for that. After that experience, we were lucky to be given the opportunity for 'Puss In Boots: The Last Wish' and that's when he asked me to be his co-director."

Asked how the experience was as a co-director, Mercado replied, "This directing experience was amazing. The hardest thing I've ever done but by far the most rewarding."

For him the most challenging part in doing this film was having a lot of materials. "We're limited with our running time, right? So I think the hardest part was trying to cut it down to that reasonable time. For a family movie, it should not balloon into a three-hour movie. There's no way that the budget can allow that.

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks

"So, that was a big challenge—cutting everything to a reasonable time and sometimes that means you have to lose some jokes. Some funny stuff that may ruin the pacing or really affects the overall big picture experience watching the movie."

Another challenge was working on the film during the pandemic. Mercado said, "As you can imagine it is very challenging working from home as all of us have adapted in the last few years of technology being a big thing, even though our amazing, IT department really set up the infrastructure for everyone to work at home. Still, you have to deal with buffering lags, freezing choppy stuff. So that was the tough part."

"It was cool to be able to move the needle forward still with these circumstances. But very hard to expect something as smooth as you're used to working in the office. Also, Joel and I are really big people persons. We get a lot of our energy and inspiration from being around people in the office. That affects our creativity," he added.

The movie, which has voice actors Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots), Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws), Olivia Colman (Mama Bear), Florence Pugh (Goldilocks) among others, tells about the journey of Puss in Boots as he sets to find the mystical last wish and restore the eight of his nine lives that he lost while escaping his new enemies.

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks

A very emotional film especially when you see Puss in Boots giving up on his adventurous life and living a sedated lap cat life.

"It is easy for Joe and me to be funny because of our personalities. We're silly and goofy and joke around a lot. That is our go-to skill set that we're very natural at. So, we always want to push the drama and emotion and explore that full range of storytelling where you get a really emotional roller coaster of an experience. And for us movie lovers and who are so passionate about films, the best films, not only make you laugh, but of course the heart of the story is what engages you and sustains you."

Born to Filipino parents—his mom is from Santa Cruz, Zambales and his dad is from Manila—Mercado said that he is lucky that his parents have supported his creative dreams ever since he displayed his passion for doing comic arts in grade school.

"They saw early on when I was a kid that I just loved to draw, and they recognized that talent right away. And they nurtured it," he said.

He added that being a Filipino is a huge part of his personality. "My love and care and my Filipino culture is very universal as well. It's just like the connection and the closeness that you have with your family. And it's often that the people who you're closest to are the ones, that you buttheads and bicker with the most because you have that trust and you have that relationship and I'm very proud to say that, that's that specific experience. And the way I live is tied to the emotion of the film and the character dynamics."

If he was given a chance to direct something about his Filipino culture and heritage, what would it be? 

"That's an excellent question," he said. "I would love to tell a story that is based on my experience growing up or based on my family or loved ones—the big family reunions with dancing, karaoke, and lots of food. Aspects of the culture is very easy for me to get excited and build the story around."

—MGP, GMA Integrated News