CN TWENTY

“What’s so special about October 1st?”

It’s the 275th day of the year (except on leap year).

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, actress Julie Andrews, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Rehnquist were all born on this day.

In 1962, Johnny Carson hosted his 1st Tonight Show.

In 1972, nothing really happened. It fell on a Sunday.

In 1982, EPCOT Center opened in Orlando, Florida.

In 1992, The Cartoon Network premiered on basic cable! (as if that weren’t the point of this post.)

If only Jimmy Carter, Julie Andrews, and William Rehnquist had formed a supergroup to combat the forces of evil, the world would be a better place today.  Sadly, the three never crossed paths simultaneously.

Above is a picture of Ted Turner at the launch of the network 20 years ago today.  I like how he wore sunglasses that were tinted the same color as Fred Flintstone’s garb.  Coincidence?  I wouldn’t put it past him.

So if we were to step into Mr. Peabody’s Wayback Machine, we would discover that the Cartoon Network first opened with an introduction by Droopy. After that, the very first cartoon that they played on-air was “Rhapsody Rabbit.” 

This year, to mark the occasion, the network commissioned the London-based design shop, I Love Dust , to create “an epic 2 minute music video feature original music by Mad Decent and nearly 100 of our favourite Cartoon Network characters from over the years.”  All I have to say is, “I heart it lots!”

It’s always fun seeing Johnny Bravo hanging out with other cartoon characters.  Especially when they’re dancing!

So Happy Birthday Cartoon Network!  I guess next year you can legally drink.  Or adopt a child.  Just try not to do both at the same time.

MEMORIES OF JOE BARBERA

It's been a while since I last worked at Hanna-Barbera, but I wake up every morning to my kids watching cartoons (quite often, the Smurfs) and I'm taken back.  It's a trigger.  Like eating a grilled cheese sandwich.  Or listening to Hall and Oates.  For me, anytime I see a cartoon, it sparks some sort of memory from my time working (and playing) at 3400 Cahuenga Boulevard.

Above, is a publicity photo taken in front of Hanna Barbera Studios from my "What A Cartoon!" days.  I'm guessing that it was never circulated because the lighting and composition weren't the greatest. For me, the picture marks the first time I ever got my picture taken with Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera.

Back Row: Pat Ventura (Director, George and Junior), Larry Huber (Executive Producer), Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera, Bob Onorato (Supervising Producer), Eddie Fitzgerald (Director, The Worm)

Front Row: Me, Craig McCracken (Director, Powerpuff Girls), Geno Mattos (Director, Shake and Flick)

Anyways, for today's post, I had a Joe Barbera trigger as I was watching the tail end of "The Purple Smurf." Or maybe it was the cereal I was eating.  Either way, I was inspired to post something, so without further ado... allow me to paint a picture...with words...words... words... and punctuation...

From the beginning, I just felt like I was living a dream. I had my own office, full access to the model sheet and stock animation archives, plus an open door policy to visit with Mr. Hanna and Mr. Barbera any time I felt like it. In fact, all the directors were encouraged to visit with the two to try and learn something from them. So believe you me, I took full advantage of that! I got along with both of them, but Mr. B was so encouraging to the point that, I tried to see him a few times a month just to talk. A lot of times, our conversations would go past an hour, sometimes even two or three.  When I got approved to do a short called "Jungleboy," I met with Mr. B and, as we discussed my storyboard, he did the following sketches of my character.

(Notice the before and after pose of Jungleboy at the bottom of the page and how he suggested that I draw him with a little more attitude.)

A lot of times, I would just swing by because I had a guest visiting and he was the grand finale of my personal tour of the studio. Of course, I would always ask his assistant Maggie if and when I could come by, and she would always oblige. I must’ve made Mr. Barbera give a tour of his office at least twenty some-odd times. It got so that it became a routine.

It went a little something like this... (Cue the Flintstones theme song!)

First I would introduce my guests to Mr. Barbera and they would exchange pleasantries. Then he would ask them who their favorite character was and he’d share an anecdote about said character. The Flintstones movie was big at the time so he usually had some sort of promotional trinket lying about that he’d share. He’d talk about how surprised he was that their popularity had lasted so long. Then he’d open up his trophy case and ask his guests if they’d ever held an Emmy before. Most likely they hadn’t, so he usually took one out, handed it to them, and had them deliver a speech. From there, he would walk them back to his couch where he had a bunch of H-B toys and he’d give an anecdote about one of them. There was a time when he would usually direct his guest’s attention to a Muttley alarm clock from Japan that spoke Japanese and, like a proud father, brag about his popularity. From there, he would show off his picture from the TV Hall of Fame and name off the people in the picture starting with Oprah Winfrey. Finally, he would show off the thing he was most proud of: his picture with Pope John Paul II. He was very Italian and very Catholic, which is one of the reasons why we bonded because I went to a Jesuit university. He sent all his kids to Catholic School, so it wore well on me. If he was in a frisky mood, he would end the tour by showing you his shower where he once scared a little Japanese woman. Not in a Psycho-I’m-going-to-kill-you kind of way though, Interestingly enough, he kept a six foot tall giant stuffed pink flamingo inside. One time, he opened it and the thing fell on this lady and scared her half to death, I was surprised by how much Joe got a kick out of re-enacting that scene. Now that I think about it, he mainly did it when I brought in a female to tour his office…

