People who get into animation tend to be kids. We don't have to grow up. But also, animators are great observers, and there's this childlike wonder and interest in the world, the observation of little things that happen in life.
I wrote on a show called Johnny Bravo when I was at Hanna-Barbera.
People say that the best part about doing animation is that you don't have to dress up to go to work, but I don't believe that. I dress up to go to work. I dress up for an airplane. I think it's just focusing your skillset, focusing on your voice and the comedy.
I was mentored by great Disney animators at the end of their careers.
'When Marnie Was There' was the first animated film I've ever done.
I'm a lifelong Simpsons fanatic and I wanted to create my own animated show, one day.
I've been very fortunate in animation - when I get on a project, people tend to keep me, so I have long stays of work rather than bouncing around.
As long as I can recall I've always wanted to make cartoons.
I began my career creating art for an animated feature film, and it has been a life-long dream to tell some of the story of my own life - the story behind my art - through the medium of motion pictures.
Literally overnight, I became an animator... and one that was well-known.
Animation is the only thing I ever wanted to do in my whole life. I have no desire for live-action or anything else.
I auditioned for 'Coco' when I was nine years old, and I had no idea I was auditioning for a Disney/Pixar movie. When I was 10, they told me that it was going to be a Disney/Pixar movie, and I was just mind-blown. I was so shocked and thankful that I was going to Pixar.
When I was a teenager, my dad watched my films and told me I could go to art college and study animation. He made me see that I could do this for a living.
I had - I was pretty hell bent on getting into the cartoon business specifically as an artist from the get-go.
I wanted to be an animator originally. I went to art school; I went to art college and everything. But that screen was just calling me.
Back when I watched 'Future Boy Conan,' I thought I might like to try my hand at animation, but now, not at all.
I'm very fond of the strictly visual cartoons I did when I was breaking in in the 1970's. Over time I migrated to a more verbal approach.
I used to animate. I started in animation, and you'd end every day with at least one substantive contribution.
In college, I was a cartoonist at 'The Daily Northwestern.' So I draw myself. I was an animator. But basically, I went to Northwestern to major in English, wound up in college for two years. Studied animation there. Came to Disney. My first week at Disney was the week that 'Star Wars' came out.
'Ice Age 4' came totally out of nowhere for me. I was told Fox Animation was interested in hiring me as a story supervisor or something or other that sounded way too professional for me.
I've always drawn, for example, and I did consider when I was younger, it was either do I become an actor or do I become an animator cartoonist at that point. Do I work at Disneyworld or something and do animated cells or something?
Luckily, I went to school at CalArts, and then ended up here at Disney, starting in the Animation Building and working my way up. I started as an animator, and then did character designing and storyboarding, and eventually, directing.
When I was a kid, I wanted to make movies. In particular, I loved animation and would love to have been an animator.
I find that I have done a pretty good job of fusing all three of them so far and I intend to get better at my craft. This is the reason why I am always eager to learn new stuff, especially from those who are more experienced than me. I am like a sponge. My ultimate goal is to open an animation studio in St. Lucia.
Animation's a small industry, and no matter where you go you're going to meet your friends from CalArts.
