When the ongoing devastation in Lebanon began, Disney animator Louaye Moulayess was inconsolable. The country he was born and raised in was under threat, and lives across the country hung in the balance.
“When I heard the news of what’s happening in Lebanon, I talked to my manager, and I said: 'I need some time off. I need some isolation,'” Moulayess tells The National. “But after the first two or three days, I realised I couldn’t work from home either. I was feeling worse by myself.”
He was hard at work on Moana 2, the sequel to the beloved 2016 animated film, due to be released across the Middle East on Thursday. Sitting at home, he started thinking about the film he’d helped make – the story of a young Polynesian woman on a dangerous journey.
Moana is a strong-willed character, one who reflectively puts the weight of the world on her shoulders – something Moulayess relates to. But her journey cannot be completed alone. She relies on people from across cultures to join together to complete her grand mission.
“I realised, I need to go and be with people,” Moulayess says. "We’re stronger together. So I went back into the studio, back with my friends, and I found myself being creative again. This is the message of the film, and I really connected with that."
This isn’t the first time a Disney movie helped Moulayess through a hard time. In fact, if the power of a Disney classic hadn’t helped him during a key moment in his childhood, he may have never dreamt of travelling around the world to pursue animation.
“I remember, we had just heard bad news from a family member,” Moulayess says. "And that’s when I saw The Lion King. It just made me forget. It filled me with wonder.
“These movies can provide all sorts of things for kids – at times when you want to escape, when you want to have fun, when you want to forget and even when you want to remember that the world can be beautiful.”
And that’s what always pushed him through when making Moana 2. He knew what the first movie meant to children worldwide. At a difficult time for so many people in the region and around the world, perhaps this movie can not only act as a distraction but a reminder of the goodness of the human spirit.
“I really hope that when kids and adults see this movie, it will have the same effect that The Lion King had on me at that moment," he adds. "And I’m so lucky that I can help provide that.”
Growing up in Lebanon, Moulayess didn’t have the tools he needed to become an animator. He studied computer science and began training himself in computer animation, always aware of the vast distance between his small village on the Mediterranean and Burbank and San Francisco, the homes of Disney and Pixar respectively.
When he was 16, he found the email of a Pixar animator and worked up the courage to ask him for help. The animator replied right away, offering advice on how to attend animation school with a limited budget, and even where to study. The guidance worked, and he went to that exact school, landing an internship with Pixar after graduation.
To Moulayess’s surprise, his mentor at Pixar was that same man who had helped kickstart his journey years earlier. On the first day, he took his mentor aside and showed him the email he’d sent at 16.
“I looked him right in the eye and said: ‘I’m here because of you,'” says Moulayess.
Since then, Moulayess has worked on some of the biggest animated projects of the last decade, from The Peanuts Movie to Frozen 2 and Encanto. And even as established as he’s become, a vital voice on massive projects both because of his skill and invaluable cultural perspective, he thinks back to that brash teen who sent an email to a complete stranger.
“At the Disney Animation Studios, we have a wall in the hallway lined with artwork,” says Moulayess. "And every day, I walk down it, looking at what we’ve created together, and I often think about the kid I was.
"Never in a million years, sitting on the ground in my bedroom in Lebanon watching a VHS and then writing that email, did I think I’d be here one day. It’s magical.”
Each time he walks down that hallway, he’s a bit different. Animation continues to change, as technologies develop and open new creative possibilities. At the daily meetings, he and the team watch what they’re each creating, which fills him with inspiration and love for what he does. And the diverse community around him continues to enrich him, as they tackle those new problems together.
“On Moana 2, for example, we do something that rarely happens in the animated world. We let the characters age and explore how those changes manifest," he adds. "There are scenes where Moana is climbing a cliff in both movies, and we had to figure out how her physical and emotional changes – even her culture – affect her movements, down to the smallest detail."
As Moulayess traverses a changing landscape, he relies on his community, a shared love that both feeds and is fed by the very thing they make together.
“Everything we do, we do as a team," he says. "What happened to me is what happens in the movie. It connected me to this, and it connects us all.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield: Otamendi (45' 1 og), van La Parra (red card 90' 6)
Man City: Agüero (47' pen), Sterling (84')
Man of the match: Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)
TO%20CATCH%20A%20KILLER
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Company%20Profile
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Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
Company%20profile
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
%3Cp%3EDisplay%3A%2040mm%2C%20324%20x%20394%3B%2044mm%2C%20368%20x%20448%3B%20Retina%20LTPO%20OLED%2C%20up%20to%201000%20nits%3B%20Ion-X%20glass%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EProcessor%3A%20Apple%20S8%2C%20W3%20wireless%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECapacity%3A%2032GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMemory%3A%201GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPlatform%3A%20watchOS%209%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EHealth%20metrics%3A%202nd-gen%20heart%20rate%20sensor%2C%20workouts%2C%20fall%2Fcrash%20detection%3B%20emergency%20SOS%2C%20international%20emergency%20calling%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EConnectivity%3A%20GPS%2FGPS%20%2B%20cellular%3B%20Wi-Fi%2C%20LTE%2C%20Bluetooth%205.3%2C%20NFC%20(Apple%20Pay)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDurability%3A%20Water%20resistant%20up%20to%2050m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBattery%3A%20269mAh%20Li-ion%2C%20up%20to%2018h%2C%20wireless%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECards%3A%20eSIM%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EFinishes%3A%20Aluminium%3B%20midnight%2C%20silver%2C%20starlight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%20Watch%20SE%2C%20magnetic-to-USB-C%20charging%20cable%2C%20band%2Floop%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPrice%3A%20Starts%20at%20Dh999%20(40mm)%20%2F%201%2C119%20(44mm)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20electric%20motors%20with%20102kW%20battery%20pack%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E570hp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20890Nm%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%20428km%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C700%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