There were also a few incidents of note on a number of tours…

One time, I brought Cynthia MacIntosh (now a colorist on Fish Hooks) and her brother (who played keyboard for Tom Waits) to visit. Upon hearing this, Mr. Barbera plugged in his keyboard and asked him to play something. As Cynthia’s brother began busting out a tune, Cynthia began dancing around the room, got Mr. Barbera to kind of shimmy a little, and then all of a sudden, she butt bumped him. Pretty hard. So much so that he almost lost his balance. He wasn’t seriously injured, but for a moment there, I thought she might have busted his hip. We quickly made a gracious exit after that.

Mr. Barbera also had an autographed poster of Michael Jackson on his wall, As Michael got into trouble, I noticed that the poster slowly moved from being prominently displayed in the entrance, to behind the keyboard, to finally disappearing from sight.

One time, I entered his office to find him with a collection of glass Flintstones movie mugs from McDonalds. Maggie (his assistant) and him were complaining because they had to purchase them from the McDonald's down the street because the corporate office wouldn’t send him complimentary ones.

A lot of my visits, he’d tell the same stories he’s told thousands of times before. But I found out that if you asked him specifics, he would give you specifics rather than pontificate about the past. All I have to say is that he lived a really interesting life.

After so many encounters with Mr. Barbera, I thought it only natural that he be part of the Johnny Bravo staff when I got the green light to do the show. I was elated to hear from our CEO that he agreed to be a part of the writer’s room. So, once a week, we would get a visit from Mr. B, pick his brain, and come up with jokes. He seemed to enjoy the goofy banter we had in the room. So much so, that whenever Maggie would come to get him, he would pretend to hide.

My favorite gag that he ever threw out went as follows…

We were trying to come up with evil things for a villain to do. We started naming evil deeds. Mind you, they were all pretty cartoony. So, I stopped all the ideas being thrown out and asked Mr. Barbera what he thought would be an evil deed.

“Well…” he started out. “He could start blowing up buildings…or stealing money from banks…or he could take a baby and put in the middle of the freeway.”

Babies in the middle of the freeway.

Not a gag I would expect to come out of his mouth, but then who was I to know his creative process. It wasn’t until later that I found out that it was a gag from Tom and Jerry. Still, it was fun having Mr. B in the room because he was always quick with an interesting anecdote, a pun, or a sight gag whenever called upon. After seventy billion shows, you can imagine how many gags were stuck in his head just waiting for an opportune moment. And at the time, he was always doing a Kramer (from Seinfeld) impression. Jeff Holder from development told me, if Mr. Barbera were still in charge, there would be a Seinfeld rip-off in the works. It was definitely a pleasure having him grace our unit, as it was always an honor spending time with him.

One time, Mr. Barbera playfully threatened one of our writers, Steve Marmel, after he insinuated that Snagglepuss was gay.

“He was modeled after Bert Lahr. He was anything but gay. He beat his wife.” Mr. Barbera retorted.

After that, Butch Hartman started egging Mr. Barbera on saying, “Are you gonna take that from Steve? He’s calling one of your character’s gay!”

Mr. Barbera calmly said, “Don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning and… (Mr. Barbera makes a slitting of the throat gesture) Remember. A Sicilian never forgets.”

I’d say that he sat in the writer’s room about four or five times before we had to cut him loose. Apparently, we had to pay him for his time and it was causing us to go over budget. I’m sure he would’ve sat in with us for free, but “his people” were really looking out for him.

Those are just a few of the memories that stand out.

I was fortunate enough to have started in the animation business at a time when they were saddling fresh new talent alongside industry veterans for educational and experimental purposes. I grew up on ‘70’s Hanna-Barbera and I feel blessed to have been able to learn from the people who inspired me to enter the world of animation in the first place.

Man, I love triggers.  I think I'll go make myself a grilled cheese sandwich.

IS JOHNNY BRAVO FILIPINO?

Seriously.  "Is Johnny Bravo Filipino?"  For those of you who think that's an odd question, given he's a blonde, buffed, Elvis talking, American male, I would have to agree.  From all accounts, he doesn't scream Filipino.

Irish?  Maybe.

German?  Perhaps.

Russian?  That would explain his love of Pancake Week.

