If you like movies and animation, you’ve likely heard the name “Preston Mutanga”. Or, if not, you’re at least aware of Sony Animation’s most recent cinematic venture: Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse. The Spider-verse movies have revolutionized the world of animation, but I’m here to talk about one person in particular: Preston Mutanga.

Preston Mutanga in front of a Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse poster. Photo courtesy of Sony Animation.

Preston is a self-proclaimed lover of animation and an animator himself, but not in a “traditional” (and I use that term loosely here) sense. At 14 years old, Preston has found his niche in the world of Lego animation and is well on his way to mastering it. On his Youtube channel, LegoMe_TheOG, one finds multiple clips with Lego animated versions of movie scenes and trailers, among other things. As the sound on his videos is generally copyrighted, it is unlikely that his channel is monetized, but that is not to say that there are no future business prospects for Preston. When the second official trailer for Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse came out, Preston saw an opportunity for a fun video and got to work making a Lego version of the trailer (linked here). Within hours of posting, the video blew up on the internet (it is currently at 3.6 million views), and even caught the attention of Sony’s animation team. Through this, Preston was actually given the opportunity to animate a scene in the movie (which you can find here) itself! Information on the third Spider-verse film is very limited, so there’s no saying if we will see more of Preston’s work in it, but I have no doubt there are many things in store for him in the future!

In case you aren’t getting it, here’s the gist: A 14 year-old who loves animation was given the chance to animate a scene in the biggest animated movie of 2023 yet after reanimating the trailer for fun. Ultimately, I think there are some things we can all learn from this: 1) You are never too young to pursue what you love, and 2) Follow your passions! Don’t be afraid to start and be bad at something; if you keep with it, just like with a language or instrument or any other skill ever, you will improve and master it! God made us each with a specific purpose in mind, and it would be a waste of our lives not to pursue it.

Article: Elise Schlemeier