Animator Alex Woo is proud of his AAPI roots, but doesn't let it define his work
NEW YORK (WABC) -- As we celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander heritage month, one animator and movie maker is proud of his roots -- but doesn't let that define his work.
From "Ratatouille" to "Incredibles 2" To "Wall-E," "The Good Dinosaur" and "Cars 2," Alex Woo is one of the story artists who brought that magic to the big screen.
But his animation career started in New York in 1999 at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
"It's sort of surreal, it makes me feel really old," Woo said. "If it wasn't for New York City, I don't think I would be where I am today."
It was a journey that would require total commitment.
"I missed out on a lot of parties when everybody was having a great time, I was in my studio apartment animating," Woo said.
He would go on to become the story lead for "Finding Dory." Then after a decade at Pixar, in 2015 he did the unimaginable: he left.
And then he started Kuku Studios.
"We wanted to tell stories, make TV shows and movies that make people laugh so hard that they would cry, and feel so deeply that they would cry," Woo said. "So that's really where the origin of the name Kuku came from. In Chinese Ku means cry."
His first shot at directing a feature film was "In Your Dreams" on Netflix. And now it's getting Oscar buzz.
Although one of the lead characters is AAPI and voiced by Simu Lui, it is not an AAPI story.
Woo says that was intentional.
"I think it normalizes AAPI characters," he said.
As for Woo, he is proof that the life you imagine for yourself in your dreams can become reality with hard work and belief in yourself.
"Animation takes so long, the movie I just finished took like five years to make," Woo said.
He said most live action movies only take a year or two to make.
"I left NYU 20 years ago... and I'm only now directing my first feature film," Woo said. "So it's a long road. It's a long journey."
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