Filipino?  You gotta be kidding me!

Yet, I've been asked that question more than you would think.

The short answer to the question is, music please, (Pum puh puh pummmmmm!): "sort of."

Since I was born in the Philippines, have Filipino parents, and know a few Tagalog words (Maraming salamat sa inyo.), that would classify me as "totally " Filipino.  And since I created Johnny Bravo, and I can't help but be influenced by my ethnicity and culture, that would make Johnny "sort of" Filipino.

If this were the DC universe, Johnny would be my illegitimate son from Earth 26.

I rarely get the opportunity to do international publicity (let alone Asian ones) so whenever I get the chance, it's really exciting.  Below is one I did for a story on Cartoon Network Studios back in 2002.  That's me on the bottom right.  (If anyone can translate what it says, that would be awesome!)

Recently, CN Asia set up a press junket with various publications in the Asian region to promote "Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood."  And this may be hard to believe but, after 15 years in the industry, it was the first time I ever did an interview with a Filipino journalist!  I know, right?!  Unless I count the unaired, sit down, on-camera interview I did with Cheche Lazaro for her Probe show in the Philippines (it never aired as the show ended before they put the spot together).  Of course, all the people I talked to were very nice, but it was interesting to me that they were surprised by my ethnicity.

So for those of you who are still reading this post (who didn't have to go back to watching "Dancing With Stars" on their DVR), before the PR folks throw you to the media, they usually do a briefing. Below are a few of the "possible questions" I received before my interviews.  Note the Filipino nature of many of them.

1. Tell us about your lineage. Are you full Filipino?
2. How long have you stayed in the US?
3. How old are you and how long have you been with Cartoon Network?
4. What got you into animation?
5. Describe the animation process from storyboard to production.
6. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, who is Johnny Bravo?
7. What inspired you to create a character like Johnny Bravo?
8. How long did it take to create and produce Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood?
9. Why did you choose this premise for the movie?
10. What, in your opinion, is the state of the local animation industry in the Philippines?
11. What are the strengths of Filipino animators?
12. What does the future look like for Filipino animation?
13. What would you want Filipino animators to know about the animation industry?
14. Do you have upcoming projects with Cartoon Network?
15. What’s next for Johnny Bravo? Will we be seeing a sequel to Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood?

The one comment I kept getting from the reporters was that they were disappointed that I have never been back to the Philippines and know very little Tagalog (Welcome to my world.).  But like the song from "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" says, "There's always tomorrow."  So, in case you haven't gotten enough of me talking about me, posted below is an interview I did with Balikbayan, an Asian Journal Magazine in the Philippines, which also highlighted my roots.

So the next time somebody asks you if Johnny Bravo is Filipino (which I know they will!) you can send them over to this link.

Thanks for stopping by!

FUN FACT:  CN Asia had a Bollywood poster artist paint a few 8 foot tall posters for "Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood" the way they do with regular Bollywood movies.  Below is a copy of one of them. Enjoy!

JOHNNY BRAVO AND BLUR ANIMATION

When I was developing my senior thesis film at Loyola Marymount University, I ran into a huge problem.  With my storyboard set and my models ready to go, I had to try and figure out how to animate my 5 minute project, by myself, in a few months, while keeping up with the rest of my schoolwork.  My animation professor, Dan McLaughlin suggested that I watch “The Dover Boys” and freeze frame the inbetweens to study Bobo Cannon's usage of  blur animation. (For those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about, the blur animation starts at about 3:02 with the introduction of Dan Backslide.)

I was completely enthralled.  I saw things moving that only had three inbetweens between them.  “I could do that!” I thought to myself.  Watching the cartoon, I knew that all I had to do was move the shapes of the characters and stretch the masses from one pose to another.  According to what I was freeze framing, I simply had to make sure that the predominant masses and colors were represented in the blur.  No antics needed.  No overshoots or cushions.  Who would’ve guessed that there was such an untapped time-saving style of animation?  All I had to do was create strong poses to smear into and I was home free.  In short, the technique grew from my college-aged need to do things cheaper, faster, and easier.

The sequence below is from my first Johnny Bravo short.  The layout is by Ginny Hawes, the clean up by Miriam Goodman, and I did the inbetweens.  In it, Johnny has just slid up to a fine looking zookeeper and proceeds to check his armpit fragrance.

Scenes like the one above were always fun to animate.  The only problem we ran into was making sure the masses were colored correctly.  Otherwise, the movement would pop.  The colorist had to consistently refer to the sequence of drawings to make sure they were keeping the masses consistent.

This type of animation was a key ingredient in helping me create the unique persona of “Johnny Bravo.”  I think that it may have had a lot to do with the selling of the show.  It made it stand out from the rest of the other projects being pitched by creating a character trait based on the way the character was animated.

It also made for some surreal Dali-esque cel set-ups.

