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The Color of Healing: Turning Grief into Magic with Malcolm Pierce
Apr 12, 2026
In this deeply personal episode of the Daps Magic podcast, Mr. Daps sits down with Malcolm Pierce, the Studio Artistic Director at Disney Animation Studios in Vancouver. While we often celebrate Disney for its grand spectacles and theme park thrills, today we explore a more intimate side of the "Magic"—the power of storytelling to heal the human spirit.
Malcolm shares the emotional journey behind his new short film, Versa. Created in the wake of losing his son, Cooper, Versa is a poetic, musically driven masterpiece that proves art can be a bridge from darkness back into the light.
In this episode, we discuss:
* The "Nursery Story": How a series of four family photos became the visual and emotional blueprint for the film’s narrative.
* Healing Through Production: Malcolm’s experience finding solace in his work on Moana and how he eventually chose to stop "distracting" himself and start creating from a place of truth.
* The Disney Culture of Support: A look at how creative leaders like Jennifer Lee fostered an environment where honesty was prioritized over corporate polish.
* Community Connection: How sharing personal grief opened the door for a community of artists to share their own stories, turning a private journey into a collective moment of healing.
"You turned your grief to good." Join us for a conversation that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the supportive community that makes Disney Animation a truly special place to create.
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SHOW NOTES & LINKS:
* Read more positive Disney news: http://DapsMagic.com
* Follow the journey on Social Media: @DapsMagic / @MrDaps
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:13
Welcome to Daps Magic, Disney and
0:14
positive stuff. I'm Mr. Daps and today
0:17
we're going to revisit something that
0:18
I've been writing about and you might
0:20
have seen on our YouTube channel
0:21
already. And this comes from the short
0:23
circuit program at the Walt Disney
0:25
Studios. This is a short by Malcolm
0:28
Pierce called Versa. And I got a chance
0:31
last month to see this short, to talk
0:33
with Malcolin about this short. And
0:36
since then, our coverage has really
0:38
gotten a lot of engagement and
0:40
attraction. And I've really noticed
0:41
people have continued to talk about
0:43
this. So, I thought it was worth
0:45
revisiting, and it's been in my head,
0:47
too. and in chatting a little bit about
0:49
what I personally took away from Versa,
0:52
why I think it's such an important short
0:54
for the Walt Disney Animation Studios as
0:57
really all of Short Circuit is that
0:59
whole program, but really why it stuck
1:02
out to me over the last month and a
1:03
half. And I hope you'll enjoy this. I
1:05
hope you'll bear with me. But, um, I
1:08
think it's something special because so
1:10
often we're talking about ticket prices
1:12
or park expansions or or new attractions
1:15
or new shows or or whatever it is, but
1:19
we don't always stop and slow down and
1:21
think of the why behind the magic. Where
1:23
do these stories coming from? Um, what
1:26
are the what are the personal
1:28
connections to these stories? And so I
1:30
thought we would slow down today and
1:32
look at what Malcolm Pierce did who he
1:36
directed Versa. And and so let's let's
1:39
take a look at how it explores with both
1:42
connection but also loss. And uh and so
1:46
what we're going to do is we're going to
1:47
take apart this interview I did with
1:49
Malcolm Pierce and really look at uh
1:53
what his story is and how it came to be
1:56
a part of the story that he told in
1:58
Versa because it's a very personal and
2:01
vulnerable thing. First off though,
2:03
Malcolm Pierce is a studio artistic
2:06
director at Disney Animation. He's from
2:09
Vancouver though. Well, currently up in
2:10
Vancouver, but he came down to the Walt
2:13
Disney Studios so that we could get a
2:14
preview of Versa and a couple other
2:16
shorts. And I had the chance to sit down
2:19
and talk to him about how he turned
2:22
grief into something beautiful.
