2024 has proven to be a standout year for Snoop Dogg, from inspiring memes during the Paris Summer Olympics to joining the panel on Season 26 of The Voice. His latest spotlight comes from his memorable role in Focus Features’ animated biopic, Piece By Piece, which tells the story of musician Pharrell Williams, also a former coach on The Voice.
Morgan Neville, the Academy Award-winning director of the film, recently spoke with NBC Insider about a particularly humorous scene that depicts the moment Snoop Dogg and his group visited Pharrell’s studio to create music history.
In the early 2000s, Pharrell and his collaborator Chad Hugo, known as the Neptunes, were making waves by producing hits for major artists including Gwen Stefani and Jay-Z. Snoop Dogg reached out to them in 2004 to help him expand his musical style. This collaboration led to the creation of the iconic percussion loop and the co-writing of one of Snoop’s greatest hits, “Drop It Like It’s Hot.”
This pivotal moment in the narrative is cleverly handled in Piece By Piece, where the film addresses Snoop’s language and lifestyle with a humorous twist. As a cloud of “smoke” envelops Snoop and his entourage in the Neptunes’ studio, LEGO versions of Pharrell and Chad respond by spraying a family-friendly “PG spray” to counteract the adult themes.
Neville expressed excitement about how the scene creatively resolved several challenges during production. He noted that animation allowed for a unique exploration of the moment during the creation of the song. “With animation, you can time travel in a way,” Neville stated, highlighting the joy of depicting the creative process.
He humorously acknowledged the challenges posed by the more adult themes, such as the prevalent marijuana smoke associated with that time. “One thing I agreed on from the outset was that we weren’t making an R-rated film,” he said. After some brainstorming, the concept of using a PG spray emerged as a comedic solution to maintaining a family-friendly rating, resulting in a favorite gag within the film.
Piece By Piece is currently showing in theaters.