When I got the series, I realized why blur animation wasn’t used very often.  It was a special type of animation that had to be called for overseas.  Most producers weren’t going to take the time to call for it on the sheets every time (although, I did catch them using it on “Sonic The Hedgehog” when it was still in production).  Whatever the reason, I feel fortunate to be able to capitalize on a technique developed by Robert Cannon and Chuck Jones in their original Warner Brothers short.

HOW TO GET TO SESAME STREET

If I had to name one major influence in my life as a model for the type of entertainment I strive to create, it would have to be Jim Henson. Most notably, I stand in awe of his amazing work on Sesame Street. They did everything from puppets to animation, parodies to heart-warming specials, and if that weren't enough, they created music that stuck in your head.  What I admire most about Jim Henson is that he did it in a way that was accessible to both kids and parents.  If you were a child born after the 70's, then you were a child influenced by Sesame Street.

From day one, Sesame Street enlisted the talents of some of the top names in independent animation. Back in 1996, Linda Simensky, the current senior director of programming for PBS and former president of ASIFA-East, put together a two hour program to celebrate 25 years of animation made for Sesame Street.  It was like watching Sesame Street in a whole new light because I never knew that the people behind the shorts were some of the most cutting edge independent animators of their time.  Now that I know what I know, and can see them in retrospect, I have a greater appreciation for them.  The works in the show included the Hubley Studios, Buzzco, Michael Sporn, Will Vinton, Dan Haskett, Bill Davis, Pixar, and Mo Willems.  The one below is by Maurice Sendak.

I still hold onto my dream of someday joining the ranks of these esteemed artists by animating an interstitial for one of their upcoming seasons.

Much to my delight, when I took my first animation class back in college, my animation professor, Dan McLaughlin, showed us how to work the university's giant Oxberry camera by demonstrating a pan with a 2-field cel and background from a short film he did for Sesame Street.  Needless to say, I was totally in awe of this piece of artwork! You may remember the film.  It was the one where the backgrounds were black and white and these kids were sitting on the steps outside their front door.  Suddenly a man pushing a fruit cart starts yelling, "Fruit!  Fresh fruit!"  He walks on, the kids get some fruit, and the man continues on his way.  It was also shown on the Spanish PBS show, Villa Allegre, with the man yelling, "Frutas!  Fresca frutas!"

Fast forward a few years. I have my own show and I thought, "That would be awesome if I could recreate even a little bit of the fun and insane comedy that Jim Henson and his cohorts were able to do week after week."  (Not exactly in those words, but that was my intention.)  Jim Henson had been such an influence on my life that I wanted to pay tribute to him somehow.  The only question was, "How do you extrapolate the genius of Sesame Street and infuse it into a show about a twenty-something slacker/womanizer?"

The answer: you do your best.

Like Jim Henson, I always tried to make sure that Johnny wasn't mean spirited. He was just ignorant and naive. Most of all, I tried to capture his silliness. If I had to describe the Muppets in one word, it would have to be "silly." Silly humor is what I always try and strive for. It always trumps rude and obnoxious for me.

In our first season, we were unable to come up with a proper send up of Sesame Street that would do it justice. It wasn't until our fifth season that one of our writers, Craig Lewis, came up with the idea for the episode, "Hunk At The End Of This Cartoon"... 

...which was a parody of "The Monster At The End Of This Book."

I thought it was the perfect Muppet piece to translate into Johnny's world.  Craig kept it silly and ridiculous, just the way the book was, with dialogue like:

Johnny Bravo: Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a BEVY of BEAUTIES BEGGIN' for some BRAVO.

Johnny Bravo: (to camera) That sentence was brought to you by the letter "B."

Little Suzy: Oh, BROTHER.

So we did our best.

Now.  There's probably someone in Birmingham, Alabama thinking, "That's great and all, but wasn't the title of this post, 'How to get to Sesame Street?'  You didn't really tell us how to get to Sesame Street."

I'm getting there.

When I was a kid, I never really grasped the concept that Sesame Street was on a soundstage.  During the opening credits, they showed all these kids wandering the streets of New York City with it's gravel streets and tall buildings, until the final shot where they got to Sesame Street and the roads and sidewalks suddenly lost all their grit.  And it wasn't as sunny and bright as the park they just showed. But it looked fun!  And I always wondered, "Why is it so hard to find? Isn't it on a map or something?"

Back in 1998, my wife and I decided to plan a trip to New York City. Knowing how much I loved the Muppets, my agent arranged for us to visit Sesame Street.  What I thought was going to be a quick ushering through the soundstage by a tour guide, turned out to be a dream come true.  They were actually filming an episode when we arrived on the set!  As long as we kept out of the way of the cameras, we got to wander the street and explore everywhere from Mr. Hooper's Store to Big Bird's nest.  

