WEBVTT - The Co-Creator of PHINEAS and FERB was a Child Prodigy! 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.680 Hey, Christy, Hey Will, how are you. I'm super jazzed 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:06.560 about our guest today. I am too. Who is it? 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:10.920 It's Dad pov and Meyer, the legend, the icon, the 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:14.920 phideous and creator amongst so many amazing things. Doesn't he 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.560 also have like nine trillion followers on the TikTok machines. 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:21.440 He is many things, and we're going to get into 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:34.960 it today. On I hear voices, all right, what's up, Dan, 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:37.320 We are excited to have you. When I hear work, 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:40.920 we get right into it. But like you know, here 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:46.360 we are. I don't know that that I've met Will. 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.080 He looks like like I might have met him. He 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:52.160 looks like vaguely familiar to have. That's how I thought 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.120 about it with you as well. I think we've done 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:56.560 something together in the past at some at some point, 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.040 I would imagine that at least been at the same 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.680 party or something at some point. Yes, I actually we 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:08.560 were probably on a yacht with for Michael uh wait, 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:14.160 Kevin Michael Richardson. Kevin Michael Richardson's uh part Okay, So 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.960 then we absolutely were. Yes, that is exactly yes, I 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:22.080 think that's where we probably met. Yes, yes, for our 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.759 everybody Kevin. Michael Richardson is oh I love that man, 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:29.240 Michael Richardson in the voice of everybody, and he'll be 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.600 on at some point. But I also think I did 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:35.080 a Phineas and Ferb back in the day oh excellence. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.839 So you probably you may have met Swampy because because 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.679 I would usually only come in on the days that 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:43.400 I was recording, because I was I was back doing 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:47.200 the rest of the stuff and Swampy was running the recording. 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:49.600 So who did you do on Phineas? Yeah, that well, 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:51.720 I I honestly can't remember we were doing. I think 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.280 we might have. Didn't we do some kind of kimpossible 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:59.520 thing with Phineas and Ferb, well not not verbally, not 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:04.040 believe we did, for they had that Spot the Difference 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.919 episodes where where we would add visual things to stuff 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:11.440 and play them and to see if kids could could 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.880 spot anything like and we put kimpossible into a shot 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:18.160 that you know, like like we've got some assets from 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:20.560 one of the Impossible shows. And I'm sure we also 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:23.920 did some sort of like promo crossover kind of thing 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:26.840 where it's you know, it's like hi, run and this 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:29.639 is Phineas and like that kind of stuff. There were. 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:32.400 There were thousands of those and continue to be. And 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:36.160 one thing I will say is Dan Phineas and took 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:41.560 over the Epcot ride impossible, and we were okay with 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:45.040 it because we were going to give it to anybody. 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:48.639 We were happy to give it. They just took down. 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.640 They just took down the Phineas and Ferb version of 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:55.000 that at Upcot. Yeah, did you like two months ago 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:57.800 or something. Well, it wasn't even a ride. It was 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.000 sort of like a go around and and follow these 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:07.160 instructions kind of. I never played it all the way through, 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:09.360 but I played like a section of it when they 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:11.440 were putting it together. Swampy and I went out and 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.760 did some press out there, and uh, And they've told 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:19.960 me that they're sending me one of the Doofenschmart sculpts 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:23.680 from from the park, which I'm so excited about. But 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.640 like they told me this like a month ago, and 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.240 so I'm like constantly looking because it looks like it's 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:31.720 gonna be like four ft tall, and I'm like, like, 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.000 I keep looking for a big box and it it 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.840 has not come yet. I I hope they remember, you know, 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:41.160 Like they got my address and everything at the corner 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:44.840 of my office. He's just going to be like standing 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:49.800 at your driveway one day. So I have a question 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.400 because you only come in, Uh, you only come were 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:56.280 going in there when you were recording your character. Because 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:59.880 you're doing double and triple and quadruple duty on finn 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:02.760 Us and verbs, so I'm doing a lot. I mean, 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:06.080 you create, you co created the show. You were I'm sure, 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:08.680 writing on the show, producing the show, helping with every 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:13.880 aspect of the show, and doing character voices. Yes, I was. 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.799 I was. I was the show runner and also writing 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:21.880 songs for the show and also doing doing you know, 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:25.520 I basically would do doofin Schwirtz and then like two 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:30.040 other incidentals if we needed incidentals. There were only I 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:34.200 did climp Baloon, this weird magical you know, recurring character. 