‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ VFX Veteran Hal Hickel on Rotta’s Redesign, Phil Tippett and Jon Favreau’s ‘Less James Bond, More Jackass’ Approach

The ILM artist recounts animating a ‘Star Wars’ shot at Tippett Studio’s now-closed Berkeley facility, while detailing the movie’s redesigned creatures and practical effects, and a tribute to Miyazaki’s ‘My Neighbor Totoro’

Industrial Light & Magic animation supervisor Hal Hickel approached Jon Favreau ’s “ The Mandalorian and Grogu ” with a deceptively simple question: “What would Phil do?”