We even got to watch them film an episode (with Susan!) and visit Elmo's World!

The picture of Oscar is a sticker that I placed on the original photo and didn't want to peel off and damage.

The most surreal moment of the day was meeting Caroll Spinney, the Muppeteer behind Oscar The Grouch and Big Bird.  The crazy thing was, I didn't know how I was supposed to react when I came face to face with a Muppet.  When it was my turn to take a picture with Carroll, he held Oscar up to my face and said, "Hi.  What do you do?" I froze.  I wanted to tell him what I did, but I also wanted to tell him how much he'd touched my life and how the show helped shape my world view of imagination and creativity.  I wanted to tell him all kinds of things.  But in the moment, I couldn't figure out if I should talk to Oscar or Carroll.  I completely blanked.  I was so flustered that the only thing that came out of my mouth was a giggle.

A giggle.

I giggled like a little boy when I shook his hand while my wife took a picture of us.  I remember thinking, "Boy, Oscar has a manly grip for a grouch."  After the flash went off on my camera, Caroll made Oscar blink as though the flash somehow affected his eyesight. I don't even remember if I said anything to him (I hope I didn't come across rude) but I had my moment.  Sadly, the moment quickly passed and another person came up to him to take their turn to meet him.  Or them.  Honestly, I felt as though Oscar and Carroll were two separate entities.

Everybody we met on the set that day was so nice.  I could have stayed there all day.  In fact, one of the crew said, "If you stick around, we're gonna be filming with Sully in about an hour so you can see how Oscar gets around."  But we didn't want to overstay our welcome.  We watched them film a scene with Susan and Oscar, took a few more pictures, and ended up staying for about two hours before we took the subway to see the rest of the city.

So if you ever find an "in" or can get a job working for the Sesame Workshop, I highly recommend a visit to "the street."  And be prepared to address a Muppet.

PITCHING JOHNNY BRAVO

How did you sell your show? Do you have any advice on how to sell a show? What is it like to pitch a show? All of these questions are ones that I'm often asked. There's no pat answer (although I do have one). What I can do, is share my experiences and hopefully help people understand that it's all about being at the right place, at the right time, and being prepared.

So. Let's step into the wayback machine, shall we? It was the summer of 1993. I was fresh out of college, working afterschool daycare at Westchester Lutheran School and living on my friend's couch when I heard the news. My old teacher, Dan McLaughlin had just gotten a call from his friend, Buzz Potamkin, at Hanna-Barbera. Like the original ad below says, they were looking for directors to produce a new crop of seven minute animated shorts for the Cartoon Network.

Since Dan was the head of the UCLA Animation Workshop, he was asked to present his best students' films to them. From there, they hoped to cherry pick through them to find the next Tom and Jerry. Dan asked if I wanted to include my student film in the mix.

The next thing I knew, I was asked to meet with Ellen Cockrill, one of the heads of development at Hanna-Barbera. She asked if I were interested in pitching the idea of my student film as a short for their new 7-minute shorts program. Since my student film was basically an amped-up version of Elvis Presley, they wanted to make sure that my character was anything but. Thus, Johnny Bravo was born. A James Dean looking guy that moved like Michael Jackson, talked like Elvis, and had a name from the Brady Bunch. I felt as though I created quite the pop culture fusion.

FUN FACT: As you can see from the original presentation cel above, he was conceived with arms like Popeye. We also changed his shirt from white to black because, at the time, white cel paint was too transparent to shoot under the camera (especially when used in large flat areas).

Before I pitched to Hanna-Barbera, Dan thought it would be a good idea to gather the group of students that Ellen Cockrill had chosen to pitch to the network, and practice pitching our shows to each other. We met a few times and developed our pitching skills (not to mention our nerves) so by the time we got to Hanna Barbera, we were prepared. After going through the experience and talking with people about it, I learned that practice is key.

I was fortunate enough to pitch Johnny Bravo at the very first pitch session for Cartoon Network's initial shorts program. My project was the last in line after projects from Bill Hanna, Tony Craig and Roberts Gannaway, Will Panganiban, and Pat Ventura. I have random flashes that I remember about my pitch. For instance, I remember wearing a white shirt and tie and feeling really out of place amongst all the other working professionals who were dressed in everyday jeans and button up shirts. I also remember showing my student film and having Fred Seibert walk out of the room in the middle of it. I'm sure it was for a good reason, but I was hypersensitive!  And to make things more awkward, I brought my portfolio along with me and nobody looked at it!

The bottom line after my pitch was that it wasn't "cartoony" enough. Fortunately, they liked it enough to have me redraw a new sequence to show how cartoony it could be. I later learned that they were going to pass on the show until three women, Ellen Cockrill, Janet Mazotti, and Julie Kane-Ritsch fought for my project to be made. I emphasize "women" because the gentler sex have always been champions of Johnny Bravo. I think it's because they know Johnny Bravos in their lives and can relate. They also enjoy watching him get his comeuppance.