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:37.040 It was a magical old timey bathing suit that lived 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:41.200 in the Himalayas for some reason. But otherwise I was 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:44.400 just I was just defin Schwirtz. But but I was, 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:47.000 you know, making notes on boards. I designed the characters. 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:50.080 I was. I was directing first season until what I 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:52.880 made them higher some of the directors, so I didn't 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.040 also have to do that. But I was back doing, 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:58.520 you know, doing a lot of the day to day 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.240 work of just making all those decisions and stuff for 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:09.240 the for the show and reach. I'm I'm a bit 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:12.479 a d D. So it's second hyper focus on a 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:14.560 bunch of things at a time if I like them all, 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:19.279 can we can we go back to the beginning of 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:23.120 of your career in animation and just what got you 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:25.960 into the world of animation, What attracted you to this 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:29.000 this incredible business of show. You know, you know, it's 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:32.840 funny because because when I was I was applying to college, 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:36.680 as I applied to to Cal Arts and to USC 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:40.360 and uh and cal and I sent in a bunch 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.200 of my artwork along with you know, with other things 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:45.920 for my portfolio. I sent some some actual art because 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.839 I was a professional artist when I was like twelve, 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:53.840 and uh and I was this weird. I was like 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:59.520 a child prodigy kid as as an illustrator and uh 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:04.000 and I sent in some artwork for for them and 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:06.279 uh and they sent me back a thing. And I 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:09.279 was but I was applying to the live action film 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:14.000 department at Cal Arts and they said, uh, and they 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.440 sent me a thing that said, we don't We're not 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:21.840 making decision on the live action department for you know, 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.279 for a while yet. But we did show some of 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.560 your artwork to the animation department and they said they 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:30.320 will take you right now, but that you'll get an 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:33.360 early admittance if you want to go into animation. And 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:35.880 I said, I don't want to go into animation. And 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:40.279 I threw that letter away and I went and uh 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.200 and and I ended up going to USC and never 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.080 got into that film school either, but I took nothing 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:50.520 but film classes and then I dropped out and UH 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:53.720 and I was just looking for work to you know, 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:58.920 to keep the power on and uh and they they 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:02.400 were looking for a storyboard artists on Teenage Mutant Ninja 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:06.680 Turtles in the eighties, the original Teenage Muting. And I 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.840 was like, well, I I understand filmmaking and I can draw. 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:11.800 I should go and apply for that. And so I 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:15.960 applied for that and UH and I did UH storyboard 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:20.720 clean up for them for for like a year or so, 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:23.640 just freelance, like every week they would give me a 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.760 new one. And I'm making good money. And then UH, 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:30.360 I went in in the house and did and work 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:36.120 on uh the UH Toxic Crusaders and James Bond Jr. 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:43.160 And UH. And then when that was drying up suddenly, 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:45.120 you know, like that they didn't have other shows for 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:46.800 a while, and so I was out of work for 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:48.800 for a while, and I had let all my freelance 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:52.400 art stuff go, you know, like like sort of followed 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:54.920 by the wayside then and there was like six months 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:56.640 where I didn't work at all, and I was down 0:07:56.720 --> 0:08:00.320 to my last like two or three hundred dollar ers 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:03.200 in the bank, which was gonna be rent next you know, 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:05.239 and I was like, I really need to get something 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:11.440 going and UH and UH, and I took it, and 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:17.040 I applied to the Simpsons and I applied to UH, 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:21.120 applied to the Simpsons and I and I got hired 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:23.240 to write a low budget slasher movie on this in 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:28.360 the same week. And the Simpsons says, said, UH, said well, 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:31.480 we'll hire you. Come on in and draw here. And 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.600 so I was going in during the day and drawing, 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.320 and at night I would go I would come home, 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:39.320 I would have dinner, I would I would get up 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:42.240 and I would start writing this script to for this 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.560 little bit low budget slasher movie. Untill ten o'clock, eleven o'clock, 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.080 twelve o'clock at night. I'd go to sleep, i'd wake up, 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.040 I'd go into work again. And I did that for 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:55.840 two weeks. And then I had a a movie that 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:59.000 was gonna get made that I had written the script for, 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.200 and and I was told that I could direct it, 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:03.800 but they would only be able to pay me this 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.640 amount of money. And I was working at The Simpsons 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:10.320 and making at least that in the next month, and 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.120 then I was going to continue to work months and 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:17.840 months and months, and and I realized I would have 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.200 to quit the Simpsons to go and direct this little 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:24.160 budget slasher movie. And and I suddenly realized that all 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:27.360 the time I had spent in live action I had 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:31.880 I didn't really necessarily feel a kinship to the people 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:35.000 in live action. I didn't feel like those were my people. 