3:08
So Malcolin's journey really began while
3:10
he's working on Moana. And like many of
3:13
us, when something terrible happens or
3:16
something overwhelming happens, we we
3:18
turn to our passion and and we work to
3:21
navigate these difficult times with the
3:24
passions that we have. And in this case,
3:26
this was this was the loss of his son
3:29
named Cooper. And uh and you know, I
3:32
could talk about this, but let's listen
3:34
to Malcolm as he talks about how he used
3:38
Moana as as a distraction, but but
3:42
really it was just that. It didn't get
3:43
him away from anything.
3:46
After
3:48
after we lost Cooper, there was a moment
3:51
where I I sort of I went back and I was
3:53
using production as a way to cope by
3:56
distracting myself. And you know, this
3:58
was on Moana. And so I was coming in
4:00
right back into it, you know. It this
4:02
was great. What a great distraction.
4:05
I can just focus on uh dailies and
4:08
working with the team and we're busy,
4:10
you know, and it kept my mind sort of
4:11
off of, you know, the hard stuff. And
4:14
then when I go home, you know, it was
4:17
always right there again. And I think
4:20
once we wrapped Moana, then suddenly I
4:23
didn't have a really clear distraction
4:25
anymore. So I think this is something
4:27
that many of us can relate to. Uh we
4:30
often find soulless in creativity in in
4:34
focusing on projects and
4:38
it's something but it's not necessarily
4:41
everything. It's not traditional or true
4:43
healing. And
4:46
just as Malcolm discovered and shared,
4:49
the real magic for him happened when he
4:52
stopped running away from his pain and
4:55
instead started looking directly at it.
4:59
And for Malcolm, the pivotal moment
5:02
really was in the nursery at home that
5:04
had already been put together, all ready
5:06
to go for when Cooper would arrive. And
5:10
Malcolin was blessed with a wife that I
5:12
think is not just supportive but also
5:16
wise. And so she was documenting the
5:20
journey of pain. And she was doing this
5:23
through photography cuz she's a
5:25
photographer.
5:26
And and what ended up happening is a
5:29
series of photos that she took really
5:31
became a a foundation or a blueprint for
5:35
what would become Versa.
5:39
I think once we wrapped Moana then
5:41
suddenly I didn't have a really clear
5:44
distraction anymore and I started to
5:47
think about
5:49
well my wife was like there was we had a
5:51
sorry I'm a little all over the place.
5:53
The nursery was kind of a point where I
5:56
would avoid and I and we would we would
5:58
walk up to get to our bedroom. I'd have
6:00
to walk past the nursery and I'd always
6:02
kind of keep the door closed and I I'd
6:06
often walk up there and the door would
6:07
be open. Key would be in there and she'd
6:10
say, "I think you should I think it's
6:11
time, you know, things are quieted down.
6:14
I think it'd be good for you to go in
6:15
there." And I kicked and screamed for
6:16
the longest time like, "No, I don't
6:19
think I'm I'm not ready yet." you know,
6:22
in my head I was going to be ready at
6:23
some point. Once I'm once I'm ready,
6:26
I'll go in there.
6:27
>> And eventually,
6:29
I had to go in there. And she had um
6:33
>> she decided to document this experience
6:36
and took sort of a series of photos that
6:38
she had a camera on a tripod and she was
6:40
like, I think it I want to I want to
6:42
sort of like take a picture of this
6:44
moment so we can really I don't know. I
6:46
just want to capture this moment. And so
6:49
she convinced me and she's like, "I'll
6:51
be in there with you. You know, that's
6:53
gonna be," she's like, "It's gonna be
6:54
good for you." And I went in there for
6:56
the really kind of the first time with
6:58
my heart with me. And it was so hard and
7:02
I um definitely I would say I was split
7:07
open and but so there there she took a
7:11
series of photos. There was a series
7:12
there was the first photo which is a
7:15
camera outside of the nursery and the
7:16
nursery is clear. Everything else is
7:17
blurry. Then I let her take a picture of
7:19
me, but I'm outside the nursery and I'm
7:21
blurry and the nursery is clear.
