Kelowna animator helps bring Looney Tunes' newest villain to life

West Kelowna animator Chris Wieme has been passionate about animation since he was five years old when his mother first taught him to draw. From there, it was off to college, and just a year after graduation, he landed his first professional gig.

But why animation? For Wieme, it’s all about the magic of movement.

“Every scene is different. It’s always a new challenge—figuring out how a character lifts something heavy, how they interact with others," he told Kelowna10. "It’s about showing emotion, growth, and, hopefully, making people laugh. Seeing it come to life after days of work—that’s the best part.”

Now, his latest work is hitting the big screen as he steps into the Looney Tunes universe with The Day the Earth Blew Up.

For Wieme, working with Warner Bros. Animation wasn’t a stroke of luck—it was business as usual. Having collaborated with the company on previous projects, he was just a short email away from joining the production.

"They just reach out if they need a hand, ask if you're available, and next thing you know, you're working on the project," he said.

Wieme's animation credits include Green Eggs and Ham for Netflix, Disenchanted, and The Mr Peabody & Sherman Show. But stepping into a world with such a rich history has been a dream come true.

“I grew up watching Looney Tunes,” he admits. “In the back of your head, when you start a shot, you're always trying to mimic what they did back in the day. I was more of a Disney guy growing up, but when Warner Bros. calls, you don’t turn that down.”

So what was Wieme’s role in this Looney Tunes adventure? Introducing the film’s main antagonist to audiences for the first time.

"I worked about a minute on the villan The Invader and his introduction where he's up close and shakes his fists at the screen. That was my favorite shot in the whole movie," he said. "I also worked on when he gets off the ship and arrives on Earth."

Working on a major animated feature requires a mix of meticulous planning and creativity.

"You get your assignments, review the film, and they'll assign you a sequence. Then, you coordinate with the other animators and follow the animatic for acting," Wieme explained. "You send in your first pass to the animation director, and if you get the go-ahead, you refine it until it’s ready for cleanup.”

Animation is often underestimated—high-quality work can take an entire week just to produce five seconds of rough animation, while a 30-second shot may require up to eight weeks to complete.

So next time you decide to take a bathroom break during an animated film, Wieme says there’s something to keep in mind.

"If you're gone for two to three minutes, you probably are missing someone's year of work in that scene," he said.

Right now, Wieme is working on Tangles, an independent film based out of Vancouver that explores the subject of Alzheimer’s.

The Day the Earth Blew Up is currently playing in theatres.