I got the green light on November 5th, 1993. I heard the news from a development executive at HB, Dan Smith, who informed me of their decision at the Annie Awards that evening. When I got home, there was a note from my roommate informing me of my new "step deal." That meant, I was going to be under careful watch and evaluated after every step of production to see if they wanted to continue to go forward.

That's a whole other story.

When I arrived at Hanna-Barbera on my first day of work, Ellen gave me a big hug and said "Finally!" My new producer, Larry Huber, told me that this was going to be a type of graduate school where I was going to learn how to make cartoons from the ground up in the studio system.

And it was.

I was there for the next four years, much like any university, and learned how to make cartoons the old fashioned way. I was fortunate because, I don't think that my presentation was polished enough to have sold in today's climate. At the time, the Cartoon Network was in a place where they could afford to take a chance on a college graduate with no experience. Nobody was really paying attention to what they were doing. There's a lot more risk involved today.

Like I said before: Right place. Right time. Prepared.

JOHNNY BRAVO AND SCOOBY DOO

I've always been a huge fan of Scooby Doo. He was comfort food. I remember, one of the first things I did when I was hired at Hanna-Barbera, was buy a bottle of Scooby Snacks from the company store. For most people, it was a glass bottle of Cookie Crisp cereal with a Scooby Doo label slapped on it, but to me, it was a trip to my childhood.

So for this blog entry, I thought I'd start with a mystery!

Ooooh.

You may have noticed that I was able to complete my autograph collection of the Scooby gang above.  What's so mysterious about that you ask?  Well...

I didn't work with all of them on our show!  DUHN DUHN DUUUUHN!

Oooooh.  Mysterious.

Okay, so it's not so much of a mystery as it is a kooky way of creating a segueway to the rest of my blog entry.  But mark my words, I will help solve the mystery for you as you read on...

During my first few weeks at Hanna Barbera, I remember walking through the halls, peering into a conference room, and seeing Don Messick all by himself reading over a script for "Droopy, Master Detective." I thought to myself, "Nah-ah! Really?" At the time, I was a huge autograph collector, so I immediately ran to my office and pulled out a black and white glossy of the Scooby Doo gang that I bought for an occasion such as this.

I came back and asked Mr. Messick if he could sign it. He was very nice as I didn't freak out and ask him to do Scooby's voice for me or anything. Even when he wrote, "Scooby Doody Dooooo!!!" I didn't ask him to correct his typo. It was a pleasant exchange. By now, the rest of the cast was gathering in the conference room for a table read. I left the room, but sat outside and eavesdropped as the cast read through the script. It was the first time I ever heard voice actors actually perform. It was one of those moments that made me feel like I had the greatest job in the world.

So, did you see it!  In the first paragraph, we've solved the mystery of Don Messick's signature!  But what of the rest of the cast?  Read on... if you dare...

When I first got the green light for the first season of Johnny Bravo, I immediately asked our head of production if I could do an episode where Johnny Bravo meets Scooby Doo and the gang. I wanted to do it right, so I sought out the talents of Joe Barbera and Iwao Takamoto to give authenticity to the short. In the writer's room, with Joe Barbera's help, we threw out every cliche we could think of and tried to figure out how we could turn it on it's end. Our writer, Michael Ryan, did an excellent job of turning out a really great script from all of this.

On the drawing end, we used the original designs done by Iwao Takamoto, the designer of Scooby-Doo, who also helped us style the backgrounds for this particular episode. Julian Chaney, who had also been working at Hanna Barbera for a number of years in the model department, designed the Ghostly Gardener in Iwao's style.

We also combed through files of music, model sheets (we had to have the Mystery Machine!), and stock animation because we wanted it to have the look and feel of an old episode from the first season. So much so, that we had to go into numerous retakes on the walk cycles because they insisted on animating something new instead of xeroxing the stock animation and applying it to the scene.

Unfortunately, we were unable to use Don Messick in our episode because he had recently suffered a stroke when we got the green light. On the positive side, we were able to use Casey Kasem (Shaggy), Frank Welker (Fred), and Heather North (Daphne). We were unable to use Nicole Jaffe because she had retired from acting and performing, so BJ Ward filled in nicely in her role as Velma. And after a long and exhaustive search, we finally found our Scooby in Hadley Kay.

My favorite time in the booth was directing Casey Kasem as Shaggy. Actually, I wouldn't call it directing, so much as me saying, "That was perfect. Can we just get another one for safety?" Every line he said was spot-on the way I would've wanted him to read it. And usually, you don't want to look at the performers as they say their lines, but I couldn't help but stare at him as Shaggy's voice came from his mouth. He completely embodied Shaggy with his facial expressions and body movements.

