Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

“I do not know which I admire more. Your skill as a warrior or your resolve as a woman.” — Lady Catherine de Bourgh

What if instead of the Napoleonic Wars pushing 18th century Europe into conflict, it was actually a supernatural threat – a zombie epidemic – that plunged the continent into war? That brain-eating alternate history is the central conceit of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, director Burr Steers’ nearly straight-faced adaptation of author Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel of the same name. The genre-bending parody transforms Jane Austen’s Regency era novel of manners into a zombie-slaying tale of love, classism, and kung fu.

Although film’s title is fairly self-explanatory, it is the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies opening sequence that does the necessary worldbuilding a mashup like this requires. Creative Director Ben Smith and the team at The Mill were tasked with developing a prologue that would ground the utterly insane concept in some semblance of reality, and, at the same time, explain the differences between this zombie-filled history and our own. To encapsulate this turbulent time, the team employed the talents of renowned political cartoonist Martin Rowson to illustrate the sequence in the style of 18th century caricaturist James Gillray. The results are magical; the viewer gets the impression that, if not for the legions of undead eating their way across the pages, this commemorative tunnel book should be in a museum somewhere.

The finished sequence takes the form of a bedtime story being told by Mr. Bennet (Charles Dance) in between the hushed whispers of young Elizabeth and her sisters. Bolstered by beautifully timed animation and Rowson’s irreverent illustrations, the prologue plays out not as some fairy tale dreamt up to scare children, but as practical, life-saving advice being passed from one generation to the next – from a well-meaning father to his well-mannered and very well-armed daughters.

A discussion with Executive Creative Director BEN SMITH and Visual Effects Supervisor YONGCHAN KIM of The Mill and Illustrator MARTIN ROWSON.

Could you give us some background on yourselves and your respective roles at The Mill?

Ben: I’m currently one of the executive creative directors here at the New York office. I’ve directed projects, before that I was a co-director, before that I was Head of CG. I’ve been at the New York office for about 10 years, I was at London for about four years before that, so I’ve been at The Mill for quite a long time.

Yong:…

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