WEDNESDAY Season 2 Includes a Great Tim Burton Stop-Motion Short, and Netflix Shows How It Was Made
Netflix’s Wednesday Season 2 features a stunning black-and-white stop-motion sequence straight from the mind of Tim Burton and it was one of the highlights of the series.
Fans of his work will instantly recognize his signature gothic style, reminiscent of his 1982 short Vincent and the haunting beauty of Corpse Bride. Today, we’ve got a behind-the-scenes featurette for you to watch showing how this sequence was brought to life.
"I've always loved the medium, the tactile quality of it, and it's an important element to telling the story, what it's about," Burton says in Netflix’s featurette. "I really enjoyed every day with it, because it was fun and creative, seeing these puppets come to live, there is something very magical about it."
The sequence unfolds through a tale told by Ajax, played by Georgie Farmer, about a Nevermore Academy student with a fading heart. Desperate to survive, the boy crafts a mechanical clockwork heart, only for it to be destroyed by one of his own inventions.
As revealed in the video, the team spent eight months building fifteen puppets and ten handcrafted sets for the few minutes of screen time.
"This is the kind of a show where we get to play around with things, and that was special to me," Burton said. "In fact, kind of went old school with it and I ended up designing the puppet. I remember doing Vincent, and [we tried to go] back to the first thing I did. … I kept having to tell the animators, 'No, it's looking too good.
“No, the animation’s too slick. We need to pretend like I'm back in my student days and do it like I did it in the beginning [of my career].'"
Co-showrunner Miles Millar also praised the artistry and passion behind the short. "All those sets are hand-built, all the puppets are manipulated frame by frame. It's incredibly time intensive.
“But the attention to detail and the love and care that was put into every single shot really shows on screen and just elevates that episode and that story. I’m so proud of it. It's really beautiful."
Part 1 of Wednesday Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix, with Part 2 set to arrive on September 3.