Director Reza Memari discusses the 15-year journey behind The Last Whale Singer, rendering digital oceans, and teasing a major new TV series.
The ocean is full of untold mysteries, but none are quite as majestic as the natural symphony of the deep sea. In the breathtaking new animated film The Last Whale Singer, audiences are treated to a stunning, naturalistic coming-of-age journey that explores the beautiful and vital role humpback whales play in their underwater tribes.
The story follows Vincent, a young whale overwhelmed by insecurity and self-doubt, who feels like he doesn’t quite fit in. When his world is threatened, Vincent must embark on a deeply emotional journey to overcome his fears, discover his unique identity, and find his voice to protect the ocean he calls home. It’s a visually spectacular film with real stakes, blending laugh-out-loud humor with profound, universal lessons about collaboration and vulnerability.
Mama’s Geeky recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the film’s writer and director, Reza Memari, to dive deep into the 15-year journey of bringing this incredible marine world to life. Memari opened up about using his own insecurities as creative therapy, the monumental technical challenges of rendering digital water, and the complex task of framing a 16-meter whale alongside a tiny seahorse in a single shot.
He also shared some incredibly exciting news about the future of Vincent’s world, including a massive 52-episode television series currently in financing and a feature-length sequel screenplay that is already well underway.
Reza Memari Talks The Last Whale Singer
Mama’s Geeky: Congratulations on the film, it’s beautiful! What inspired you to choose a humpback whale as your central character?
Reza Memari: Well, about 15 years ago, because that’s how long animation films take to make, I saw a documentary about humpback whales and that they can sing. And I didn’t know that before. And that they even have singers, like they have a role for singers in their tribes. And these singers even have their own songs and specific songs. And they sing together. And then one singer learns from the other and changes their song. And I’m like, guys, why has nobody made a movie about this? And more, more precisely, why hasn’t Disney made a movie about this yet? And like throughout the whole development process, I kept like waiting for that day when Pixar announces their humpback whale movie. And I’m like, it hasn’t happened. So really early on, we were like announcing the movie like, hey, we’re making a whale movie. So to kind of, you know, this is ours. Don’t take it away. I was like, I have to make a movie about this. This is too, this is too good. And what happened was immediately I saw a humpback whale who doesn’t have soft, who like, who thinks that somehow he is not one of them.
Mama’s Geeky: What do you hope younger audiences and teenagers take away from Vincent’s journey?
Reza Memari: I mean, that would be amazing if teenagers love film, because that’s, that’s what we want, right? And it’s, I think, you know, I was, I was, I was making the movie at a time when I was kind of feeling insecure about myself. And I always use my films as some sort of therapy. So that sense, I was like, Hmm, maybe I should talk about, you know, speaking up and raising your voice, even when you’re afraid. And like, showing up, asking friends for help, working together to solve a hard problem. And I think all these kinds of themes are in there and ocean, ocean protection, and just getting to know all these unbelievable creatures.
Mama’s Geeky: From an animation perspective, what would you say was your single biggest challenge?
Reza Memari: Like this is an animated movie, but even for animation, we had like an unbelievable amount of visual effects, like over, I think 50% of the movie, there’s like magic, there’s water, there’s all these like little creatures, swarm effects, huge swarms of little tiny creatures. I would say one of the biggest challenges was that we have like, what is 16 meters in feet? I don’t actually know. I have no idea. Don’t ask me. That is not my forte. 16 meters is like, let’s say, I think 32 feet. And, and like a whale of that size to put that in the same frame with like a seahorse that’s like a couple inches long. So to have these kinds of huge perspective shifts and scale differences were quite insane and quite the challenge. Our storyboarders were like at the beginning, how are we going to do this? Like we can’t, there is no way to get all of this into one frame and not like make the, like not disappear the seahorse. So that was really one of the biggest, biggest challenges for sure.
Mama’s Geeky: Vincent is such a lovable lead. What do you think makes him so relatable to audiences?
Reza Memari: Oh, that’s so nice of you. Thank you. I think, I think Vincent is just insecure and overwhelmed. Like, aren’t we all right now? It’s like, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, I, I feel like what he does is he’s he admits that he is in over his head. And I think that also makes you connect. Like he’s open about his vulnerability and about his inability in a way, and at the same time, very open to growing out of it and learning. And like, you know, he’s not resisting the call for too long in the movie before he gets on his journey. So I think that’s what people connect with.
Vincent’s Story Is Not Over
If you fell completely in love with Vincent, you are in luck. Reza shared that the team is already actively expanding this underwater universe.
A brand-new television series geared toward a slightly younger audience is currently in financing, with a whopping 52 episodes planned to follow Vincent as he steps into his official role as the whale singer. Even better? Memari has already completed the second draft of the screenplay for a theatrical sequel film, which promises to test Vincent with an entirely new challenge as a lone whale singer.
Want to hear more behind-the-scenes secrets, including how RuPaul’s Drag Race Canada star Priyanka joined the cast, and why the animators were banned from going on an ocean field trip? Watch our full video interview to get all the details.
About The Last Whale Singer
When a monstrous creature escapes from a melting iceberg, a self-doubting teenage humpback whale must face his fears and dive into the darkest depths with his friends, to discover a mystical song that can save the oceans from destruction.
The Last Whale Singer comes to theaters on June 5.
