And in fact, the live-action version called for a fairly different, and I would say in some ways, more detailed sound approach than the animated film series did. “Many animated films don’t even have a script in the beginning, so animation directors desperately need sound effects and music,” Thom explains. I get invited to get involved early on, typically on an animated film, and certainly did on the animated How to Train Your Dragon movies. So, you narrow down what’s going to work and what’s not going to work. “All film sound is stylized to some degree,” observes Thom.