On Feb. 7, Amazon Studios will select its Best Test Movie of 2011 from five finalists, including 12 Princesses, written and directed by Rob Gardner. This week, we’re telling our finalists’ stories (see more here). Learn more about the Annual Awards — totaling $1.1 million — here. 

Grimm’s Fairy Tales was source material for 12 Princesses, an animated, musical test movie written and directed by Rob Gardner, 34, of Mesa, Ariz.

Gardner’s story follows young hero Yannick from his humble beginnings as a bumbling farm boy and into the Fairy Realm, which he accesses by plucking petals from a magic flower. There he encounters a quirky cast of monarchs, giants and enchanted lawn gnomes — and the film’s namesake princesses, of course, whom he must save from the Bad Fairy and nefarious henchman, Iggy. 

What’s your “day job”?

I am a composer and music producer. I write, record and produce concert music, stage musicals and, from time to time, I’ll do music for films (usually shorts or independent films).

Why did you make this test movie?

A few years back, I’d written a stage musical based on the fairy tale “The 12 Dancing Princesses.” It was really well received and, since then, I’ve felt like it would make a great film. When I heard about the Amazon Studios contest on NPR, it sounded like the perfect avenue to try to get such a movie made.

How long did it take to make it?

I did two versions of the test movie, and each took about two months to make.

Tell us about your team/collaborators?

I’m lucky enough to have a lot of really talented actor friends who jumped in to provide the voices for all of the characters. In fact, many of them were in the original stage version of the musical. So it was a fun kind of reunion to re-create and re-invent these characters. The most fun part of the process was the days in the recording studio with everyone together trying different things. A lot of figuring out what worked and what didn’t quite work came out of those sessions.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in telling the story?

The biggest challenge was taking a simple fairy tale and fleshing it out into a new story, with new characters and sub-plots, while maintaining its centuries-old charm. Finding real-world motivations for those characters was difficult, especially since most of the original characters in the story can be pretty unlikeable.

What’s your favorite line, scene or moment?

There are a few lines in the script where the actor really took me by surprise with their delivery and made all of us in the studio laugh hysterically. Sometimes our laughter ruined the take, but hearing the lines still makes me smile. One line in particular is when Franc the Fairy is recalling what she had for breakfast, and she suddenly screams out to her friend Bob, “And it was delicious!” The line itself isn’t inherently funny, but her delivery brings such a wonderful zaniness to the character. For me, that’s the best part of bringing a script to life: the surprises that come about from an actor or director’s interpretation.

What do you most enjoy about filmmaking?

Again, the collaboration. Seeing the way others make your script become their own. When “my film” becomes “our film.”

What do you hope the audience gets out of the story?

There’s a line from the song “American Pie” that has basically become my mantra: “And I knew if I could have my chance / I could make those people dance / And maybe they’d be happy for a while.” That’s my hope with this story and with most everything I do. I want to make people happy for a while. I want to entertain, to help people forget about whatever’s bothering them and enjoy themselves. And maybe even dance a little.

What other movies have you made?

I haven’t made any movies myself. But I’ve been involved with the music in many films, especially student films. I studied film music at USC, and there was a close partnership with the excellent film program there. So I worked closely with a lot of directors and writers in the program at the time.

What made you decide to be a part of Amazon Studios?

As I mentioned earlier, when I heard about the launch of Amazon Studios through a story on NPR. I felt like their vision was a perfect fit for the project I’d been thinking about for a while: the idea that the “little guy” can create a project that appeals to the masses with the input and contribution of the masses. Amazon’s brand brings legitimacy to the concept. And their resources, connections and commitment open doors that I may never otherwise get through.

What have you gotten out of the experience?

Other than a lot of stress trying to hit deadlines and make the best product possible, I’ve gained a great deal of knowledge about how to craft a story and present it in an interesting way. I’ve still got a whole lot to learn in that department. But the process of making 12 Princesses for this contest has put me a little further along that path.

          — Ernest Jasmin