''Tyrus'' is a 2015 feature-length documentary directed by

Pamela Tom Pamela Tom is a 5th generation Chinese American producer, director, and screenwriter. Her films often explore the Chinese experience in the Western world, social justice, feminism, and religion. Early life Tom's family immigrated to the U.S. ...

about the renowned

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

artist

Tyrus Wong Tyrus Wong (October 25, 1910 – December 30, 2016) was a Chinese-born American artist. He was a painter, animator, calligrapher, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer and kite maker, as well as a set designer and storyboard artist. One of the mos ...

, whose paintings became the inspiration for the classic animated feature ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...

''.

Synopsis

Tyrus Wong

immigrates Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

to the U.S. from

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

as a boy. Though living in poverty, his father, encourages Wong's unique talent for drawing. Inspired by the art of the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

and abstract Western painters like

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and Whistler, Wong employed simple brushstrokes, using watercolors and pastels, to create lush forests and green meadows. His philosophy of abstraction (fewer strokes) allowed him to connect with viewers' imaginations, as his work would suggest images while viewers' minds would fill in the rest. His work eventually caught the eye of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, who hired Wong as an

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

at Walt Disney Studios. Wong's style became the blueprint for the visual look and feel of the film of ''

'', constituting all its background art. After an abrupt dismissal from Disney, Wong would go on to become a fine artist, a

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and marke ...

, and muralist as a means of providing for providing for his family; however, he became a kite designer to fulfill himself artistically. Wong's storyboards helped set the tone and drama for films such as ''

Sands of Iwo Jima ''Sands of Iwo Jima'' is a 1949 war film starring John Wayne that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The film, which also features John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker, was w ...

'' (1949), ''

Rebel Without a Cause ''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format and directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social co ...

'' (1955),

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...

's ''

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

'' (1966) and

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute ...

's ''

The Wild Bunch ''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw gang on th ...

''. Despite working as in Hollywood for nearly 30 years, the

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

attitudes of the time prevented his contributions from being acknowledged until the 21st century. Wong died at the age of 106 on December 30, 2016, the oldest-known living

artist at the time of his death. He is now widely regarded, at Disney Studios and among illustrator communities, as "a Legend."

Production

Pamela Tom was inspired to make Tyrus after watching Bambi with her daughter. In the

behind-the-scenes In film, cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the Filmmaking#Production, production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the E ...

documentary that followed, she learned of Wong: ''Tyrus'' was produced by Tom, Tamara Khalaf, and Gwen Wynne, the originator of the EOS World Fund.

Release

''Tyrus'' premiered on September 8, 2015 at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...

. It had its U.S. national release on September 8, 2017 as a part of PBS's long-running series,

American Masters ''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...

. The film has screened at numerous film festivals across the world.

Critical Reception

Good Docs labeled the film a "tour-de-force."

Awards

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tyrus on IMDb

CAAM Fest 2016
2015 films Chinese-American films American independent films Documentary films about painters Documentary films about Asian Americans Documentary films about the film industry 2010s English-language films 2010s American films