7:23
>> Like, oh my gosh. And I'm looking at
7:25
these later. And then there's a photo of
7:27
me in the nursery where I'm, you know, I
7:32
I'm unable to contain my emotion. And
7:35
then there was this last photo where
7:38
it's all of these have been in black and
7:39
white. Then there's this last photo
7:41
where her and I are hugging and it's
7:43
color and we're smiling. And
7:46
um I remember looking at those photos
7:48
later and being like, "Oh my gosh, this
7:50
is a story. This is the story."
7:53
And from that moment is when it really
7:56
started to like in the short there are
7:58
those two stars that start to orbit.
7:59
That's when it was for me with this they
8:01
started to kind of start to orbit. I was
8:03
like, "Oh my gosh, I think there's
8:04
something here." and and suddenly it was
8:06
easy to work on it and it was easy to
8:08
know why this character would do this.
8:10
It's because of this or this and that.
8:12
And that was sort of the the nucleus of
8:15
when we started going on that. And I
8:18
remember at that point I I was just I'm
8:20
just going to start drawing stuff. I'm
8:22
you know I'm a visual person so I'm
8:25
immediately I'm like drawing moments and
8:27
thinking of like set pieces and making
8:28
boards of inspiration all of that stuff.
8:32
And I got to a point where it's like,
8:33
okay, I think this is sort of like a
8:34
full-blown like you could this feels
8:37
pitchable.
8:38
>> So, as I was listening to this, one of
8:40
my favorite parts of Malcolm's story
8:43
with that pivotal moment was the fact
8:46
that you went from black and white
8:48
photos into color. And talk about a
8:52
powerful metaphor. Uh, Versa, you you
8:55
see the two stars orbiting orbiting one
8:57
another. And if you haven't seen it yet,
8:59
I encourage you to hop on over to Disney
9:01
Plus and watch it. It's a fantastic
9:03
short. All of the short circuit uh
9:04
shorts really are, but this one really I
9:07
don't know, there's something very
9:08
special about it. And and there's this
9:11
moment of of reflection and connection
9:15
that happens. And it it it
9:18
reminds us that even when we feel
9:20
completely split apart and broken, uh
9:23
there is that path back to the light as
9:26
Malcolm put it. And that's such an
9:29
incredible moment in his own personal
9:31
story that he then was able to translate
9:34
it into animation in a really beautiful
9:36
way. And
9:39
it really as as I was sitting there and
9:42
listening to this man talk and looking
9:44
in his eyes, um I couldn't imagine
9:49
the pain of where he was and taking that
9:54
pain and turning it into something that
9:56
isn't just a work of art and a thing of
10:00
beauty,
10:01
but also something that can kind of
10:04
connect with other people and help other
10:06
people that maybe he's never met before
10:08
or never will meet, but he was able to
10:11
put that pain into something positive.
10:14
And that's something that I think is is
10:16
something that we often overlook. We
10:19
often try to hide our pain or we often
10:21
try to uh skirt around it or focus on on
10:26
oh well this is good and this is makes
10:28
me happy and this is the positive and
10:30
there is a place for that. But the there
10:32
is
10:34
there's something different between
10:36
turning pain into positivity and that's
10:38
something that's growth versus just, you
10:42
know, hiding it under the carpet. And
10:45
and I think that's something that he
10:48
tells in his story and he demonstrates
10:50
in his story that beyond just being a
10:53
beautiful thing to look at, it's really
10:56
a wonderful template for how to deal
10:58
with pain, specifically his type of
11:01
pain, but I think other types of pain
11:03
too is is that facing it and really
11:06
embracing it and coming to grips with it
11:09
and turning it into something new and
11:12
beautiful that doesn't hide the past
11:15
pain, but instead makes it a part of
11:18
that portrait. And as I listened to
11:22
Malcolm talk, I literally sat there with
11:25
with my mind being blown
11:29
at the most painful thing I could
11:32
imagine becoming this incredible work of
11:35
art. And
11:38
what was even more amazing to me was the
11:42
fact that the Disney studio really
11:44
embraced this story and supported his
11:47
vision. I this this went from the top to
11:50
the bottom. like you you heard this time
11:52
and time again through a couple of
11:54
different interviews actually with
11:55
different filmmakers for Short Circuit,
11:58
but
11:59
uh Malcolin talked about going to
12:01
Jennifer Lee and
12:04
her literally coming in and helping, you
12:08
know, hone that story and and really
12:11
dial it in to make it the best of the
12:13
best. and he talked about his team in
12:15
Vancouver helping and and he he really
12:19
painted another picture, you could say,
12:21
of how this wasn't just about being a
12:24
corporate project that oh uh you got
12:26
your your short circuit approved. So now
12:29
this this and this is going to happen
12:30
and you're going to make this this short
12:32
and it's going to go on Disney Plus. But
12:34
really it became a community passion
12:36
project and everybody came together and
12:41
you Melin can share it better.
