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Turning Grief into Art: The Story Behind 'Versa' | Interview with Malcon Pierce
Mar 20, 2026
In this heartfelt interview, Malcolm Pierce shares the deeply personal journey behind creating the Disney animated short 'Versa,' transforming grief into art, and the importance of honesty and support in creative risk-taking.
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0:04
My name is Malcolm Pierce. I am the
0:06
director of Versa. I am the studio
0:08
artistic director at uh Disney Animation
0:11
Studios in Vancouver.
0:13
>> Love it. So, we just got to watch Versa
0:16
and it's absolutely beautiful. Could you
0:18
talk a little bit about the journey you
0:21
went on as you were creating this? maybe
0:24
from well you pick where you want from
0:26
but talk about your personal journey as
0:28
you're going this with the team of the
0:30
people around you that collaborated with
0:31
you.
0:34
>> Um it's a big question. So early on I I
0:40
will tell the story and how it relates
0:42
maybe to the theme because it was a very
0:46
it was a very healing process honestly
0:49
and I remember
0:51
um having the idea to I want to do
0:53
something performing arts. I want to do
0:55
like a performing arts short, something
0:58
that is akin to Fantasia and has sort of
1:02
musically driven, no dialogue, is
1:03
something kind of poetic, but still
1:06
narrative. Um, and wanted to do
1:10
something in space with stars, but never
1:13
having the story that really felt like
1:16
was going to be enough to carry me
1:18
because the these things take a while to
1:19
make, a lot of effort. So, it's got to
1:21
really be something that you're going to
1:24
believe in long term. Um, and so
1:28
arriving at, you know, after
1:32
after we lost Cooper, there was a moment
1:35
where I I sort of I went back and I was
1:38
using production as a way to cope by
1:40
distracting myself. And, you know, this
1:42
was on Moana. And so, I was coming in
1:44
right back into it. You know, it this
1:47
was great. What a great distraction.
1:49
I can just focus on uh dailies and
1:52
working with the team and we're busy,
1:54
you know, and it kept my mind sort of
1:56
off of, you know, the hard stuff. And
1:59
then when I go home, you know, it was
2:01
always right there again. And I think
2:05
once we wrapped Moana, then suddenly I
2:07
didn't have a really clear distraction
2:10
anymore. And I started to think about,
2:14
well, my wife was like, there was we had
2:16
a Sorry, I'm a little all over the
2:18
place. The nursery was kind of a point
2:20
where I would avoid and I and we would
2:23
we would walk up to get to our bedroom.
2:25
I'd have to walk past the nursery and
2:27
I'd always kind of keep the door closed
2:29
and I I'd often walk up there and the
2:32
door would be open. Key would be in
2:34
there and she'd say, "I think you should
2:36
I think it's time, you know, things are
2:38
quieted down. I think it'd be good for
2:40
you to go in there." And I kicked and
2:41
scream for the longest time like, "No, I
2:44
don't think I'm I'm not ready yet." you
2:47
know, in my head I was going to be ready
2:48
at some point. Once I'm once I'm ready,
2:51
I'll go in there.
2:52
>> And eventually
2:54
I had to go in there and she had um she
2:58
decided to document this experience and
3:01
took sort of a series of photos that she
3:03
had a camera on a tripod and she was
3:06
like, I think it I want to I want to
3:07
sort of like take a picture of this
3:09
moment so we can really I don't know. I
3:11
just want to capture this moment. And so
3:14
she convinced me and she's like, "I'll
3:17
be in there with you. You know, it's
3:18
going to be she's like, "It's going to
3:20
be good for you." And I went in there
3:21
for the really kind of the first time
3:23
with my heart with me. And it was so
3:27
hard and I um definitely I would say I
3:32
was split open and but so there there
3:35
was she took a series of photos. There
3:37
was a series there was the first photo
3:39
which is a camera outside of the nursery
3:41
and the nursery is clear. Everything
3:42
else is blurry. Then I let her take a
3:44
picture of me, but I'm outside the
3:46
nursery and I'm blurry and the nursery
3:47
is clear like, "Oh my gosh." And I'm
3:50
looking at these later. And then there's
3:52
a photo of me in the nursery where I'm,
3:55
you know, I I'm unable to contain my
3:59
emotion. And then there was this last
4:02
photo where it's all of these have been
4:04
in black and white. Then there's this
4:06
last photo where her and I are hugging
4:08
and it's color and we're smiling. And
4:12
um I remember looking at those photos
4:14
later and being like, "Oh my gosh, this
4:16
is a story. This is the story."