More signatures revealed!  Oh, this is too easy!  But wait!  What of Nicole Jaffe?  If I couldn't find her, how did I get her autograph?  Oh, wouldn't you like to know...

But first...

Because we wanted to stick in so much stuff, we extended the episode from 7 minutes to eleven minutes so we could keep all our gags in the show. But even with that, we were still a few minutes short. So, we ended up padding the chase sequence. Since our storyboard artist, Don Manuel, was knee deep in another show, our director, John McIntyre retooled the chase sequence while we had one of our writers, Seth MacFarlane, freelance new storyboard sequences in his spare time.

FUN FACT: This particular episode also marked my first foray into writing song lyrics with "The Happy Haunted Sunshine House."

When all was said and done, I went downstairs to Mr. Barbera's office and held a private screening where it was just me and him sitting in front of his TV. It was really nerve racking showing someone something that they created in a whole other light. As we sat there staring at the screen, I tried to subtly stare at Mr. Barbera and watch him react to the gags. My favorite moment was when he looked over at me and said, "You got the walk cycles."

Now I don't know if it was because it was after lunch or because the chase scene went on a bit too long, but as I looked over at Mr. Barbera, I noticed him fighting to stay awake. I tried laughing to startle him awake, but by the end of the chase scene, his eyes were completely closed. The best part was, when the gang unmasks the villain and yells, "Joe Barbera!" Mr. Barbera quickly woke up as I turned to the TV to pretend I didn't notice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look around and then politely laugh at the screen for my benefit. As the "The End" sign came up, he turned to me and said, "Thank you for keeping the integrity of the character. Are you going to do any more?" I was just gleaming.

After that, I took the video upstairs for a private viewing with Mr. Hanna. He also thanked me for keeping the characters alive and later wrote me a nice note of congratulations saying, "I want you to know that I did like it and thought it was very well done. I'm sure it will do well."

We were able to use Scooby Doo one last time in our 1st season episode, "Twas The Night."

Also, in a popular interstitial on the network "The Cartoon Network Mole," Johnny has a fling with Velma. I didn't work on this Shortie, but I did enjoy it.

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So then, what about Nicole Jaffe's signature?

In 2003, Nicole Jaffe reprised her role as Velma in two Scooby Doo movies, "Scooby-Doo and The Legend Of The Vampire" and "Scooby-Doo and The Monster of Mexico." Since I was friends with the casting director, she graciously brought my black and white glossy over to the record and got it signed for me.

Cue Hoyt Curtin end music.

What was that?  You noticed that there's no signature next to Scrappy Doo?  Curse you meddling kids!

All right.  I didn't get Lennie Weinrib, the original voice (who also played Time For Timer and H.R. Pufnstuf), but he only played him for the first season and was subsequently played by Frank Welker, who signed the photograph on the far right!  Conundrum overcome!

Bazzinga!

Until next time, in the words of Casey Kasem, "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!"

JOHNNY BRAVO AND MICHAEL JACKSON

With the anniversary of Michael Jackson's passing coming up, I thought I'd dedicate this post in his memory.

I'm always curious as to what goes in to making a character a character. Like "Why does Donald Duck have a temper?" or "Why does Indiana Jones use a whip?" or "How come I loved Eliza Dushku on Buffy the Vampire Slayer but couldn't love her in Dollhouse?" There's a certain chemistry that creators and writers and actors and environments concoct that is such a wonder. Even when creative folks are fortunate enough to concoct the "lightning in a bottle," it's a struggle to maintain it. One can only hope to ride the wave the best they can and tap the bottle as often as possible before it escapes.

By no means can I lay claim to have created an amazing character or even have the answers on how to do it. My angle is my own individual "how and why?" How does a character come about? How do you make him believable? Why do you choose these traits or this design style? Where are you in this character?

People often say, "Write what you know." When I created Johnny Bravo, I tapped my 24 years of existence to create a character that I liked and made me laugh. Like all the other directors in the "What A Cartoon!" program at Hanna-Barbera, I was encouraged to tell my story using my own unique point of view. And my own unique point of view involved doing a mash-up of Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Arthur Fonzarelli, Luke (Dylan McKay) Perry, The Dover Boys, my friends obsessed with working out, my friends who had an active social life, and my own frustrations with popularity, insecurities, and relationships.

Which is a nice segueway into Michael Jackson's influence on Johnny Bravo. It's no secret that I pretty much used Michael Jackson as the impetus for using whip snaps and cracks whenever Johnny strikes a pose. As you can see in the excerpt from Captain Eo below, it's done to make a point, or rather, an exclamation mark so that each movement has a purpose...