12:44
>> And so Jennifer Lee was our creative
12:47
officer at the time and I had developed
12:49
a great relationship with her on Frozen.
12:51
I was a supervisor of Frozen. So I she
12:54
was my first person I reached out to and
12:56
I was saying hey I I'm working on this
12:59
idea. You know I always love how she
13:01
thought about characters. I I think of
13:03
her as a very emotional writer and in
13:05
the best way. She's always thinking
13:06
deeply about the characters, where
13:08
they're at and what they're feeling and
13:10
thinking. I said, "Let me get her take
13:13
on this." And she was so supportive. And
13:16
we sat in the ABC casting room, the
13:20
little hallway. Uh, and we sat there for
13:23
like an hour
13:24
>> and I she was just like, "Think about
13:26
this. I think you you should think about
13:28
like what these characters whose point
13:30
of view is they going to be from and
13:31
this and that. And so we would just I
13:33
would just check in with her every
13:35
couple months like, "Okay, you know, I
13:36
was thinking about that. There's my
13:38
update." And we just did that, you know,
13:41
there I feel like sometimes you assume
13:43
there's this moment where it's like,
13:44
"All right, we're going to we're going
13:46
to take pitches and then you can come in
13:48
and you're going to get a green light on
13:49
your project and you can start doing
13:51
it." But I think a lot of our projects
13:52
here, people are just sort of working on
13:54
these things and they just kind of
13:56
eventually find opportunity.
13:59
>> Yeah. And that was um that was my
14:02
experience on how getting it going. But
14:05
then all the way through production,
14:06
every time I shared it would get a
14:08
little bit easier than talk about, a
14:09
little bit easier to share. And really
14:12
in the beginning it was like me feeling
14:14
like I was kind of stepping out there.
14:16
And then it started to change where
14:19
folks were actually coming to me with
14:21
experiences. Hey,
14:23
>> you know, hey, thanks for
14:25
>> sharing that. I actually
14:27
>> I lost my son you know it's like oh my
14:29
gosh you know
14:30
>> I had no idea so it started to actually
14:34
>> build this community and that's it's and
14:36
that was really a turning point for me
14:38
in the production of it where it's like
14:40
oh my gosh this is
14:42
allowing folks to come forward you know
14:44
and be and feel like they have shared
14:47
experience which is absolutely
14:48
>> powerful
14:50
>> and what I think I take away from this
14:52
is this is really what Disney community
14:55
is all about. It's it's turning that
15:00
that pain, taking that personal leap of
15:03
faith and and creating a shared
15:06
experience
15:07
that doesn't just help me heal, but it
15:10
helps other people heal. And if you've
15:13
talked to me at length in parks or or
15:15
you know at coffee or something, um I've
15:18
probably shared about my mom having a
15:21
stroke almost I think 20 years ago now.
15:23
And and I remember after she had her
15:26
stroke and and after everything
15:27
happened,
15:29
um I went to Disneyland. I had a lot of
15:31
friends that worked there and still do.
