It’s a summer day in August 2023. A squirrel sits on a rock in the forest and doesn’t move an inch. Which may be because the red ball of fur is a stuffed cuddly toy. There’s even a price tag dangling from his tail. “Squirrels are difficult to train”explains an animal trainer next to me, “If you filmed them here in the forest, they would have run away in five minutes.”
“Here in the Forest” is an idyllic piece of nature in the Harz Mountains, north of Blankenburg, where filming began a few days ago for the first film in the Woodwalkers series based on the books by Katja Brandis. In the otherwise rather genre-shy film country of Germany, this is finally happening again big German fantasy project. And Moviepilot is very close.
Harry Potter with animals? Woodwalkers is based on a huge fantasy book series
The Woodwalkers book series by Katja Brandis is about shapeshifters: people who have both human and animal forms and can switch between the two. In order for the boy Carag (Emile Chérif) to finally meet other shapeshifters, one comes up Boarding school for “shifters” – Clearwater High. There he should, among other things, learn to better control his animal form: a puma. In addition to the lessons, there are also lots of adventures with friends like squirrel shifter Holly (Lilli Falk) and bison shifter Brandon (Johan von Ehrlich) on the program.
What was successful with Harry Potter also works here: This Woodwalkers universe with all its offshoots now includes over 20 bookswhich have sold over 2.5 million copies in total. A second and third film adaptation is already planned.
The squirrel in the forest that day is not real. The puma that plays Carag’s animal form, but yes. And in order to experience the birth of a new cinema franchise live with this real big cat in the Harz Mountains, Moviepilot was invited to film for a day.
There’s a lot of movie magic in filming the animal transformation scenes
Once you leave the base of the Woodwalkers film set with all the trucks, star caravans and cars full of equipment behind you, a hiking trail leads straight into the German wilderness. But anyone who follows the path over root stumbling blocks into a valley could just as easily believe that they have actually landed in the lonely nowhere of the USA. Such pine forests can also be found in Yellowstone National Park, where the story of Woodwalkers takes place.
The natural backdrop of the Harz sandstone caves with its dune landscape stands in for the Rocky Mountains in the fantasy adaptation. More specifically: for the transformation center at Clearwater High, where students practice switching between their animal and human forms. Only a few fake, but deceptively real looking rocks were placed in the center of this natural arena.
The fake squirrel will not appear in the finished film. It’s just a placeholder so the camera knows where to pan. This should come later Transformation scene with Holly actress Lilli Falk and a real red squirrel filmed elsewhere. Today, the only thing that reminds us of the actress is a purple T-shirt that was filmed in the sand. In the finished scene she will wear it only to leave it behind after her transformation. After all, squirrels don’t need t-shirts.
The camera team bridges the time with small shoots like this. Actors are generally not on set that day. Instead, the puma is the first to make its big appearance today. Because if everything doesn’t go as planned for him, a lot of things with the cast would have to be replanned.
No loud noises: This is how the Woodwalkers shoot works with a real cougar
With a kilometer-long electric fence The area of the Woodwalker set was largely cordoned off. The production manager who takes me through the guarded barrier tells me that the puma comes from Spain and was brought here several days ago. This allowed him to get used to the unfamiliar surroundings and mark his new territory.
The fence is not only intended to keep out curious hikers, but also to prevent the cougars from running away. Basically, I enter a huge animal enclosure: the (mountain) lion’s den. Beforehand it was drummed into everyone present: No fast movements, no noises and yes, nothing ediblewhat the animal could smell.
Due to technical difficulties with the cameras and difficult data transmission in the Wi-Fi-free forest, the start of filming was delayed. Anyone who has ever been on a film set before knows that Waiting for hours is not uncommon is. A lot of patience, a lot of chaos and a lot of reacting to the unexpected are part of making a film. “There’s always some problem”actor Dimitrij Schaad summarized it to Moviepilot. The actual shooting of a specific scene takes the least amount of time.
Today there are around 20 people on site, ranging from the cameraman, countless assistants, set coordinators, the VFX man for later visual effects and the production manager to a wide variety of animal trainers. Author Katja Brandis is also a visitor that day and gives me an interview in the sandstone cave. But actually everyone is waiting for the cougar.
The Woodwalkers cougar bites into the security fence – and I’m standing right behind it
In the afternoon the time has finally come: The Puma comes into the sandy depression on a leash. Everyone has to be quiet now. Unlike Woodwalkers main character Carag, the animal is actually a she. Her Spanish name (“Jama”) is pronounced with a scratchy hiss at the beginning of the word, as is typical for the country.
The big cat is surprisingly small from a distance. For our safety, we motionless observers were “hidden” behind a one-meter-high mesh fence (for sheep!) in the sandstone caves. We were warned that Jama was curious. And sure enough: Despite diversionary tactics from her two trainers, the mountain lioness is the first to stroll over to us to try and bite into the mesh of the barrier fence. Until now I thought the improvised obstacle was electrified. Which is apparently not the case. Suddenly the elegant, golden-colored animal no longer seems so small to me.
Stands for Jama a fight scene today on the plan. The transformed Carag attends fighting classes at his school and, in cougar form, takes on his classmate Berta, who is a bear. For this fight should Jumps and slaps with the paws be filmed. At first it doesn’t look like the puma lady has much desire to perform tricks. She prefers to run after a bird that makes the mistake of landing near her. Finally, her carer can help her with a white bag on a rope and a plastic bottle on a fishing rod persuade to play.
Then come the close-ups. In the film you can also see the mustache hair and pointed teeth of the magnificent big cat. Carag may be a likeable protagonist, but as a cougar he’s pretty high up on the food chain and no one should forget that a mountain lion is a dangerous predator.
Woodwalkers shows real animals in real settings – the fantasy comes later
One of the Puma trainers wears a silver-grey suit, which is easier to remove later on the computer. As he wrestling with the big cat on the groundwe onlookers hold our breath to the threatening hissing noises. But the coach is not worried. He has known the cougar since she was a baby.
There’s still a long way to go from shooting to the finished film scene. Everything has to be put together on the computer later. Presumably the footage filmed today only a few seconds in the finished fantasy film be seen. Even when filming with people, you hardly expect more than three to eight minutes to be on set in a day – often even less.
But that’s what Woodwalkers does (unlike films like The School of Magical Animals). real animals to see. After all, the different animals that the children transform into also account for a large part of the fascination in the book series. The conflicts between carnivores and herbivores take up as much space in the boarding school as the competition between the Hogwarts houses in Harry Potter.
Of course, Woodwalkers also works with computer effects, but the heart of the series is supposed to be appear authentic. This can only be achieved to a limited extent with artificial creatures. CGI cougars could also never look as pleased as Jama with her reward. Because when the mountain lioness goes back into her cage at the end, she gleefully finishes off the plastic bottle from before with her teeth.
Moviepilot’s set visit took place on July 29, 2023 at the start of filming Woodwalkers near the Harz town of Blankenburg.