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:38.880 And uh, and it was actually a party at Swampy's house, 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:42.760 my my uh, my partner on Phineas and ferb was 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:45.760 another artist on The Simpsons, and he was throwing a party. 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.480 And my my first wife was was an actress and 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:51.559 and and I was trying to get her to come 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:52.640 to this party with him, and she was like, I 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:54.960 don't know if I want to go to an industry party. 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:57.840 And I was I was like, let's just go. We'll 0:09:57.840 --> 0:09:59.840 make it a point, we will just make an appearance. 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:01.360 And these are a bunch of people I'm working with them, 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:03.440 and say, okay, we'll go. And we went and we 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:07.679 had a great time. And nobody quoted their resume to me. 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:10.560 Nobody like, you know, like nobody got a glassy I'd 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:12.560 look and start turned away if they didn't feel they 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.199 felt like I couldn't help their career or anything like that. 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:18.080 And it was just a bunch of people hanging out 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:20.520 and having a great time. And we got in the 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:23.920 car and my wife was was was like, you know 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.200 what that was? That was an actual party. I haven't 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:31.400 been an actual party in like ten years in Los Angeles. 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.400 I've never never been to it. Like that was great. 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:35.160 And I was like, I think these are my peeps. 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.839 I think this is you know, and so I so 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:42.240 I turned down the gig on the on the Slasher movie, 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:45.480 you know, directing it, and I just stayed at The Simpsons. 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.160 And then from the Simpsons, I ended up uh going 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.120 to a Brocco's Modern Life over a Nickelodeon, which they needed. 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.000 They needed people who could write and draw, and I 0:10:55.040 --> 0:11:00.240 had done a comic strip, UH for daily comics strip 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.400 at USC at the for the for the school at 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:04.760 USC for the time I was there, and I had, 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:08.000 you know, so hundreds of things that I had written 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.400 and drawn, and I came in and handed it to 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:15.200 Roger Chassan, who was the supervising director who had animated 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:18.520 Jessica Rabbit for the for the movie back in the day. 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:20.720 And if I had known that, I would have been 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:24.400 a lot more more nervous. Nervous would have been like 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:26.760 but but I handed him like a book of my 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:30.040 comic strip and he laughed, laughed at the first like 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:32.840 three pages and said, Okay, you're hired. And it was 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:35.720 like the easiest job interview I've had. But that's okay, 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:37.440 So wait, I have to I have to ask you 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:39.960 a question because there's so much there that I you 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.480 could do an entire show and the justice stories you told, 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:45.440 because first of all, I have to start with because 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:49.920 you glossed over this very quickly a professional artist at 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:54.360 twelve years old. At twelve years old, I was doing 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.840 all the juried art shows in the Deep South where 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:01.240 I grew up in Alabama, and UH, and there were 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.280 a bunch of art shows in that whole area where 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:08.760 you had you had to to uh send in slides 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:10.480 of your work, but you didn't have to send in 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:13.800 a picture of yourself. They would decide whether you were 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:19.120 good enough to go into these art shows and binding 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:21.960 and they would always pick me. They would always like 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:23.679 approve me, and I would show up and they would like, 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.120 so it is your father the artist. No, no, it's 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:29.960 and they would do like like stories on me in 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.320 the in the in the in the paper. And I got, 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:36.040 you know, like the the Atlanta Institute of the Art 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:38.760 or whatever that's that's called in Atlanta was really trying 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:42.480 to recruit me to come to their their art department 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:45.040 and stuff. But I was making good money for for 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.280 a twelve you know, like like for a teenager who's 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:50.679 not able to pay rent. I would go to these 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:53.400 art shows and make fifteen hundred dollars in a weekend. 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:55.680 And I was doing that a bunch of times in 0:12:55.720 --> 0:13:00.440 the in the year, and uh and like the there's 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.200 a magazine that the San Diego Zoo puts out that's 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:05.480 uh that I sent them some art and they and 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:07.760 they and they paid me to use one of their 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:11.040 things on the cover. And I was just doing a 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:14.640 lot of a lot of that, and I and with 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:18.760 those proceeds, I bought a super eight camera and movie 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:22.280 projector with a sound on sound thing where I, you know, 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.360 where I can make little movies, because that's what I 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.520 really wanted to do, was make movies. This is where 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:33.000 I find your journey very interesting, because we will eventually 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:36.360 get to how he isn't obviously an icon, but an 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:41.880 icon in the whole TikTok world. Right now, he's million followers. 