Anna Daniels
Keane went on to reveal what he and Bryant bonded creatively over. As it turns out, the two men, though best known for their talents in completely different professional fields, weren’t all that different: both Keane and Bryant were creatives at heart and shared a love of classical music. It was when they got to talking about Beethoven — whose work Keane referenced while animating a pivotal scene in Beauty and the Beast — that Keane and Bryant formed an instant creative connection.
“I confessed to Kobe he had asked the worst basketball player in the world to animate him. He told me that was good because now everything I know about the game will come from studying him. We talked about, of all things, our love of Beethoven,” wrote Keane. “I told him how I animated the transformation of Beast (in Beauty & the Beast) to Beethoven’s 9th. I saw his eyes light up — the Mamba face — as he talked passionately about how he structured the tempo of a championship game to Beethoven’s 5th. We bonded creatively right then. Knowing Kobe was one of those out-of-the-blue gifts straight from God’s hands, still with the scent of heaven on it.”
In the aftermath of Bryant’s passing, one might wonder whether he and Keane would have teamed up again for another animated short film. Though the world lost Bryant far too soon, at least it will always have his and Keane’s “Dear Basketball” to look back on.
Written by: Looper