15:33
And I remember talking with people at
15:36
Disneyland and many of them had already
15:39
reached out and and it's everything's
15:42
kind of a blur after something like that
15:44
happens. You don't know what to think.
15:46
You don't know what to do. You just are
15:48
trying to make it from one day to the
15:49
next. And I remember as as I was talking
15:53
to people at Disneyland and riding the
15:55
train and going to the watch shop or
15:57
whatever else it was, I remember walking
15:59
away feeling a little bit better because
16:02
these people just acted like a
16:04
metaphorical warm hug. There was no um
16:09
there was no like oh this will fix it.
16:11
There was no oh you need to do this.
16:13
There was no you should do that or
16:15
guidance or or platitudes or whatever.
16:18
It was all just people really meeting me
16:22
where I was at and and
16:26
really just connecting and and that
16:29
community moment is I think one of the
16:31
best ones I can think of um through my
16:33
years covering Disney and going to
16:35
Disney and and I remember just feeling
16:38
as I drove home that night and I lived
16:40
100 miles away at the time so I had lots
16:41
of time to think but I remember at the
16:43
time thinking, "Oh, this is what it's
16:47
supposed to
16:48
these people are just walking alongside
16:50
of me. And I don't remember specifically
16:52
anything anybody said. But I do remember
16:55
feeling afterwards that we were all in
16:57
this together and that I wasn't alone
17:00
and they were walking with me, whatever
17:02
that was going to be. And whatever ended
17:04
up happening,
17:06
whether it was okay or whether it
17:08
wasn't, they would be there. And that's
17:11
really what I think support and
17:12
community is all about. And and I think
17:15
that's what Malcolin was experiencing as
17:18
he was going through this process of
17:19
turning this this horrible moment into
17:23
something that's absolutely stunningly
17:26
beautiful. And the only reason this
17:29
works
17:31
is because it's true. It's honest. It's
17:34
vulnerable. And and that's something I
17:36
wanted to thank. You know, if Malcolin
17:38
ends up watching this, which would be
17:40
amazing. Um, you know, I have to thank
17:42
Malcolm for that because so often it's
17:46
all about the glitz. It's all about the
17:47
glamour, you know, shiny objects or
17:50
whatever it is. And
17:52
instead,
17:54
in this case, we have Versa. And and it
17:57
reminds us that art
18:00
can be a tool for healing. It reminds us
18:02
that it can be something it connects.
18:05
And and I loved that throughout the
18:08
entire process, you know, nobody at
18:10
Disney ever told Malcolm, "Hey, let's
18:12
change this. You know, this might be a
18:15
little bit too tough. This might be, you
18:17
know, too whatever for for Disney." The
18:20
only thing he was ever told was just
18:23
make it the best version of itself that
18:26
it can be. You know, make it that best
18:28
story, make it the best short. And and I
18:30
think that's such a powerful testament
18:33
to the storytelling of Disney because
18:36
they weren't asking for it to be to be
18:39
varnished or changed or whatever so that
18:41
it would be, you know, easier to market.
18:44
Instead, they said, you know, make the
18:47
best short that you can make with the
18:50
the story that you have. And
18:53
I think it's a great reminder that that
18:56
we all need to take with us is one, we
19:00
should be encouraging our friends to do
19:01
that. You know, be the best you. If
19:04
you're doing this project, do the best
19:05
you can. Does that mean it's perfect?