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:45.800 That is not something to down. It's a lot of 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:48.920 people to be paying attention to what I do. But 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.320 what I find so interesting is that a man, a 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:58.120 legend such as yourself, I understand your pain about loving 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:01.760 film and cinema and taking the classes. I went to 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:05.760 Columbia for that. I was waitlisted at a f I 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.520 I couldn't get in. I tried twice. I tried to 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:12.000 get into their women's program for directing. I was waitlisted 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:14.760 because of their silly little reasons whatever. I get it. 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:19.640 But at the same time, our business it is so 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:24.840 weird about who it lets in the gate keeping. It's 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.280 so strange, like you could have the most obvious amount 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:32.960 of like talent, enthusiasm, professionalism and it just doesn't go 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:36.560 in your direction, and and and you know, it just 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:40.560 just really encouraging that you were, you know, rejected. I'm 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:44.080 sorry to say so many people are fans of yours, 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.600 and I don't know if they know that about your story, 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.479 that you know that that was maybe in a multiverse 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:54.280 you're Scorsese somewhere. Yeah, it's possible, but you have to 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:58.280 see in the animation world, you know, I've done very 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:01.880 well and and I you end up finding the thing 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:03.840 that you're really meant to do. And I think that, 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.680 you know, part of the reason I threw away that 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:10.560 that that cal Arts letter was because at the time, 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:13.640 at that time, that was like the Dark Cauldron days. 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:17.680 That's where nothing good was happening in animation. Disney wasn't 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.280 Disney was doing Oliver and Company. And you know, like 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:24.360 there were there were no classic animated things happening in 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:28.280 TV was all like like the care Bears or Transformers. 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:30.880 It's all stuff based onto you know, like, so there 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:34.160 was nothing cool happening in animation. By the time I 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.320 got into animation, the Simpsons had happened, and suddenly that 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:41.280 was cool and and uh and ran and stimpy and 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:46.440 and Batman the animated series, and and then Little Mermaid. 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:50.080 There was this whole second renaissance in animation. So suddenly 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.200 it was like, oh, no, I can do all the 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:55.640 things that I do in animation. I can, you know, 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:57.680 And that's what I do, like, you know, like for 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:03.080 a living. Now. I draw silly pictures, I write stupid stories, 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.440 I talk in silly voices, and I write stupid songs, 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:08.960 which are all the things that I would be doing 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:11.920 if I was unemployed. I would just nobody would be 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.160 paying me to do them. It's all I would be 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.040 at home doing by myself. So well, that's also the 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.120 joy of our industry though. It's what I mean. It's 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:20.880 like if you want to be a doctor and you're 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.760 rejected from medical school, you can't walk away and go, 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.080 you know what, I'm gonna go try it anyway. Yes, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:31.880 as industry exactly, but entertainment industry you get. You hear 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.280 stories all the time, the Quentin Tarantinos, the Dan's, all 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:37.200 these people where it's like I got rejected, so I went, 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.560 I'm gonna go do it anyway, and they become huge successes. 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.080 So it is one of the few industries in the 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.080 world where you don't need the education. If you have 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:47.520 the talent and the drive and everything else you can 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:50.120 do um. If you just have the will to go 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:52.800 out and make it happen, you can make it happen. 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:54.760 Now you're still it's still winning the lottery, I mean, 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:57.720 the chances of it happening are are slim. But you 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.560 then get people like Dan who say, Okay, well you 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:02.120 said no to me here, I'm gonna go find a 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:04.959 different avenue and become hugely successful over here. And and 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:08.040 also it's much easier, I you know, like I think 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:11.119 the reason that I found this a better way to 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:15.640 get in is because you can show Like somebody who 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:21.840 doesn't draw doesn't think they can draw, someone who doesn't 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.520 write or doesn't direct, thinks they could write or direct. 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:27.480 You know, you know, you know what I mean, Like 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.640 people think they can write because they can spell. So 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:34.320 it's you know, it's it's like, oh, I would be 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:35.639 able to do that if I just sat down and 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.760 thought about it. So so you don't fight against that 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.840 thing where where people who are there to hire you 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:46.159 sort of feel like they could do it do it 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.480 as well. Also, somebody who doesn't write can't read a 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.600 script and tell you whether it's any good because they 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:56.000 don't get what's good or bad about it. But somebody 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:58.280 who doesn't draw and look at the drawing and say, 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:00.760 that looks like what it's supposed to look like. So 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:02.400 so to me, it's like the fact that I could 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:04.359 sort of draw anything you put in front of me. 