Find Your Authentic Self Through Comedy and Animation With 'Unicorn Boy'

No Film School: How long did it take you to finish Unicorn Boy and what was the creative process writing it?

Matty Kiel: The whole process took around eight years from the initial creative idea to the release, and the animation itself took around four years.

It started as a live action/animated music video idea, that morphed into a live action/animated short film, then I was like, well, I’m working towards a feature film, might as well just make the feature film. So I built up the ideas and themes I wanted to write about for a few years before I started to write the script.

NFS: Were there any challenges writing and creating something so autobiographical and personal?

Kiel: When I make something as painfully honest as possible it just feels right. In many ways it’s easier for me to write something very personal than to actually confront, understand and act on those emotions in my real life. But I’ve gotten much better at it over the years, and the process of making this movie has helped a lot with that.

NFS: Talk me through your animation workflow! It's so creative and cool and I'm curious how it gets from your brain to the final cut.

Kiel: Thanks!! It was a "get it done however is most quick and efficient while making it as polished and close to the intention as possible" process. But I also wanted to have fun and experiment, that and getting out the weird feelings is largely what makes me inspired to animate.

My producing partner Neil Garguilo and I made up a spreadsheet with all of the shots we needed and I marked them off as I went along. I really just jumped around to what I felt inspired to animate at any given time, and also based on what we had written because the script was constantly evolving as well. There were a lot of shots where I started to animate something that I felt like animating, and we found a place for it in the story later on.

NFS: What was your process like casting for the voice cast?

Kiel: It was a real combination of casting with Neil and my very talented and funny friends mixed with the amazing actors who we asked. And Neil is amazing at bringing people together, he really gives his all to every project he is a part of, and is so supportive—he wants his friends to succeed.

Unicorn Boy, and most of the projects I’ve been a part of, are very independent and community driven so it's basically a necessity to have a circle of people to work with that same mentality. I’m so happy with all of the VO too—I had to listen to it over and over for many years and was very happy to do so.

For instance, for the main unicorn Prince Purpleton’s voice, we initially envisioned a classic cute unicorn voice. But Sarah Natochenny—who played the part, the amazing talent that she is—ended up doing this voice which was so unexpected for a unicorn to sound like. It fits the character so perfectly.

NFS: What are some of the creative challenges balancing heart and absurdist comedy in the animation space?

Kiel: I think they are very close, if not the same thing.

Absurdist comedy to me is a reflection of my discomfort with society and reality, so animating and acting absurdly is a way for me to outwardly show how I feel. It’s very cathartic, like massaging a sore muscle almost.

A lot of my earlier animation, and still a lot of it now, was very confusing to me and I didn’t know what it meant or how to tell narratives with it. And the heart moments feel very similar, so it’s fun and natural to blend the two.

NFS: Any other particular challenges unique to this project we didn't touch on?

Kiel: Lots of things over the years made me pull my hair out for sure. Working with a broken computer, glitchy software and living alone during the quarantine was like ultimate loneliness. And just in general I learned how hard it is to make and sell an independent film for so many reasons.

NFS: Any advice for fellow animators or fellow Unicorn kin alike?

Kiel: I think everyone has their own journey, and I both hate and love that for myself. I look back at both my personal and creative journeys and am so frustrated at the roadblocks along the way. Honestly, it’s hard to see them as important to the process as people say, even though I know they are.

I try to take the bad things and create art with them so at least they can aid in helping me have a career and finding connection with others. But when it comes to animation, I’m pretty stubborn—I think the path of an independent animator is. You have to really feel the need to do it yourself and animate in your own style.

Also, I always like it when people are doing their art as authentically and personally as possible, it just feels better and more fun. But I think whatever path an animator picks is going to be tough and frustrating as heck.

It’s definitely a lifestyle!