19:07
No. You know, I I think so often there's
19:12
a a miss that comes when we we work our
19:18
best and we don't get the best outcome
19:21
that we'd hoped for and we just never
19:24
know what today's best is going to lead
19:26
to tomorrow. And and so I think there's
19:28
something to be said for do your very
19:31
best. You can't control the outcome
19:34
always. That's okay. What you do want to
19:37
do is really have that community around
19:40
you and and have those people around you
19:43
that are going to help you find that
19:44
color again. So you're not living in a
19:46
black and white world and you're you're
19:48
really blossoming as opposed to, you
19:51
know, being stagnant and stuck. And and
19:54
I think that's that's an important thing
19:55
to be thinking about as as Disney fans,
19:58
as people of the world, uh people of the
20:00
universe in in terms of versa. But
20:04
there's such a lovely lesson here of the
20:07
importance of community and connection
20:09
and and I think it's something that I'm
20:11
very thankful for when I look at the
20:14
community around me and I I hope that
20:16
you can be thankful for that, too. And
20:18
you know, if you don't have that
20:20
community,
20:22
it's there somewhere. You know, I I
20:24
encourage you to help to find it. And
20:26
maybe it's not the community you want
20:28
today, but that doesn't mean it's the
20:30
community that you have tomorrow. And so
20:33
often the choices that we make today
20:34
determine the reality that we live
20:36
tomorrow. And and if you don't have that
20:38
positive community, I invite you to be a
20:40
part of ours. And let's build something
20:44
that that does exactly what Versa does.
20:47
It turns hurt into healing. You know, it
20:50
t turns that pain into something that's
20:54
positive. And it doesn't do it in a way
20:57
that sugarcoats it. It doesn't do it in
20:59
a way that's contrived or or fake. It
21:03
does it in a very real way, in a very
21:06
honest way, in a very, you know,
21:08
vulnerable way. And I I'm really
21:10
thankful that Disney was willing to take
21:13
that chance to tell this story and to
21:17
let Malcolin, you know, really tell the
21:20
story that he lived. It's the truth that
21:22
he lived. But um I just think I've been
21:26
carrying this with me for a few like a
21:27
month now, I think. And and it's
21:29
something that I just think we can't hit
21:31
on enough because there's enough pain
21:34
and suffering and I'm sounding like Yoda
21:37
now. Um, but there's enough things going
21:39
on in the world that are really
21:40
difficult that I do think we need to
21:43
look into the beauty of art, into the
21:45
lessons of art, and really build
21:50
ourselves up, build each other up, and
21:53
and really make the world a better
21:55
place. One conversation at a time, one
21:57
animated short at a time, one blog at a
21:59
time, you know, one photo at a time. We
22:02
can do that. And I think that's
22:03
something that Versa is such a wonderful
22:06
reminder of.
22:08
I hope you've enjoyed this episode of
22:10
Daps Magic Disney and positive stuff.
22:11
It's a little bit different than I
22:12
normally do, but I I like to dabble in
22:15
things and try things. So, let me know
22:17
if it if you think it worked. If it
22:19
didn't work, you can tell me that, too.
22:20
Just be nice and um we won't do it
22:22
again. But, uh if you do like it, I do
22:25
have other interviews that are coming up
22:28
and that I currently have that uh if you
22:30
like this format, we will try it again
22:32
and see what happens with that. But I
22:35
hope you're having an absolutely
22:36
fantastic time. If you would like more
22:39
of this Disney and positive stuff, head
22:41
on over to dapsmagic.com. We'd love to
22:44
geek out about all of this stuff with
22:46
you. If you want even more community,
22:47
head over to dapshq. You can do that at
22:49
dapshq.com or click on the link on the
22:52
homepage of DAPSMagic. And that's really
22:54
where where you get the behindthe-scenes
22:55
stuff and connect with us directly. And
22:58
that's a whole lot of fun. We also have
23:00
Tuesday night's Geeks Corner where you
23:02
can connect with us live as we geek out
23:04
about Disney and positive stuff. Always
23:06
a lot of fun as well. And there's an
23:08
after show on Daps HQ for that as well.
23:10
That's a lot of fun that you won't want
23:12
to miss. Apparently, a lot of things are
23:13
a lot of fun. So, I won't repeat that
23:15
one more time. Anyway, I hope you're
23:17
having a fantastic day. Make it a great
23:20
week. Stay positive. Keep kind.