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:07.160 I've always been able to change styles to whatever show 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.520 I'm on and stuff. It's loving that the fact that 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:11.760 I was able to just go, oh, you wanted drawn 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:14.200 like that, Okay, I'll do this. They were like, Okay, 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:18.240 well you're hired. That's it's an easier way to get work. 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:21.040 I think if because it's a it's a more distract 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:25.439 demonstrable talent. I think, who are the artists that inspired you? 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:31.119 Dan or Um? It really sort of all starts and 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:34.560 stops with Chuck Jones, and there's a lot of others, 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:37.560 but he's the one that I that I that like, 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.720 every frame that I've seen that's drawn by Chuck Jones 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:44.159 just makes me go, oh, that's the perfect you know, like, 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:46.560 and that's what I would always try to do when 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:49.080 I was when I was you know, when I was boarding, 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.439 which I don't do as much of now. I boarded 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:53.480 the pilot to the to the to the new show 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:57.679 in the in the first episode. But but when whenever 0:18:57.720 --> 0:19:00.760 I would be like working on a visual gag, I 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:03.240 would just put post it's over post its over post 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:07.000 its and try to like keep pushing the pose until 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:09.919 it was perfect. Like, Okay, if I go any further, 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.119 it's not going gonna be good anymore. This is right 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.119 where it has has to be. And I just was 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:21.440 always trying to trying to um channel Chuck Jones when 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:25.040 I when I drew and and as far as visual storytelling, 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:30.080 I was always trying to channel Miyazaki, who I got 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:32.280 to meet. I got to meet Chuck Jones in a 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:37.120 book signing once but which was cool. Uh And and 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.439 then I got to meet Miyazaki in his studio in Japan, 0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:44.040 which was like one of these really really cool moments 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.840 I got to I was actually in Howe's Moving Castle 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.520 and that was that was that's what they were making 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:53.080 when I when I went to the studio, getting to 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:54.560 go in and do some of the I think I 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:58.320 did three characters for the English dub was was really cool. 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:01.840 And Jason mars And who's has been a guest on 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:04.520 the show, and is my best friend growing up was 0:20:04.640 --> 0:20:08.160 actually the lead in Spirited Away. Very cool. So yeah, 0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:10.120 we talked about how he booked that entire role from 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:15.280 his closet, right story you hear those, but yeah, you 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:17.679 do you I mean again, I imagine it would be 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.919 like any other medium where you know, there are the 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:23.080 people that do it, and then then there are people 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:24.679 that do it well, and then there are people that 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:28.600 do it so well, but other people just like yep, yeah, 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:31.200 but and that's one of those. I felt that the 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.159 way the first time I saw a Kira where it 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:37.880 was like, oh, this is what anime and animation could be. Like, Okay, 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:39.600 it's not because I grew up on all the shows 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:44.240 you were talking about, which when you're eight years old, Thundercatch, Transformers, 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:47.840 g I Joe, they were the greatest thing in the world. 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:49.600 But then you get a little older and you watch 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:52.000 the first episode of Batman in the animated series, and 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:59.080 you go, oh, wait, everything's different now. Yeah, yeah, you 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:03.240 know you've got those. Okay, so you get a call, Hey, 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:04.840 we want you to come in to work on a 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.040 little show called the Simpsons. Now what was the Simpsons? 0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:12.719 When you joined up? It was cool because I loved 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:15.439 them on The Tracy Ullman Show. And then when I 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:19.320 heard they were doing that, I actually applied to them 0:21:19.560 --> 0:21:25.239 way early and got turned down like I didn't define well, 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:27.439 I didn't have any studio experience. It was before I 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:29.199 was on The Ninja Turtles, and I've never worked in 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:31.320 a studio, and they were just a little a little 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:35.440 scared about it. Um, I applied. The time they took 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:39.560 me was was second season and I and UH and 0:21:39.560 --> 0:21:42.399 and I went in. So I had already seen first 0:21:42.400 --> 0:21:45.080 season and fallen in love with it, and I was like, 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:47.000 this is this is a show I really want to 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:49.120 work on. So you're a fan already by the time 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:52.560 you were on that second season. They gave me, they 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.719 gave me a drawing test and then you know, like 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:58.720 before I had just taken in like like this far 0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:03.639 Out Man Hippie Land amusement sequence I did for Tommy 0:22:03.720 --> 0:22:07.359 Chong's movie for it was it was his first movie 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:09.439 without Cheech. It was called Far Out Man, and I 0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:13.560