Animator's Breakfast

Will Finn has definitely animated a movie from your childhood. Joining the industry in 1979, despite being told that Animation was dead. He sweated his way up the ranks, being taught by the last remnants of the Nine Old Men. Nobody knew where the industry was going but having put in the work through the difficult period, he was ready to sink his teeth into great characters during the renaissance, like Cogsworth or Iago. Getting to talk to Will is such an amazing treat for me, he’s such a deep treasure trove of insider information across many studios and he’s kind enough to share all that throughout this podcast. Styling himself similar to Grandpa Simpson, recounting his tales. True to form, Will surprised me when he wanted to talk about not just one, but two Disney features of the 60’s: Sword in the Stone and The Jungle Book. These are a few of the things we talked about: The difficulty animation faced in the 1970s Why Sword in the Stone was everyone’s favourite film to work on How The Jungle Book worked where The Sword in the Stone didn’t & so much more! I’m really excited to hear your thoughts after listening to us ramble on!

When I think of the words play and animation, two words come to mind: Robot Chicken. A show from the insanely talented folks at Stoopid Buddy Studios. Animator and Studio Founder, Eric Towner, shares his story of moving to LA, finding a stop motion animation job on Craigslist which ultimately led him to working on the second season of Robot Chicken, and from there, becoming one of the lead creatives at the studio. Sitting down with Eric was an incredible treat for me, I’ve always wanted to know more about their studio and the playful approach they have to creation. Then Eric shared with me his chosen point of inspiration: his mother. A creative soul who encouraged her children to engage with the world in a thoughtful and curious way, which has shown through Eric’s own work. These are a few of the things we talked about: - The limitations of filming stop motion back in the day - behind the scenes on early seasons Robot Chicken - The importance of early mentors in shaping your creative path & so much more! I’m really excited to hear your thoughts after listening to us ramble on! If you want to know more about the nounsfest we discuss in the conversation, check it out here! NOUNS FEST — www.nounsfest.tv

Oscar nominated director Andrew Chesworth has such an interesting career. He worked at Disney animating on Frozen, Feast, Big Hero Six, Zootopia, Moana, Get a Horse! to name a few, before working with SPA Studios on Klaus and Ember, as well as directing two of my all time favourite animated shorts: One Small Step and The Brave Locomotive. Sitting down with Andrew was a great privilege, especially when he told me he wanted to talk about Disney’s 1940 Pinocchio. Often overlooked in the oeuvre of early Disney animated features, Pinocchio is a true tour de force in pushing the medium forward. More expensive than the highly successful Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, you can see no corners were cut with Pinocchio. Approaching with the mentality of no limitations, Walt Disney and his team were firing on all cylinders, finding a strong moral story, complex characters with distinct personalities mixed with incredible technical innovations as well as standout artistry in animation. These are a few of the things we talked about: The making of One Small Step and The Brave Locomotive The stylistic approach of each animator, including the criminally overlooked Art Babbitt and Bill Tytla. Irony at the base level of Pinocchio and the dangerous world that lurks in every corner & so much more! I’m really excited to hear your thoughts after listening to us ramble on!

Colin Jack is currently a co-director at Dreamworks Animation, and has storyboarded on everything from Ed, Edd n Eddy, Captain Underpants, Puss in Boots, The Croods, Boss Baby as well as more recently been Head of Story on Trolls Band Together. As we siphoned through a list of potential candidate works to talk about, he quickly decided on Fantastic Mr. Fox, the 2009 debut animation from visionary director Wes Anderson. I was so excited ot get to share a discussion about his work with Colin. These are a few of the things we talked about: - Moving from Live Action to Storyboarding - The themes of Fatherhood in the movie, reflected in Colin’s Life - The design choice of Fantastic Mr. Fox as it doesn’t resemble the visual style of Quentin Blake. & so much more! I’m really excited to hear your thoughts after listening to us ramble on!