4:19
And from that moment is when it really
4:21
started to like in the short there those
4:23
two stars that start to orbit. That's
4:25
when it was for me this they started to
4:27
kind of start to orbit. I was like, "Oh
4:28
my gosh, I think there's something
4:29
here." and and suddenly it was easy to
4:32
work on it and it was easy to know why
4:34
this character would do this. It's
4:35
because of this or this and that. And
4:38
that was sort of the the nucleus of when
4:41
we started going on that. And I remember
4:44
at that point I I was just I'm just
4:46
going to start drawing stuff. I'm you
4:48
know I'm a visual person so I'm
4:50
immediately I'm like drawing moments and
4:52
thinking of like set pieces and making
4:54
boards of inspiration all of that stuff.
4:57
And I got to a point where it's like,
4:59
okay, I think this is sort of like a
5:00
full-blown like you could this feels
5:02
pitchable. Um, it was still very high
5:05
level. And so Jennifer Lee was our
5:08
creative officer at the time and I had
5:11
developed a great relationship with her
5:13
on Frozen. I was a supervisor of Frozen.
5:16
So I she was my first person I reached
5:18
out to and I said, "Hey, I I'm working
5:20
on this idea." You know, I always love
5:23
how she thought about characters. I I
5:25
think of her as a very emotional writer
5:26
and in the best way. She's always
5:28
thinking of deeply about the characters
5:30
where they're at and what they're
5:32
feeling and thinking. I said, "Let me
5:35
get her take on this." And she was so
5:37
supportive. And we sat in the ABC
5:40
casting room, the little hallway,
5:44
uh, and we sat there for like an hour
5:46
>> and I she was just like, "Think about
5:48
this. I think you you should think about
5:50
like what these characters whose point
5:52
of view is it going to be from and this
5:53
and that and so we would just I would
5:56
just check in with her every couple
5:57
months like okay you know I was thinking
5:59
about that there's my update and we just
6:02
did that you know there I feel like
6:04
sometimes you assume there's this moment
6:06
where it's like all right we're going to
6:08
we're going to take pitches and then you
6:09
can come in and you're going to get a
6:11
green light on your project and you can
6:13
start doing it but I think a lot of our
6:14
projects here people are just sort of
6:16
working on these things and they just
6:18
kind eventually find an opportunity.
6:21
>> Yeah.
6:22
>> And that was um that was my experience
6:25
on how getting it going. But then all
6:27
the way through production, every time I
6:29
shared it would get a little bit easier
6:30
to talk about, a little bit easier to
6:32
share. And really in the beginning, it
6:35
was like me feeling like I was kind of
6:38
stepping out there. And then it started
6:39
to change where folks were actually
6:42
coming to me with experiences. Hey,
6:45
>> you know, hey, thanks for sharing that.
6:48
I actually
6:49
>> I lost my son you know and say oh my
6:51
gosh you know
6:53
>> I had no idea so it started to actually
6:56
>> build this community and that's it's and
6:59
that was really a turning point for me
7:01
in the production of it where it's like
7:02
oh my gosh this is
7:04
allowing folks to come forward you know
7:06
and be and feel like they have shared
7:09
experience which is absolutely
7:11
>> powerful.
7:12
>> Sorry.
7:13
>> Okay, quick question. You turned your
7:15
grief to good. I really feel like that's
7:17
what you did with this and that only
7:20
works because of the honesty that went
7:21
into this. Like you can feel the honesty
7:24
as you watch the or the truth as you're
7:26
watching this short. Um
7:29
what were the challenges with doing that
7:31
in a short one minute?
7:34
>> Yeah.
7:34
>> Sorry. Yeah. Um
7:40
yeah, it it's taking a leap, you know?
7:43
It's like I'm gonna put myself out there
7:45
and at first you're flinching when you
7:47
do it, you know, and and then before
7:50
long you sort of get more comfortable in
7:52
it. And it's sort of a similar thing
7:54
where it's like, wow, people are coming,
7:55
they're joining me on this
7:58
>> and um
8:00
uh sorry, do the question one more time.
8:02
>> Just what was that? You know, how does
8:04
it feel jumping out like that? Because
8:06
it feel like you were supported from
8:08
every level as you took that that leap.
8:10
I think every time you would take a step
8:13
out and then feel it reciprocated or
8:15
supported or not like oh that's too you
8:18
know that's too much then it would give
8:20
you that much more confidence.
8:22
>> So you just and you would just kind of
8:24
keep doing that okay let me share it
8:25
with this person oh that got a good
8:27
reaction share with this person that got
8:29
a great reaction.
8:30
>> What a great testament to Disney's
8:32
commitment to art too just that you were
8:36
supported as you took these risks. Like
8:37
I think that's amazing.
8:38
>> Yeah. And I was never asked to change
8:40
it. I was asked to improve it,
8:43
>> which is necessary, but there was never
8:45
a moment where they're like, I don't
8:46
think we should.
8:48
>> Well, thank you so much for your time. I
8:49
really appreciate it.
8:50
>> Thank you.
8:50
>> Thank you.
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