Tyrus (film)

Tyrus is a 2015 feature-length documentary directed by Pamela Tom about the renowned Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong, whose paintings became the inspiration for the classic animated feature Bambi.

Tyrus
Directed byPamela Tom
Written byPamela Tom
Produced byPamela Tom
Gwen Wynne
Tamara Khalaf
CinematographyShana Hagan
Edited byCarl Pfirman
Tim Craig
Walt Louie
Angela Park
Music byDerek Baird
Release dates
  • September 8, 2015 (2015-09-08)

Telluride Film Festival[1]
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

Tyrus Wong immigrates to the U.S. from Guangzhou as a boy.[2] Though living in poverty, his father, encourages Wong's unique talent for drawing. Inspired by the art of the Song Dynasty and abstract Western painters like Picasso and Whistler, Wong employed simple brushstrokes, using watercolors and pastels, to create lush forests and green meadows. His philosophy of abstraction (fewer strokes) allowed him to connect with viewers' imaginations, as his work would suggest images while viewers' minds would fill in the rest.[3] His work eventually caught the eye of Walt Disney, who hired Wong as an illustrator at Walt Disney Studios. Wong's style became the blueprint for the visual look and feel of the film of Bambi, constituting all its background art. After an abrupt dismissal from Disney, Wong would go on to become a fine artist, a storyboard artist, and muralist as a means of providing for providing for his family; however, he became a kite designer to fulfill himself artistically. Wong's storyboards helped set the tone and drama for films such as Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), William Goldman's Harper (1966) and Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch. Despite working as in Hollywood for nearly 30 years, the racist attitudes of the time prevented his contributions from being acknowledged until the 21st century.[3] Wong died at the age of 106 on December 30, 2016, the oldest-known living Chinese American artist at the time of his death. He is now widely regarded, at Disney Studios and among illustrator communities, as "a Legend."[4]

Production

Pamela Tom was inspired to make Tyrus after watching Bambi with her daughter. In the behind-the-scenes documentary that followed, she learned of Wong:

...the animators kept referring to this Chinese American artist named Tyrus Wong. I thought, ‘A Chinese American artist in the 1930s? I need to find out more about this person.’[5]

Tyrus was produced by Tom, Gwen Wynne, and Tamara Khalaf.

Release

Tyrus premiered on September 8, 2015 at the Telluride Film Festival. It had its U.S. national release on September 8, 2017 as a part of PBS's long-running series, American Masters.[6] The film has screened at numerous film festivals across the world.[5][7]

Critical reception

Good Docs labeled the film a "tour-de-force."[2]

Awards
Date Festival Award
2016 Seattle Asian American Film Festival Audience Choice Award
2016 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Best Feature Documentary
2016 Boston Asian American Film Festival Audience Award
2016 Cinetopia Best Director in Feature Documentary
2016 Newport Beach Film Festival Audience Award
2016 DisOrient Film Festival Best Feature Documentary
2016 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Special Jury Award
2016 Boston Asian American Film Festival Audience Award
2015 Hawaii International Film Festival Audience Award
2015 San Diego Asian Film Festival Audience Award

Press

Sightlines Magazine – “Creativity Will Out: Seven Arts Documentaries To Watch”[8]

AARP – “Influential Asian American & Pacific Islander Movies”[9]

Phoenix Magazine – “Film Review: Tyrus at No Festival Required”[10]

Eugene Weekly – “Bambi’s Secret”[11]

Parade – “American Masters to Showcase the Life and Work of Tyrus Wong, Disney Animator and Artist”[12]

My Modern Met – “Tyrus Wong, the Chinese-American Artist of Disney’s “Bambi” Finally Gets Recognition He Deserves”[13]

LA Times – “Newport film fest’s ‘Bambi’ provides inspiration for ‘Tyrus’ documentary”[14]

Orlando Sentinel – “‘Bambi’ turns 75; PBS salutes unsung artist”[15]

Animation Magazine – “Tyrus Wong Documentary Premieres on PBS September 8”[16]

Hyperallergic – “A Documentary on Tyrus Wong, a Long-Ignored Illustrator for Disney and Warner Bros”[17]

Cartoon Brew – “PBS To Air Documentary About ‘Bambi’ Production Designer Tyrus Wong (Watch Trailer)”[18]

KTLA – “New PBS Documentary About Tyrus Wong, Chinese American Artist Behind Disney’s Bambi”[19]

CAAM Media – “‘Tyrus’ Documentary Airs on American Masters Sept 8”[20]

NonFiction Film – “Director Pamela Tom On Her Tyrus Wong Doc: Centenarian Artist ‘Transforms Ugliness Into Beauty'”[21]

Huffington Post – “Tyrus Wong, The ‘Bambi’ Artist Who Endured America’s Racism, Gets His Due”[22]

CBS – Sunday Morning – "'Bambi' artist Tyrus Wong"[23]

Slate – “A New Documentary Celebrates the Life of Tyrus Wong, Bambi’sOverlooked Innovator”[24]

Front Row Center – “American Masters Celebrates Bambi Artist Tyrus Wong”[25]

Artsy – “Why the Artist behind Disney’s 'Bambi' Still Influences Animators Today”[26]

CAAM Media – “‘TYRUS’ Film Shines the Spotlight on the Chinese American Behind ‘BAMBI'”[27]

Dig In – CAAMFest Opening Night: TYRUS & Red Carpet Interviews[28]

