When Coke needed to reinvigorate flat sales, they decided to reimagine and expand the world of the Polar Bears for the first time in 83 years…and turn them into an entertainment franchise.

This meant the Polar Bears would speak for the first time and no longer drink Coke. They needed character names and personalities, a world to explore, and a story compelling enough to draw an audience on its own.

We partnered Coca-Cola with a team of Oscar-winning and nominated storytellers: executive producer Ridley Scott, director John Stevenson (Kung-Fu Panda), writer Dave Reynolds (Finding Nemo), and animation studio Animal Logic.

Coca-Cola reintroduced the Polar Bears to the world with a 6-minute film, a prologue to a new era of storytelling for the Polar Bears.

Coca-Cola wanted the reimagined Polar Bears to honor an 83-year old legacy. But turning them into talking bears in an Arctic world was no small feat. We worked closely with animation company through the creative development and animation process to perfect the look and feel, set and character design, and performances. There was also the added technical challenge of animating fur, feathers, snow and water effects (and sometimes all at the same time) -- all while designing the entire film to be released in 3D.

Character Performances

It was important to Coca-Cola that the life-like qualities of these magnificent animals were maintained throughout the film. Thus, animation was executed using the more "traditional" CG technique of keyframing in order to give our characters the weighting and gravitas of real polar bears. There was no use of motion capture or any simulated animation; all of the characters were animated by hand. All of the characters were rigged for animation in XSI and had an extensive system of controls for facial performance and fur/groom movement to allow for the most fine-tuned performances.

The animators referenced footage of the voice recording sessions, themselves or their peers acting out a scene, and wildlife. All of these things combined with carefully considered animation direction inspired the final character performances.

Character Design

After initial art direction, animation company developed shaders and lighting, fur and feathers, and fur dynamics to bring the bears to life. Their in-house system ALFRO allowed us to customize the groom for each bear, giving artists control of how much clumping or scraggle we see in the fur in any given area of the bear's body. This allowed us to create unique looks for each character.

3D Consideration

3D was a factor from the very beginning of the project, and stereoscopic cameras were used starting from the earliest phases of layout. All reviews considered both mono and stereo imagery so supervisors could view the work in context. This was a very important part of the shot design process and allowed us to create the best 3D experience to bring audiences deep into the world of the Polar Bears.

Fur, Feathers, Snow, and Water

It was a massive challenge to not only create water but also feature furred and feathered characters splashing and diving in said water. In particular, a shot of the entire Polar Bears family swimming together underwater required complex layers of fur and groom motion.

We employed the widely used VFX industry software, Houdini, which provided a high level of detail in order to create a remarkably realistic Arctic world.

Lighting

A rigorous lighting process was employed in order to give our world and characters a stunning and majestic feel. Key shots were first lit to act as guides for the rest of the film, and multiple passes were created to ensure the greatest level of control during final composite. Generally, there were upwards of 70 layers created for each final image, all composited in Nuke.

Within the first month of being online, the film and trailer garnered 2 million views on YouTube at a 96% approval rating. It now stands at 4 million and climbing thanks to a continued global rollout of the film in theaters and on TV. Thousands of tweets and comments demonstrated high consumer affinity for the characters and story, with many asking for a full-length feature.

In Europe alone, where sales have been stagnant for years, Coca-Cola saw a 5.5% increase in sales of Coke, the product most closely associated with the Polar Bears. With this success, the client has also been able to leverage the strong global assets created by the film (including the cast of characters) to create localized plans and promotions including digital, OOH, and retail activations.