Michael made strong silhouettes and powerful lines whenever he hit a pose. Often times when I draw Johnny Bravo, I use pictures of Michael Jackson (along with body builders and fashion models) as inspiration. He was a huge part of my life growing up and I'll always be grateful for his influence on the creation of Johnny Bravo. I remember growing up, knowing that Michael was a Jehovah's Witness, and thinking that there's a possibility that he might one day come knocking at our front door. And what would he be wearing? Obviously, he never came, but I just read that Prince is also a Jehovah's witness, so a knock at our front door from an 80's icon is still in play.

FUN FACT: Michael Jackson and Joe Barbera were good friends and developed a show together which was loosely based on The Prince and The Pauper. Mr. Barbera showed me the designs that were done by Iwao Takamoto back in the early nineties. Unfortunately, it never got past the development stage.

GUTEN TAG UND WILLKOMMEN!

Welcome to my first post!  We officially went “live” yesterday, but I spent most of that time uploading and writing content so you (the browser) had fun stuff to look at as you “surfed” my site.

First off, I have to say a special thank you to the person who designed my new website: Lindsey Breeden.  He is a fellow alum of Loyola Marymount University and a pretty cool guy.

Not that I’m a slow-go with this crazy new thing the kids are calling “the internet,” but I always felt that if I ever created a website, I wanted to do it right.  And like the old adage says, “Nothing happens unless you make a plan.”  Plus with work and family and things like the final seasons of “Lost” and “24,” a website was the last thing on my mind.  But as I was working on the DVD extras for the Johnny Bravo: Season One DVD, I realized how much “stuff” I had that didn’t necessarily fit with what Warner Brothers was looking to put on the DVD.  Coincidentally, around the same time, I happened to be rifling through old magazines and discovered an article about Lindsey Breeden and the importance of websites.  It was the kick in the butt I needed to stop making excuses and start putting together my website.  So I did.  After the series finale of "24."

And speaking of the DVD, it was released yesterday and, last I checked, it was listed as #500 in the Amazon Bestsellers Rank in the Movies and TV section.  But then I checked an hour later and it was ranked #600?  I guess there was a huge rush on the Tom Selleck thrillers, Jesse Stone: No Remorse (#94), Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (#33), and Jesse Stone: Sea Change (#569).

Foiled by the fans of Tom Selleck.

At least we’re ranked higher than the 2007 release of Jesse Stone: Death In Paradise (#1,075) so the DVD has that going for it.

And while we’re back in a time and space where people are watching the Karate Kid while talking about Betty White and Gary Coleman, I thought I’d dedicate my first post to someone who transcends relevance:  Mr. T.

I worked with Mr. T back on the fifth season of Johnny Bravo and found him to be an honest and hard-working individual.  Plus, you can’t help but smile when you’re around Mr. T.  The man can command a room like nobody’s business.  He came into the studio like a whirlwind and after the record, came upstairs to visit with our staff and stood in a corner inviting everyone within shouting distance to meet with him and take pictures.  At one point, he shushed the crowd and said, “This one guy over here just asked me if I’d pick him up over my head!  I told him ‘no!’  You know why?”  As I got a bit uncomfortable thinking that I should’ve taken a little more control of the crowd, Mr. T yelled, “Cause I don’t pick up men!” 

He was in such a great mood that day and probably would’ve went into every office in every floor if we asked.  The laughing and pictures went on for about 30 minutes, at which point, I turned to my Line Producer Diana and suggested that maybe we should let him go home.  But not before inviting him to join us as the guest of honor at our wrap party!

Unfortunately, because of scheduling conflicts he couldn’t make it, but he did agree to film an introduction to all the guests at the party!

A few weeks later, Craig Lewis and I went over to Mr. T.’s house in the valley with a video camera.  I remember nervously ringing the doorbell and getting a barely audible voice over the speakerphone saying, “Can I help you?”  “Hi.  We’re here from the Cartoon Network to film a spot with Mr. T.”  Then, all of a sudden, the voice chimed in with that all too familiar gravel, “Oh yeah!  Yeah!  C’mon around back!”  Soon enough, Mr. T was there to greet us, all smiles and enthusiasm.  At the very least, we wanted him to simply welcome the guests, but Craig had the bright idea of writing a comedy spot and seeing if Mr. T would perform it.  Much to our surprise, he quickly memorized his lines, threw on some bling, and filmed the spot.  All in about 45 minutes.  During that time, he was extremely gracious and took the time to make sure we did it right, doing a number of takes until we were satisfied.  After we left, we quickly drove down the street, pulled over, and watched what we had filmed with giddy excitement.  As we sat in the car and watched, some lady accidentally bumped into our parked car with her car!  It would’ve been a bigger deal had we not just left Mr. T’s house, so she lucked out since there was barely any damage.

So that’s my Mr. T story.  I’ve heard from several people that have run into him in the valley, that he’s always gracious to people and takes the time to talk with whoever wants to talk with him.