CAAM Media – “Memoirs of a Superfan Vol. 11.5 – A Flower Grows”[29]

KQED – “A Background Artist Comes to the Fore in CAAMFest’s ‘Tyrus’”[30]

SF Chronicle – “CAAMFest makes bold to bring filmgoers to Mission”[31]

SF Examiner – “Rich, varied program for CAAMFest 2016 opens with TYRUS“

Filmmaker Magazine – TYRUS at HIFF[32]

SDAFF – “Tyrus Wong…More Than a Brushstroke of Genius”

San Diego Tribune – “Broad Scope at San Diego Asian Film Fest”[33]

Awards Daily – “Oscar Contenders Emerging Out of Telluride”[34]

Awards Daily – “Top Five Films I Missed At Telluride”[35]

KCET – Artbound – “Chinese Brushstrokes in Hollywood: The Works of Tyrus Wong”[36]

Smithsonian Magazine – “How Disney’s 1942 Film Bambi Came to be Influenced by the Lush Landscapes of the Sung Dynasty”[37]

References
  1. "Documentary on Alum Tyrus Wong Premieres at Telluride Film Festival". Otis College of Art and Design.
  2. "Tyrus: His Art Inspired Bambi, His Life Will Inspire You". Good Docs.
  3. Jon Hogan (23 Jun 2017). "A Documentary on Tyrus Wong, a Long-Ignored Illustrator for Disney and Warner Bros". Hyperallergic.
  4. M.V. Moorehead (11 Jul 2011). "Film Review: Tyrus at No Festival Required". Phoenix.
  5. Michael Miller (22 Apr 2016). "Newport film fest's 'Bambi' provides inspiration for 'Tyrus' documentary". LA Times.
  6. "S31 Ep7 Tyrus". American Masters. 8 Sep 2017. PBS.
  7. "Tyrus". Asian World Film Festival. Retrieved 22 Feb 2021.
  8. https://sightlinesmag.org/creativity-will-out-seven-arts-documentaries-to-watch
  9. "Influential Movies and Documentaries featuring Asian Americans". AARP. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  10. "Film Review: Tyrus at No Festival Required". PHOENIX magazine. 2017-07-11. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  11. "Bambi's Secret – Eugene Weekly". eugeneweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  12. "American Masters To Showcase the Life and Work of Tyrus Wong, Disney Animator and Artist". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  13. Stewart, Jessica (2017-09-08). "Tyrus Wong, the Chinese-American Artist o Disney's "Bambi" Finally Gets Recognition He Deserves". My Modern Met. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  14. "Newport film fest's 'Bambi' provides inspiration for 'Tyrus' documentary". Daily Pilot. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  15. "'Bambi' turns 75; PBS salutes unsung artist". Orlando Sentinel. 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  16. https://www.animationmagazine.net/2017/08/tyrus-wong-documentary-premieres-on-pbs-september-8/
  17. Leckert, Oriana; Hogan, Jon (2017-06-23). "A Documentary on Tyrus Wong, a Long-Ignored Illustrator for Disney and Warner Bros". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  18. Amidi, Amid (2017-08-22). "PBS To Air Documentary About 'Bambi' Production Designer Tyrus Wong (Watch Trailer)". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  19. "New PBS Documentary About Tyrus Wong, Chinese American Artist Behind Disney's Bambi". KTLA. 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  20. ""TYRUS" Film Shines the Spotlight on the Chinese American Behind "Bambi"". CAAM Home. 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  21. "105-year-old artist subject of new doc". NON FICTION FILM. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  22. "'Bambi' Artist Who Endured America's Racism Finally Gets His Due". HuffPost. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  23. ""Bambi" artist Tyrus Wong". www.cbsnews.com. 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  24. Harris, Aisha (2017-09-07). "A New Documentary Celebrates the Life of Tyrus Wong, Bambi's Overlooked Innovator". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  25. Trojan, Judith (2017-09-08). "American Masters Celebrates Bambi Artist Tyrus Wong". FrontRowCenter. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  26. "Why the Artist behind Disney's "Bambi" Still Influences Animators Today". Artsy. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  27. ""TYRUS" Film Shines the Spotlight on the Chinese American Behind "Bambi"". CAAM Home. 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  28. "CAAMFest Opening Night: TYRUS & Red Carpet Interviews". www.diginmag.com. 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  29. "Memoirs of a Superfan Vol. 11.5 - A Flower Grows". CAAM Home. 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  30. "A Background Artist Comes to the Fore in CAAMFest's 'Tyrus'". KQED. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  31. https://www.sfchronicle.com/movies/article/CAAMFest-makes-bold-move-to-bring-filmgoers-to-6866055.php?t=5897db20ea331b8bde&cmpid=twitter-premium
  32. Sanders, Jason (2016-02-03). "A Showcase for Pacific Islands Filmmakers: The Hawaii International Film Festival at 35 | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  33. "Broad scope at San Diego Asian Film Festival". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  34. "Oscar Contenders Emerging out of Telluride". Awardsdaily. 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  35. "Top Five Films I Missed at Telluride". Awardsdaily. 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  36. "Chinese Brushstrokes in Hollywood: The Works of Tyrus Wong". KCET. 2013-01-08. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  37. Stevens, Joann. "How Disney's 1942 Film Bambi Came to Be Influenced by the Lush Landscapes of the Sung Dynasty". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
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