Versa (2025)

[bunniefuu]

My name is Malcon Pierce.

I'm the director of Versa.

[Joyful music playing]

I wanted to be an animator my whole life.

I just wanted to work for Disney

and make movies.

I was an animation supervisor on Moana.

Our first sequence into production was

the sequence with toddler Moana

going down to the ocean,

and over the course of this period,

my wife and I were expecting our son.

And there was a unfortunate complication,

and we ended up losing our son,

his name was Cooper,

on his birthday, on that day.

[Somber music playing]

I remember the first day

coming back to work,

and I decided that I'm gonna

distract myself mentally,

and just, you know, keep myself

super occupied, like, everything's fine.

And that was the thing that was

like, "Man, I'm so not fine."

[Pleasant piano music playing]

I had never gone into the nursery.

I'd never been able to.

My wife, Keely, she was the opposite.

She was spending time in there,

she would read in there.

She was just totally living

in this moment,

and really connecting

in a really healthy way.

She has a photography background,

so, she says, "I think it's important

that we capture, sort of, this moment

with our grieving process."

And she took a series of photos that

became sort of the thematic of the short.

It's a very personal story,

and, you know, it's scary

putting that out there,

but I've found it more empowering

to open up and share,

than try to avoid it.

And through this project, Keely and I

were so humbled by the support

from all of our friends and family

and the studio, you know, it was amazing.

She's really the strength

behind a lot of it,

and really helped me see, and still does.

That really was the nucleus

of the film that became Versa.

[Ethereal sting]

[Heavenly music playing]

[Enchanting instrumental music playing]

[Playful sting]

[Upbeat music playing]

[Whimsical sting]

[Upbeat music continues]

[Upbeat music fades]

[Pleasant piano music playing]

[crackling]

[Somber music playing]

[Slow piano music playing]

[crackling]

[Melancholic music playing]

[Music increases in tempo, fades]

[Ethereal music playing]

[thunderous crackling]

[Hopeful music playing]

[Music stops]