Nick Bruno & Troy Quane Talk About Fatherhood, Spies In Disguise & More

Spies In Disguise Directors, Nick Bruno and Troy Quane talk with me about how they approached this blockbuster film, how much fun they had with the cast that included Will Smith, Tom Holland, Ben Mendelsohn and Karen Gillan. We chat about how fatherhood has influenced their careers and how technology has evolved over the years in animated films. 

We then shift the conversation to fatherhood. Nick and Troy open up about their feelings when they found out they became dads and how cute and dangerous babies finger nails can be and much more. We finish the interview with Fatherhood Quick Five. 

About Troy Quane

Troy Quane is a 24-year veteran of the animation industry. In 2014, he joined Blue Sky Studios to develop and direct feature film projects. In 1995, he began his career in the animation industry as a traditional animator for Walt Disney Animation Canada. There, he animated on a multitude of DTV video productions including Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Pocahontas II: Journey to the New World and Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas. By early 1999, Quane left Disney to become a freelance animation artist. He spent the next six years as a senior animator on various top-end commercials and feature films such as Fox Feature Animaon’s Titan A.E., Disney’s The Tigger Movie and Warner Bros. Feature Animaon’s Osmosis Jones , as well as Adam Sandler’s animated holiday feature Eight Crazy Nights and Universal’s Curious George. 

Further expanding his animation skills, in 2003 Quane began work on The Wild, a CGI feature for Walt Disney Pictures. On this production he was given the opportunity to broaden his artistic talent and became a key part of the story crew. His success in this new role led to him working as storyboard supervisor on the critically acclaimed live-action Disney film Enchanted

Over the next five years, Quane continued to contribute to the story and help develop a number of animated and live-action films, including The Incredible Mr. Limpet for Warner Bros., Candy Land for Universal, 9, for Focus Features, Arthur Christmas for Aardman Animation and Hotel Transylvania for Sony Pictures Animation. In 2010, he directed the 22-minute short film The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol with Sony Pictures Animation. This mini-movie, a combination of CGI and traditional animation was released in 2011 and is now enjoyed on television annually. Quane has also been a key contributor to the story of numerous Blue Sky Studios feature films including Ice Age: Collision Course and the Academy Award-nominated film Ferdinand. He currently resides with his wife and two children in Ridgefield, Conn.

About Nick Bruno 

A veteran of Blue Sky Studios, Nick Bruno, makes his directorial debut with Spies in Disguise. Born and raised in Mohegan Lake, N.Y., he learned at an early age that he could combine his love for drawing and filmmaking by pursuing a career in animation, which led him to study illustration and the fine arts at UMass, Dartmouth. Interested in CG animation, he then went on to receive his master’s at NYU studying computer animation. 

In 2005, Bruno joined Blue Sky Studios as a junior animator on the feature film Ice Age: The Meltdown. Having risen through the animation ranks, Bruno served as supervising animator on The Peanuts Movie and in 2015, Variety named Bruno one of its “Ten Animators to Watch.” Additional animation credits include work on Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur, Rio, Epic, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Ice Age: Collision Course as well as two short films– Surviving Sid and the Oscar-nominated No Time for Nuts. With a passion for storytelling, Bruno co-wrote the graphic novel Urban Legendz, which debuted in Spring 2019. He resides in his hometown with his wife, Allison, and their three children.

Follow Spies in Disguise on Twitter @SpiesInDisguise and make sure you pick up the movie on Blu-ray and Digital. 

About Spies In Disguise 

In this high-flying animated comedy, super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is none of the above. But this unlikely duo must team up for the ultimate mission to save the world when a “biodynamic concealment” experiment transforms Lance into a brave, fierce, majestic…pigeon!

About The Art of Fatherhood Podcast 

The Art of Fatherhood Podcast follows the journey of fatherhood. Your host, Art Eddy talks with dads from all around the world where they share their thoughts on fatherhood. Please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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